Founding Senior HR Generalist / People Operations Lead
HireNow Staffing
3 days ago
Full-time
On-site
San Francisco, California, United States
$160,000 - $185,000 USD yearly
HR Business Partners (HRBPs)
Founding Senior HR Generalist / People Operations Lead
Company: HireNow Staffing (Direct Placement Partner)
HireNow Snapshot
HireNow Staffing is actively recruiting a seasoned Founding Senior HR Generalist / People Operations Lead to join one of our valued client partners. This full-time opportunity is designed for an experienced HR professional who thrives in high-growth startup environments and enjoys building scalable people operations from the ground up.
The successful candidate will become the organization's first dedicated HR leader, own day-to-day People Operations while establishing processes that support long-term organizational growth. This role requires an execution-focused professional who is equally comfortable managing compliance, employee relations, HR systems, payroll coordination, and benefits administration while serving as a trusted advisor across the business.
As the organization continues to scale, this individual will help shape employee experience, manager enablement, performance management, and operational excellence across the company.
Key Responsibilities
- Own the complete employee lifecycle including onboarding, role changes, promotions, transfers, offboarding, and separation processes.
- Maintain accurate employment records, offer documentation, employment agreements, policy acknowledgments, and HR compliance documentation.
- Serve as the primary owner of the organization's HRIS, ensuring employee data remains accurate, compliant, and audit ready.
- Partner with external employment counsel, benefits providers, payroll partners, and HR vendors to support daily operations.
- Apply California employment law to support compliant employee practices and workplace decisions.
- Coordinate employee transitions, performance-related actions, terminations, and severance processes with professionalism and sound judgment.
- Lead benefits administration including healthcare, retirement plans, vendor management, and employee communications.
- Partner closely with Finance to ensure payroll accuracy, compliance, reporting, and operational efficiency.
- Design, document, and continuously improve HR workflows that support company growth.
- Expand People Operations initiatives including manager enablement, employee engagement, performance management, culture development, and organizational effectiveness.
Required Qualifications
- 4–6 years of Human Resources or People Operations experience.
- Previous experience serving as the first or second HR hire within a Series A or Series B venture-backed startup.
- Experience supporting organizations that have raised $10M or more in venture funding.
- Strong working knowledge of California employment law.
- Experience independently managing employee lifecycle programs.
- Strong HRIS experience; Rippling experience is highly desirable.
- Working knowledge of payroll administration and payroll compliance.
- Experience administering employee benefits and vendor relationships.
- Demonstrated experience managing employee transitions, corrective actions, terminations, and separation processes.
- Strong organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills.
- Comfortable operating independently with minimal supervision.
- Must currently reside within the San Francisco Bay Area and be available to work onsite five days per week in Dogpatch, San Francisco.
- Authorized to work in the United States.
- No visa sponsorship available.
Preferred Qualifications
- Direct experience administering Rippling as the primary HRIS.
- Experience supporting rapidly growing sales organizations with commission structures, OTE plans, and compensation administration.
- Multi-state and international employment experience.
- Experience implementing or improving performance management programs.
- Background supporting employee engagement, manager development, and organizational culture initiatives.
- Experience building scalable HR processes from the ground up.
- Stable career progression demonstrating increasing HR ownership and leadership.
HireNow Package
- Compensation: $160,000–$185,000 annual base salary
- Equity: Competitive equity package.
- Benefits: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage; 401(k); commuter benefits; daily catered lunch, dinner stipend, $150 monthly wellness benefit, and additional company-sponsored benefits.
- Employment Type: Full-Time
- Work Location: Onsite – Dogpatch, San Francisco, California (5 days per week)
- Applicant Requirements: U.S.-based applicants only. Candidates must currently reside within the San Francisco Bay Area. No visa sponsorship available.
- Headcount: 1
HireNow Checklist
HireNow Staffing is recruiting a Founding Senior HR Generalist / People Operations Lead who demonstrates the following:
- Possesses 4–6 years of progressive Human Resources or People Operations experience.
- Has successfully served as the first or second HR professional within a venture-backed startup.
- Demonstrates strong expertise in California employment law and HR compliance.
- Has experience managing HRIS systems, payroll coordination, benefits administration, and employee lifecycle programs.
- Excels at creating structure, documenting processes, and building scalable HR operations.
- Communicates effectively with employees, executives, Finance, legal counsel, and external vendors.
- Thrives in fast-paced startup environments while operating independently.
- Resides within the San Francisco Bay Area and meets all required qualifications while demonstrating several preferred qualifications.
HireNow Standout Candidates
Candidates will receive the strongest consideration if they demonstrate:
- Experience building a People Operations function from the ground up within a Series A or Series B startup.
- Advanced experience administering Rippling HRIS.
- Strong understanding of California employment law and HR compliance best practices.
- Experience supporting technical, engineering, and high-growth sales organizations.
- Success implementing scalable HR workflows, performance management systems, and employee engagement initiatives.
- Strong partnership with executive leadership while maintaining operational excellence.
- Stable employment history demonstrating increasing ownership and leadership within Human Resources.
HireNow Disqualifiers
The following will prevent candidates from moving forward in the hiring process:
- Jumpy resumes will not be accepted or interviewed.
- Less than four years of Human Resources or People Operations experience.
- No experience supporting venture-backed startup environments.
- No experience serving as the primary or secondary HR owner.
- Limited knowledge of California employment law.
- No experience managing employee lifecycle programs, HR compliance, or payroll coordination.
- Applicants requiring visa sponsorship.
- Applicants who do not currently reside within the San Francisco Bay Area or cannot work onsite five days per week.
- Candidates who do not meet the core qualifications required for this position.