People Operations Manager

OfferGenie

New York (NY)

Hybrid

USD 120,000 - 180,000

Full time

14 days+

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Benefits offered by this job

Health & Insurance

Family & Time Off

Office & Remote Setup

Wellness Benefits

Stipends

Job summary

Kaizen, based in New York City, is scaling its back-office and people operations. You will own onboarding, payroll, benefits, compliance, and equity administration, while partnering with leadership to optimize processes across the employee lifecycle.

The role requires a hands-on operator who can drive scalable people programs in a fast-growing environment. The position emphasizes cross-functional collaboration with finance, recruiting, and executive leadership, plus a focus on thoughtful,

Qualifications

4+ years of experience in People Operations, HR Operations, or related program management roles
Experience at scaling startups with minimal HR headcount
Hands-on fluency with core People Ops tools (Gusto or Rippling, Carta, PEOs, compliance platforms)
Ownership mentality: run a back-office function end-to-end
Comfort collaborating across people, finance and admin functions
Clear, direct communicator for sensitive conversations
Fluency with AI tools as part of workflow to move faster and scale processes

Responsibilities

Own onboarding and offboarding end-to-end with letters, verification, background checks, tools provisioning and exit processes
Run payroll operations and ensure accurate, timely payroll runs
Manage the benefits program including open enrollment and vendor coordination
Own people compliance across active states and ensure regulatory filings
Oversee employee engagement and feedback loops across a distributed team
Support performance management cycles and keep feedback loops efficient
Coordinate office events, branding activities, and team outings
Lead future office relocation efforts and space buildouts
Administer equity in Carta and manage option grants with CoS/Finance
Partner with COO and Recruiting on headcount planning and compensation frameworks
Collaborate with Recruiting on candidate experience and ATS hygiene
Leverage AI tools to automate workflows and communications

Skills

Onboarding & offboarding

Payroll operations

Benefits administration

Compliance management

People ops tooling

Employee engagement

Performance management

Office/events coordination

Equity administration

Cross-functional collaboration

AI tooling fluency

Tools

Gusto or Rippling

Carta

PEOs (Sequoia or equivalent)

Vanta

Mosey

AbstractOps

Job description

Government technology has failed the public for decades, and Americans have been conditioned to expect websites from the 90s for essential public services.

Kaizen exists to strengthen trust in American public services by building technology that residents and public servants are proud to use. We partner with local, state, and federal agencies to replace legacy systems with modern, AI-native software that is worthy of the people they serve. We started in outdoor recreation, and now we're building toward something much larger — the software layer that powers how Americans access any government service.

Our platform reaches 55 million Americans across 50+ agencies. Our goal: build technology that touches the lives of 100 million residents by the end of the year.

Founded in 2022 and based in New York City, Kaizen has raised $35 million from NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital. We're builders, designers, and operators who believe that beautifully designed software shouldn't be a luxury in government. It's how you earn trust back.

THE ROLE

The Kaizen team is growing and the back-office and people infrastructure that got us here (onboarding, payroll, benefits, compliance, office ops) is ready to scale. This is the first dedicated People Operations hire at Kaizen. You'll take ownership of the function, build the processes that grow with the company, and be the person employees and managers turn to across every stage of the employee lifecycle.

WHAT YOU'LL DO

Own onboarding and offboarding end-to-end: offer letters, I-9 verification, background checks, tools provisioning, system access setup, HM coordination, 30/60/90 check-in process, and a clean, documented exit process every time
Run payroll operations - adding new employees, processing changes, troubleshooting issues, and ensuring every run is accurate and on time
Manage the benefits program day-to-day: open enrollment, carrier coordination, employee questions, a potential PEO migration, stipend maintenance, usage tracking, and feedback loops
Own people compliance across all active states: SOS registrations, unemployment insurance, quarterly and annual filings, employee records, handbook maintenance, and working fluency with tools like Mosey, Corpnet, and AbstractOps
Own employee engagement including pulse surveys, feedback initiatives, and sentiment tracking across a distributed team. Surface themes to leadership and turn feedback into actionable improvements
Support performance management cycles: mid-year and end-of-year reviews, manager check-ins, scorecard coordination, and keeping feedback loops tight without adding unnecessary process
Coordinate and manage office gatherings, employer branding events, and more intimate team outings
Spearhead future office relocation efforts including broker relationships, touring spaces, coordinating buildouts, and ensuring seamless move-in processes
Administer equity in Carta, partnering with the CoS and Finance on option grants, termination processing, and cap table hygiene
Partner with COO and Recruiting Lead on headcount planning, leveling, and compensation frameworks
Partner with Recruiting Lead on candidate experience and recruiting operations including interview coordination, offer letter workflows, ATS hygiene, and keeping the recruiting-to-people handoff clean
Use AI tools actively to automate repetitive workflows, draft communications, and build more scalable processes — this is an expectation, not a nice-to-have

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

4+ years of experience in People Operations, HR Operations, or related program management roles
Experience at one or more scaling startups where you operated without a full HR team behind you
Hands‑on fluency with the core People Ops toolset: Gusto or Rippling, Carta, PEOs such as Sequoia or equivalent, and compliance platforms like Vanta, Mosey, or AbstractOps
Ownership mentality: you've run a people ops or back-office function yourself, not just supported someone who did
Comfort operating across people, finance, and admin functions without needing clean lane boundaries — this role crosses all three
Clear, direct communicator who can navigate sensitive employee and manager conversations with judgment and empathy
Fluency with AI tools as a genuine part of your workflow. you use them to move faster, write better, and build processes that don't require headcount to scale

STRONG CANDIDATES MAY ALSO...

Have supported or led a PEO migration
Have familiarity with federal contracting compliance from a people/HR perspective
Have worked with SOC 2 or similar security frameworks in a people ops context

DON'T APPLY IF...

You've only worked in large orgs with a full HR team.
You're a strategist who hands off execution. At Kaizen, you define the process and then you run it.
You can't get excited about the mission. The agencies on our platform serve tens of millions of people. The infrastructure you build here matters to them.
You need a detailed ticket to know what to work on next
You get overwhelmed when the path forward isn't clear
You think AI tools are a productivity gimmick rather than a core part of how modern operators work

WHAT KAIZEN OFFERS

Health & Insurance

100% coverage across the board: medical through Oxford/United (Gold and Platinum PPO plans), dental through Guardian PPO, and vision through Beam — all fully covered for employees, with 100% coverage for dependents.
$100,000 in fully paid life insurance. FSA and Dependent Care FSA.
One Medical membership, on us — same-day primary care, 24/7 virtual visits, and offices all over the city.
Fertility and family-building support through Carrot.
401(k) through Guideline, with a 2% company match.

Family & Time Off

16 weeks of fully paid parental leave for birthing parents. 10 weeks fully paid for non-birthing parents.
Unlimited PTO, with a two-week minimum (we mean it when we say take time off!)
Closed for all federal holidays.
Company-wide winter break the week of Christmas.
Company offsites throughout the year.

Office & Remote Setup

Up to $750 one-time home office or desk setup stipend for NYC-based employees. $500 for remote employees.
$50/month commuter benefit (company contribution).
Expensed lunch while in the office.
Company-provided laptop of your choice.

Wellness

Fully covered gym membership at Grindhouse https://grindhousemhttn.com/ — right across the street from our office at 47 W 17th St (and in Williamsburg). A $225/month value, on us. For remote employees, $100/month dedicated to gym or physical fitness reimbursement.

Stipends