Founding HR Generalist & People Ops Leader

Recruiter Concierge; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 160,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Daily catered lunch

Dinner stipend

Wellness benefit

401(k) plan

Commuter benefits

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Job summary

Recruiter Concierge is assisting a San Francisco-based client in hiring its first dedicated HR professional to build and own the People function. This foundational, highly operational role focuses on onboarding, payroll coordination, compliance, documentation, and benefits administration.

You will partner with leadership, Finance, and external counsel to implement scalable HR processes and programs, with the scope expanding to performance management and culture initiatives as the company grows.

Qualifications

• 4–8 years of HR experience in venture-backed startups.
• Experience at a venture-backed company with $10M in funding.
• Early or first HR hire at a startup.
• Strong California employment law fluency.
• Experience owning HR operations independently.
• Strong HRIS experience, ideally Rippling.
• Payroll fundamentals and Finance partnership.
• Onsite in SF Bay Area, Dogpatch, five days a week.
• Ability to operate independently with prudent escalation to counsel.

Responsibilities

• Own the full employee lifecycle including onboarding, transitions, role changes, offboarding, and terminations.
• Manage onboarding logistics including equipment coordination, account setup, orientation, and first-week employee experience.
• Maintain employment records and HR documentation including offer letters, agreements, and separation materials.
• Own and maintain the HRIS as the company’s source of truth (Rippling preferred).
• Serve as the primary internal owner for HR operations and processes.
• Partner with external employment counsel and vendors when needed.
• Apply California employment law knowledge to HR decisions and workplace operations.
• Handle employee transitions, terminations, and severance processes with sound judgment.
• Own benefits administration including medical, dental, vision, retirement, and vendor relationships.
• Partner closely with Finance on payroll operations, compliance, and accuracy.
• Build scalable HR workflows, documentation, and operational processes as the company grows.
• Introduce structure and operational rigor to evolving processes.
• Support broader People initiatives including performance management and culture.

Skills

California employment law

HR operations

Payroll fundamentals

HRIS (Rippling)

Independent work

Onsite in SF Bay Area

Startup experience

Tools

Rippling

Job description

Recruiter Concierge is assisting a San Francisco-based client in hiring its first dedicated HR professional to build and own the People function. This foundational, highly operational role focuses on onboarding, payroll coordination, compliance, documentation, and benefits administration.

You will partner with leadership, Finance, and external counsel to implement scalable HR processes and programs, with the scope expanding to performance management and culture initiatives as the company grows.