Head of Talent & People Strategy

Kastle; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

401(k)

Catered lunches and dinners

Job summary

Kastle, a fast-growing AI-driven fintech company in San Francisco, is hiring its first dedicated Head of People to grow from foundational to strategic. You'll lead sourcing, interview processes, performance management, compensation, and culture initiatives, partnering with the CEO and leadership on all people decisions.

The role demands hands-on leadership, strong coaching, and comfort with ambiguity in a high-growth environment.

Qualifications

• 5–8+ years in People/HR roles at high-growth startups with at least 2 years in leadership.
• Experience scaling HR functions at early-stage companies (50–200 employees).
• Proven design/implementation of people processes (performance management, compensation, onboarding, career frameworks).
• Business partner mindset advising leadership on strategic decisions.
• AI native with experience using Claude Code, Cursor to build sourcing agents.

Responsibilities

• Manage our recruiting team and partner with leadership on hiring strategy and process improvements.
• Own and build a recruiting machine attracting top talent across engineering, product, GTM, deployments, and operations.
• Build and own our people strategy - performance management, compensation, employee development, and culture.
• Partner with leadership on organizational design, headcount planning, and talent decisions.
• Evolve HR policies and benefits programs.
• Design and implement performance management frameworks - goal-setting, reviews, promotion cycles, career development.
• Lead compensation strategy - maintain equitable pay bands, manage equity grants, conduct market benchmarking.
• Drive culture and engagement initiatives - team events, values definition, employee feedback loops, DEI programs.
• Ensure compliance with employment laws across all locations.

Skills

People leadership

Recruiting strategy

Performance management

Compensation frameworks

Employee relations

Coaching managers

Tools

Claude Code

Cursor

Job description

Kastle, a fast-growing AI-driven fintech company in San Francisco, is hiring its first dedicated Head of People to grow from foundational to strategic. You'll lead sourcing, interview processes, performance management, compensation, and culture initiatives, partnering with the CEO and leadership on all people decisions.

The role demands hands-on leadership, strong coaching, and comfort with ambiguity in a high-growth environment.