People Operations Lead — Build HR for a fast-growing startup

Kernel; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Kernel is hiring its first People team member to own HR and people operations end-to-end for a ~30-person team across San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati, and remote.

This is a hands-on IC role handling onboarding, payroll, benefits, compliance, and employee relations, building scalable systems, and partnering with the recruiting team on offers and onboarding.

You will shape culture, craft playbooks, and use AI to streamline busywork as Kernel grows.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in people operations or HR
• Hands-on payroll and benefits experience
• Working knowledge of multi-state US employment compliance
• Startup experience and a builder's mindset
• Experience developing policies, handbook and comp bands
• Ability to scale processes as the team grows

Responsibilities

• Own the employee lifecycle from onboarding to offboarding
• Run payroll and benefits administration in HRIS and payroll systems
• Maintain compliance across states and registrations
• Build playbooks: handbook, leveling, comp bands, feedback cycle
• Be a trusted advisor on policies, benefits, and employee relations
• Shape culture across offices and remote teams
• Leverage AI/automation to streamline busywork

Skills

People operations

Payroll & Benefits

HRIS

Multi-state compliance

Startup experience

Policy development

Job description

Kernel is hiring its first People team member to own HR and people operations end-to-end for a ~30-person team across San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati, and remote.

This is a hands-on IC role handling onboarding, payroll, benefits, compliance, and employee relations, building scalable systems, and partnering with the recruiting team on offers and onboarding.

You will shape culture, craft playbooks, and use AI to streamline busywork as Kernel grows.