Director of People Operations

Chainguard; New York (NY); Remote; USD 190,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity/stock options

Unlimited PTO

Remote work with coworking and team-me

Home office stipend

Job summary

Chainguard is seeking a Director of People Operations to scale HR operations as we grow internationally. You will lead the People Operations team and own onboarding, offboarding, compliance training, and updates for promotions and job changes across multiple countries.

You will open legal entities in the UK, Canada, and Germany, collaborate with Finance and Legal, manage the Employer of Record relationship, and introduce AI-driven processes to improve the employee experience across roughly 19

Qualifications

• Direct experience opening new international entities and establishing HR compliance in new countries.
• Experience scaling a people ops function in a high-growth SaaS or startup.
• Proven ownership of HRIS strategy (implementation, migration, or optimization).
• Experience partnering with or managing an Employer of Record (EOR) for international employees.
• 8-10+ years in HR/People Operations, including 3+ years in a leadership role.
• Background managing HR compliance operations — I-9s, leave administration, policy administration, audits.

Responsibilities

• Scale Chainguard’s People Operations as the company grows internationally.
• Lead the People Operations team and own core employee lifecycle processes.
• Open and maintain new legal entities across countries (UK, Canada, Germany, others).
• Partner with Finance and Legal to ensure compliant payroll and operations.
• Improve visibility of HR Operations to employees.
• Bring AI fluency to design smarter People Operations processes.

Skills

International expansion

People Ops leadership

HRIS strategy

Employer of Record (EOR)

Team development

Cross-functional collaboration

HR compliance operations

Data integrity

Job description

Responsibilities

• The role, in a nutshell: We’re looking for a Director of People Operations to help scale our HR operations function as Chainguard grows and expands internationally
• This role will lead our People Operations team, and will own the core employee lifecycle processes — onboarding, offboarding, compliance training, and job changes — as well as our expansion into new countries
• We’re currently opening entities in the UK and Canada, with Germany to follow, and expect to open several more countries next year
• This role will be central to that effort, working cross-functionally with Finance and Legal to figure out how we operate compliantly, and how we pay and support people, in every country we enter
• Own and scale Chainguard’s core employee lifecycle processes, including onboarding, offboarding, compliance training, and updates for promotions and job changes
• Lead the People Operations team, currently one manager with two direct reports
• Make HR Operations more visible and accessible to employees
• Lead the operational work of opening new legal entities internationally, including the UK, Canada, and Germany, and additional countries planned for next year
• Own the ongoing maintenance of HR operations and compliance across all countries where Chainguard operates
• Partner cross-functionally with Finance and Legal to navigate the compliance, payroll, and legal constraints of operating in each new country
• Manage and expand our partnership with our Employer of Record (EOR) provider, given our reliance on remote employees across roughly 19 countries
• Build scalable People Operations processes, templates, and resources as the function and company grow
• Bring strong AI fluency to the function, using AI to design smarter, more efficient People Operations processes and improve the employee experience
• Chainguard is in the middle of an ambitious international expansion, and our People Operations function needs to scale right alongside it
• This role will be central to that work building the processes and infrastructure to support employees well, in every country we operate in, while also making HR Operations a more helpful, visible partner to the business day to day
• You’ll have real ownership over how People Operations scales globally, with the opportunity to build and grow a team as the company continues to expand

Benefits

• Equity/stock options
• Unlimited PTO
• Remote work with flexible coworking and team meetup opportunities
• Home office and internet stipend
• 100% health/dental/vision insurance coverage for you and your family

Qualifications

• Direct experience opening new international entities and standing up HR compliance and operations in new countries
• Experience standing up or scaling a people ops function in a high-growth SaaS or startup environment
• Proven ownership of HRIS strategy — has led an implementation, migration, or major optimization (Workday, Rippling, ADP, or similar)
• Experience partnering with or managing an Employer of Record (EOR) for international employees
• Strong track record managing and developing a team
• International experience required, particularly across EMEA; experience in Japan, Singapore, or South America is a strong plus
• 8-10+ years in HR/People Operations, including 3+ years in a leadership/management capacity
• Background managing HR compliance operations — I-9s, leave administration, policy administration, audits
• Comfort operating with some ambiguity and building process where it doesn’t yet exist
• A collaborative, solutions-oriented approach — this role needs to be a “yes, how can I help” partner to the business, not a bottleneck or blocker
• Experience owning the full employee lifecycle: onboarding, offboarding, org changes, data integrity, and process design

We’re building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring Chainguardians with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences