People Operations
First dedicated People Ops hire to own employment compliance, multi-state payroll, benefits, leave administration, onboarding/offboarding, and HRIS (Rippling) for a scaling robotics startup.
Employment compliance
- Multi-state wage and hour compliance across all jurisdictions where we employ workers, with primary depth in California and Washington and working knowledge in other states. This includes San Francisco local ordinances such as the Health Care Security Ordinance, Fair Chance Ordinance, and paid sick leave where applicable
- Assist with drafting employee agreements and commission plans, bringing in our external legal firm only as needed
- Worker classification (exempt vs. non-exempt, employee vs. contractor) against federal, DOL, and state standards
- Pay transparency and pay data reporting obligations
- Handbook and written policy maintenance, keeping policies legally current and internally consistent across jurisdictions
- Partnering with outside counsel on escalations rather than defaulting every question to them
Immigration and work authorization
- I-9 completion, reverification, and retention compliance
- Coordinating a light volume of employment-based immigration matters (TN, O-1A, E-3) with outside counsel, and tracking status, expiration, and reverification deadlines
Leave and benefits administration
- Administering federal and state leave programs (FMLA, CFRA, WA PFML, and other applicable state leaves) through our leave management platform, Cocoon
- Leading annual open enrollment and managing day-to-day benefits administration, including qualifying life events and employee benefits questions
- Supporting benefits compliance obligations alongside our broker, including ACA reporting, ERISA documentation, COBRA, and required notices
People operations
- Supporting HRIS administration and data integrity in Rippling: onboarding, offboarding, status changes, and reporting
- Running and supporting accurate, timely multi-state payroll in Rippling, partnering with finance
- Supporting compensation cycles and pay-band administration in Pave
- Running onboarding and offboarding execution
- Serving as a first point of contact for employee relations questions and supporting managers through performance conversations, role changes, and exits
- Supporting SOC 2 and security audits, including required training completion, and audit-ready evidence for HR matters
- Maintaining clean, audit-ready people records and process documentation
What we’re looking for
- 5+ years in HR, people operations, or employment compliance, preferably including time at a high-growth startup or scaling global company
- Demonstrated depth in US multi-state employment compliance, with hands-on California experience
- Working knowledge of I-9 and employment eligibility requirements, and comfort coordinating immigration matters with counsel
- Experience administering leave programs and supporting benefits compliance
- Strong operational instincts: you build process, close loops, and keep records clean without being asked
- Sound judgment on when to handle something directly versus escalate to legal
- A direct, low-drama communication style and comfort owning ambiguity
Bonus points
- Experience with our stack: Rippling, Ashby, Cocoon, Pave, Pulley
- Exposure to international employment compliance (EOR or direct entity), particularly in the EU
- PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP certification
- Background supporting technical or engineering-heavy organizations
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