People Lead for AI-Driven HR & Operations

River AI; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 380,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

River AI in Palo Alto is hiring its first People Lead to own HR, payroll, benefits, insurance, and operations. You will set up and run these systems and continually improve them as we grow.

You will shape the employee experience from day one and have the opportunity to deploy AI to automate repetitive tasks, reducing manual work and enabling meaningful, high-impact work across the company.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in HR and People ops at a startup or scale-up.
• Proficient with Rippling HRIS and related platforms.
• Able to handle sensitive information discreetly and build trust.
• Passionate about technology and AI to streamline work.

Responsibilities

• Own HR operations end-to-end: HRIS, onboarding/offboarding, benefits administration, employee records.
• Run payroll operations end-to-end, including benefits-payroll integration and invoicing.
• Own insurance and benefits programs, sourcing providers and comparing quotes.
• Coordinate with Legal and IT on compliance activities.
• Engage with EORs, contractors, and consultants.
• Build employee training, policies, and norms for an AI-native workplace.
• Handle sensitive matters with professionalism and sound judgment.
• Oversee workspace/real estate: leases, setup, utilities, security, vendors.
• Support office events and team meetings.
• Identify recurring problems and implement better processes and AI tooling.

Skills

HR operations

HRIS experience

Payroll administration

Benefits administration

Compliance

Vendor management

Training & policies

Data handling

Communication

Organizational judgment

Hands-on troubleshooting

AI tooling

On-site work

Tools

Rippling

Equity platforms (Carta)

Job description

River AI in Palo Alto is hiring its first People Lead to own HR, payroll, benefits, insurance, and operations. You will set up and run these systems and continually improve them as we grow.

You will shape the employee experience from day one and have the opportunity to deploy AI to automate repetitive tasks, reducing manual work and enabling meaningful, high-impact work across the company.