Head of Human Systems

Photon; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Photon is seeking a Head of Human Systems to design and own the people and systems that scale as the company grows. You will build the full HR/tools stack, automate where possible, and partner with the executive team on planning and cadence.

You will lead onboarding/offboarding, performance frameworks, and compensation processes, while maintaining a hands-on, systems-minded approach in an in-office NYC setting.

Qualifications

• You’ve built people systems, processes, and ideally a whole function from scratch.
• Hands-on IT/systems fluency: tool selection, access provisioning, and internal automation.
• Experience building processes without established guidelines and scaling at small to mid-size companies.
• Able to work in-office in NYC at least 3 days a week.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the executive team on company-wide planning and priorities, bringing a people-and-systems lens to decisions.
• Build and own the full system for talent acquisition from first touch to offer.
• Own the company's internal tool stack and AI operating system — what tools exist and what gets built or retired.
• Own budgeting and forecasting for people programs, internal tooling, and team activities.
• Own onboarding and offboarding, and the overall day-to-day experience of working at Photon.
• Design and evolve Photon’s approach to feedback and performance as the company grows.

Skills

People systems design

HR systems

IT/systems fluency

Full-cycle recruiting

Automation scripting

Tools

Internal tools development

Automation tooling

Job description

Head of Human Systems

Brooklyn, NYC

People

1 day ago

In office

Full-time

Company Mission

Photon gives patients ownership of prescriptions. Our platform enables clinicians to send prescriptions to patients via text, which saves them time by allowing their patients to shop between pharmacies. The vision is to help consumers save money by increasing transparency.

Who We’re Looking For

You've built people systems, processes, and ideally a whole function from scratch before — not just run one you inherited. But your instincts don't stop at HR: you think in systems generally, and you've done real systems and process work across a business, not just within a people team. You'd rather write a script or prototype a tool than manage another spreadsheet. You bring genuinely unconventional thinking about people and systems: you're not here to replay a playbook from somewhere else, and you're comfortable questioning whether the standard approach is even right for a company like Photon.

You start as an individual contributor, hands‑on in the work itself, and you're motivated by the prospect of building the function — and eventually leading a team — rather than being handed one. You play long-term games: this function will look very different at 150 people than it does today, and you're as comfortable holding that longer‑term vision as you are executing whatever the current stage actually requires.

Every person at Photon is responsible for the culture and vibe we've built here — but you're the one enabling it through systems. Photon should feel as good to work at 80 people as it does at 20, and that doesn't happen by accident at scale; it happens because someone designed for it. And in a moment when plenty of companies are focused on standing up and managing AI agents, your job is the opposite bet and just as important: making sure the humans at Photon are set up to do their best work, with the right systems, tools, and support around them.

Core Responsibilities

• Partner with the executive team on company-wide planning and priorities, bringing a people-and-systems lens to decisions beyond HR
• Build and own the full system for how Photon finds, evaluates, and closes talent — shaping how the company is perceived and experienced by candidates from first touch through offer
• Own the company's internal tool stack and AI operating system — what tools exist, what's enforced, what gets built, bought, or retired
• Own budgeting and forecasting for people programs, internal tooling, and team activities
• Own the rituals and cadence that bring the team together as it grows — from regular team moments to how the company comes together for bigger milestones
• Own onboarding and offboarding, and the overall day-to-day experience of working at Photon
• Design and evolve Photon’s approach to feedback and performance as the company grows — rather than importing a traditional review cycle by default
• Own comp and benefits administration, including plan selection, and leveling execution in partnership with the COO
• Own HR compliance across the states Photon operates in

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years building or running a people function, including experience building one substantially from scratch
• Demonstrated ownership of full-cycle recruiting, not just process administration
• Real, hands‑on IT/systems fluency: tool selection and consolidation, access provisioning, internal automation
• Experience operating without established process, and building it as you go, ideally at a company under ~100 people
• A track record or clear point of view on developing people so they grow and stay, not just onboard and get managed
• Able to work in‑office in NYC at least 3 days a week

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building internal tools yourself, whether through scripting, automation, or no‑code/AI‑assisted platforms
• Background in healthcare or health‑tech
• Prior experience partnering closely with a CEO/COO on company‑wide planning or rhythm of business
• Experience building teams and systems and doing hard operational work outside of a straight HR career path or a traditional startup environment — evidence you can build under real constraints, not just in a familiar playbook

Why Join Us

Photon is reimagining how prescriptions move through the healthcare system—making it simpler, faster, and more transparent for patients, providers, and pharmacies alike. You’ll:

• Own human systems at a company at a real inflection point — post-Series A — and define how the org scales from here
• Work on a problem almost everyone you know has experienced, and help fix a system that's broken in ways most people just accept
• Take on hard problems, with the growth and impact to match — we expect a lot, and we mean it
• Join a team that gives a shit — about the work, about each other, and about doing things the right way. High trust, high standards, and people who actually like spending time together

Our Values

Be a Pizza Rat – We’re ambitious subway dwellers. It’s our slice and we’re not letting go.

Make Rice – We don’t prepare fish until we’ve mastered rice. Quality is in details.

Put it in Orbit – We know success happens well after lift-off. The rocket isn’t our mission.

Seek Buried Treasure – We’re digging in unexpected places. Our adventure has meaning.

Grow in Darkness – We’re thriving amidst forest decay. Our day in the sun will come.

Pay Transparency

The estimated base salary for this role is $180,000 – $210,000 USD annually. Actual compensation will depend on skills, qualifications, and experience, and includes equity and benefits. At our stage, we place significant value on equity as part of total compensation.

Compensation

The base pay range for this role is $180,000 – $210,000 per year.