HR Business Partner San Francisco, CA

Parafin, Inc.; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary Range: $200k - $250k

Equity grant

Unlimited PTO

Work-from-home flexibility

Free lunches

Paid parental leave

401(k)

Employee assistance program

Job summary

Parafin, Inc. is seeking a senior HR Business Partner to join as the second member of the People team, reporting directly to the Head of People.

This individual-contributor role blends hands-on HR operations—onboarding, leave administration, HRIS data integrity, compliance—with high-level strategic work and cross-functional influence as the company scales. You’ll work with leaders to translate priorities into people programs, advise managers on performance and employee relations, and own core HR

Qualifications

• 6+ years of progressive HR experience, ideally at a high-growth startup.
• Demonstrated ability to operate independently as a senior individual contributor.
• Ability to move between administrative execution and strategic HR work.
• Solid working knowledge of employment law and HR compliance (California a plus).
• Discretion handling sensitive employee relations matters and ambiguity.

Responsibilities

• Own onboarding/offboarding, leave administration, HRIS data integrity, and compliance records.
• Drive performance review cycles, calibration, and manager enablement.
• Administer compensation programs and benchmarking support.
• Shape policy development and California employment law compliance.
• Contribute to workforce planning and organizational design as headcount grows.
• Build scalable HR processes to keep pace with growth.

Skills

Communication skills

Independent contributor

HR compliance

Employment law

Ambiguity tolerance

Education

PHR/SHRM-CP certification

Tools

CultureAmp

15Five

Rippling

Job description

At Parafin, we’re on a mission to grow small businesses.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, but traditional banks often don’t have their backs. We build tech that makes it simple for small businesses to access the financial tools they need through the platforms they already sell on.

We partner with companies like DoorDash, Amazon, Worldpay, and Mindbody to offer fast and flexible funding, spend management, and savings tools to their small business users via a simple integration. Parafin takes on all the complexity of capital markets, underwriting, servicing, compliance, and customer service for our partners.

We’re a tight‑knit team of innovators hailing from Stripe, Square, Plaid, Coinbase, Robinhood, CERN, and more — all united by a passion for building tools that help small businesses succeed. Parafin is backed by prominent venture capitalists including GIC, Notable Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and Thrive Capital. Parafin is a Series C company, and we have raised more than $194M in equity and $340M in debt facilities.

Join us in creating a future where every small business has the financial tools they need.

About the Position

We are looking for an HR Business Partner to join Parafin as the second member of our People team, working directly alongside our Head of People to build and run HR at a fast‑growing fintech company. This is an individual‑contributor role with broad, independent ownership: you’ll split your time between hands‑on HR operations – onboarding, leave administration, HRIS data integrity, compliance – and higher‑level strategic work, including performance management, employee relations, and compensation planning. You will operate with significant autonomy and cross‑functional influence, and you will be foundational in helping shape how Parafin’s people practices scale as the company grows.

Are you a versatile, senior HR generalist who’s equally comfortable running payroll‑adjacent logistics and coaching a manager through a hard conversation – without needing a team under you to get it done? Do you want outsized ownership over how a People function is built, not just how it’s maintained? If so, come join us!

Why This Role

As the second hire on the People team, you won’t be slotting into an existing playbook – you’ll help to write it. You’ll work in close partnership with the Head of People across the full HR remit, owning significant scope independently and shaping outcomes through influence rather than formal authority. As Parafin’s People function grows, this role is positioned to grow with it in scope.

What You’ll Be Doing

Partner with the Head of People and business leaders to translate company priorities into people programs and processes

Act as a day‑to‑day advisor to managers on performance, coaching, and employee relations questions, operating independently on all but the most novel or high‑risk situations

Own core HR operations end‑to‑end: onboarding/offboarding, leave administration, HRIS data integrity, and compliance record‑keeping

Drive execution of performance review cycles, including calibration prep and manager enablement

Administer compensation programs, including data hygiene, benchmarking support, and cycle execution

Shape policy development and California employment law compliance

Contribute to workforce planning and organizational design work as the company scales

Build and document scalable processes so that HR infrastructure keeps pace with headcount growth

What We’re Searching For

6+ years of progressive HR experience, ideally including time at a high‑growth startup

Demonstrated track record operating independently as a senior individual contributor – no direct reports required to drive impact

Demonstrated ability to move fluidly between administrative execution and strategic HR work

Solid working knowledge of employment law and HR compliance (California experience a plus)

Sound judgment and discretion handling sensitive employee relations matters

Comfort building processes from scratch and operating with ambiguity

Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to earn trust and influence outcomes at all levels

We Prefer If You Have

Experience in fintech, financial services, or another regulated industry

Hands‑on experience with HRIS or performance platforms (e.g., CultureAmp, 15Five, Rippling)

PHR/SHRM‑CP certification or equivalent

Experience with compensation analysis and planning

Experience helping scale a People function from a very small team

What We Offer

Salary Range: $200k - $250k

Equity grant

Unlimited PTO

Work‑from‑home flexibility

Free lunches

Paid parental leave

401(k)

Employee assistance program

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre‑employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact us.

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