# People Operations Manager

**Company:** [Kaizen Labs](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/kaizen-labs)
**Location:** New York, NY
**Role:** People Ops
**Salary:** $130k – $150k/yr
**Experience:** 4+ years
**Skills:** Gusto, Rippling, Carta, Peo, Mosey, Abstractops, Vanta, Payroll, Benefits Administration, Compliance
**Posted:** 2026-06-09

> Own and scale the full People Operations function at a fast-growing govtech startup: onboarding/offboarding, payroll, benefits, compliance, performance management, and recruiting operations.

## Job Description

## What You'll Do
- Own onboarding and offboarding end-to-end: offer letters, I-9 verification, background checks, tools provisioning, system access setup, HM coordination, 30/60/90 check-in process, and a clean, documented exit process every time
- Run payroll operations - adding new employees, processing changes, troubleshooting issues, and ensuring every run is accurate and on time
- Manage the benefits program day-to-day: open enrollment, carrier coordination, employee questions, a potential PEO migration, stipend maintenance, usage tracking, and feedback loops
- Own people compliance across all active states: SOS registrations, unemployment insurance, quarterly and annual filings, employee records, handbook maintenance, and working fluency with tools like Mosey, Corpnet, and AbstractOps
- Own employee engagement including pulse surveys, feedback initiatives, and sentiment tracking across a distributed team. Surface themes to leadership and turn feedback into actionable improvements
- Support performance management cycles: mid-year and end-of-year reviews, manager check-ins, scorecard coordination, and keeping feedback loops tight without adding unnecessary process
- Coordinate and manage office gatherings, employer branding events, and more intimate team outings
- Spearhead future office relocation efforts including broker relationships, touring spaces, coordinating buildouts, and ensuring seamless move-in processes
- Administer equity in Carta, partnering with the CoS and Finance on option grants, termination processing, and cap table hygiene
- Partner with COO and Recruiting Lead on headcount planning, leveling, and compensation frameworks
- Partner with Recruiting Lead on candidate experience and recruiting operations including interview coordination, offer letter workflows, ATS hygiene, and keeping the recruiting-to-people handoff clean
- Use AI tools actively to automate repetitive workflows, draft communications, and build more scalable processes

## What You'll Bring
- 4+ years of experience in People Operations, HR Operations, or related program management roles
- Experience at one or more scaling startups where you operated without a full HR team behind you
- Hands-on fluency with the core People Ops toolset: Gusto or Rippling, Carta, PEOs such as Sequoia or equivalent, and compliance platforms like Vanta, Mosey, or AbstractOps
- Ownership mentality: you've run a people ops or back-office function yourself, not just supported someone who did
- Comfort operating across people, finance, and admin functions without needing clean lane boundaries
- Clear, direct communicator who can navigate sensitive employee and manager conversations with judgment and empathy
- Fluency with AI tools as a genuine part of your workflow

## Strong Candidates May Also...
- Have supported or led a PEO migration
- Have familiarity with federal contracting compliance from a people/HR perspective
- Have worked with SOC 2 or similar security frameworks in a people ops context

## What Kaizen Offers
**Health & Insurance**
- Comprehensive medical through Oxford/United — Gold and Platinum PPO plans, with 85% of premiums covered on the Platinum plan and a $0 employee premium option
- Dental through Guardian PPO and vision through Beam, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 50% for dependents
- $100,000 in fully paid life insurance
- FSA and Dependent Care FSA
- 401(k) access through Guideline

**Family & Time Off**
- 16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents
- 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents
- Unlimited PTO, closed for all federal holidays, and company-wide winter break the week of Christmas

**Office & Remote Setup**
- Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees; $500 for remote employees
- $50/month commuter benefit
- Expensed lunch 3x a week while in the office
- Company-provided laptop

**Wellness**
- Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse
- For remote employees, $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement
- $300/quarter pet care stipend

**Stipends**
- $100/month utility stipend
- $500/year professional development
- $250/year recreation

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