Founding Senior HR Generalist / People Operations Lead

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 is hiring its first dedicated HR professional to own and strengthen core HR operations as the company continues to grow. This is a greenfield opportunity to bring clear ownership and scalable processes to a function currently shared across Operations and the business. The role is hands-on and execution-focused. You will own the day-to-day HR function, with emphasis on employee lifecycle management, compliance, and effective partnership with benefits providers and employment counsel. Building strong operational foundations is the immediate priority. Once fundamentals are in place, there is an appetite to expand into broader people initiatives such as culture, manager enablement, and employee experience. The right person is comfortable operating independently, enjoys bringing order to complexity, and is excited to be the first HR hire with meaningful ownership and room to grow as the company grows.

About the Role

Our Client is hiring its first dedicated HR professional to own and strengthen core HR operations as the company continues to grow. This is a greenfield opportunity to bring clear ownership and scalable processes to a function currently shared across Operations and the business. The role is hands-on and execution-focused. You will own the day-to-day HR function, with emphasis on employee lifecycle management, compliance, and effective partnership with benefits providers and employment counsel. Building strong operational foundations is the immediate priority. Once fundamentals are in place, there is an appetite to expand into broader people initiatives such as culture, manager enablement, and employee experience. The right person is comfortable operating independently, enjoys bringing order to complexity, and is excited to be the first HR hire with meaningful ownership and room to grow as the company grows.

What You'll Own

• Own the full employee lifecycle: onboarding end to end (equipment, accounts, orientation, first-week experience), role changes, offboarding, and terminations
• Maintain employment documentation and records, including offer letters, employment agreements, and separation materials
• Keep Rippling clean, current, and accurate as the source of truth
• Serve as the primary internal owner for HR processes, including when working with external vendors and outside counsel
• Apply working knowledge of California employment law to guide HR decisions, especially around in-person workplace requirements
• Handle employee transitions, terminations, and severance with consistency, care, and sound judgment
• Serve as the go-to owner for benefits administration (health, retirement) and manage relationships with brokers and providers
• Partner closely with Finance, and sometimes take the lead, on payroll accuracy and compliance
• Build and document HR workflows that scale with the business, introducing structure where processes are currently informal or evolving
• As the function matures, take on broader people programs (performance management, manager enablement, employee experience)

Requirements

Must-Have

• Experience at a venture-backed company with ≥$10M in funding. This experience should ideally be the candidate's most recent role
• 4-8 years of HR experience. Flexibility for candidates whose early career was in office management or recruiting coordination before moving into HR.
• Prior experience as a first or second HR hire at a Series A or B, venture-backed startup. One-of-one or one-of-two ownership is the signal.
• California employment law fluency, with familiarity with in-person workplace considerations.
• Strong HRIS fluency (Rippling a plus) and ability to keep the system clean as the source of truth.
• Strong understanding of payroll fundamentals, with experience partnering with or leading payroll providers.
• Demonstrated experience handling employee transitions, terminations, and severance in a thoughtful, compliant way.
• Comfortable being the primary HR owner in a fast-moving environment, with the discernment to bring in counsel or partners when the stakes require it.
• Based in the SF Bay Area and willing to work in-person 5 days a week in Dogpatch.

Nice-to-Have

• Rippling specifically
• Experience supporting a significant sales team (OTE, accelerators, multipliers, commission complexity)
• Multi-state or international employment exposure
• Experience building or supporting performance management processes
• Prior exposure to broader People Ops work (manager enablement, engagement, culture programs)