Founding HR Generalist & People Ops Leader

Product Pulse; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 280,000; Full time

Job summary

Our Client in San Francisco is hiring its first dedicated HR professional to own core HR operations as the company grows. This greenfield role focuses on employee lifecycle management, compliance, and partnering with benefits providers and counsel.

Building strong operational foundations is the immediate priority. You will work hands-on, operate independently, and drive scalable processes with room to grow as the company expands into culture, manager enablement, and employee experience.

Qualifications

• 4–8 years of HR experience, ideally as a first HR hire at a startup.
• Experience at a venture-backed company with ≥$10M funding.
• Based in SF Bay Area and able to work in-person five days a week in Dogpatch.

Responsibilities

• Own the full employee lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding.
• Maintain employment documentation and records, including letters and agreements.
• Serve as the primary internal owner for HR processes with external vendors/counsel.
• Apply California employment law to guide HR decisions, especially in-person workplace rules.
• Partner with Finance on payroll accuracy and compliance.
• Build scalable HR workflows and later expand into broader people programs.

Skills

HRIS fluency (Rippling a plus)

California employment law

Payroll fundamentals

Venture-backed startup experience

Tools

Rippling

Job description

Our Client in San Francisco is hiring its first dedicated HR professional to own core HR operations as the company grows. This greenfield role focuses on employee lifecycle management, compliance, and partnering with benefits providers and counsel.

Building strong operational foundations is the immediate priority. You will work hands-on, operate independently, and drive scalable processes with room to grow as the company expands into culture, manager enablement, and employee experience.