People Operations Manager

Noeri; Palo Alto (CA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Noeri in the Bay Area is seeking a People Operations Manager to build the foundation that helps a small, growing team scale without losing the culture that makes it work. You will own onboarding, HR operations, and the employee experience from first conversation through ongoing support, payroll accuracy, and policy development.

You will implement scalable systems, partner with outside counsel on visa matters, manage benefits and payroll platforms, and ensure compliance across California and

Qualifications

• Experience in People Operations or HR at an early-stage startup.
• Hands-on payroll and benefits administration.
• Knowledge of California employment law.
• Ability to own outcomes and build systems.
• Excellent written communication with high attention to detail.
• Based in the Bay Area and able to be in Palo Alto office at least three days a week.

Responsibilities

• Own onboarding end to end from offer to first weeks.
• Run HR operations: payroll, benefits, leave, records.
• Manage HR, payroll, benefits platforms and data accuracy.
• Keep us compliant with employment law across California and other states.
• Draft and maintain offers, policies, and employee handbook.
• Coordinate recruiting logistics and candidate communication.
• Support visa and immigration processes with outside counsel.
• Handle offboarding with care.
• Plan team events and celebrations.
• Act as a confidential point of contact for employee questions.

Skills

Payroll

HR systems

CA employment law

Onboarding

Recruiting coordination

Tools

Rippling

Gusto

Justworks

Job description

We are a small and growing team of researchers, engineers, and builders focused on pushing the frontier of what agents are capable of. We believe the next leap in agent performance will come not from bigger general models, but from specialization and continual learning: agents that get better at their specific job the more they do it. We build the systems that make this possible, turning real-world usage into lasting improvement.

Summary

We are looking for a People Operations Manager to build the foundation that lets a small, talented team grow without losing what makes it work. You will own onboarding, HR operations, and the employee experience, from someone’s first conversation with us through their whole time here. You will be the person who makes sure people are set up well, paid correctly, and supported, and who builds the systems we’ll need before we need them.

Responsibilities

• Own new hire onboarding end to end, from offer acceptance and pre-start setup through the first weeks, so every new teammate starts productive and well supported.
• Run HR operations, including payroll, benefits enrollment, leave, and employee records.
• Manage the HR, payroll, and benefits platforms and vendors, and keep data accurate across them.
• Keep us compliant with employment law across California and any other states where we hire, including filings, postings, and required trainings.
• Draft and maintain offer letters, policies, and an employee handbook that fits a small, fast-moving team.
• Coordinate recruiting logistics: scheduling interviews, managing candidate communication, and keeping the hiring process organized and responsive.
• Support visa and immigration processes with outside counsel.
• Handle offboarding with care and consistency.
• Plan team events, off‑sites, and celebrations that strengthen how the team works together.
• Act as a trusted, confidential point of contact for employee questions and concerns, and escalates thoughtfully when needed.

Qualifications

• Experience in People Operations, HR, or a comparable role, ideally at an early-stage startup.
• Hands‑on experience with payroll, benefits administration, and HR platforms such as Rippling, Gusto, or Justworks.
• Working knowledge of California employment law and HR compliance.
• A track record of owning outcomes rather than waiting for instructions.
• Strong judgment, discretion, and care when handling sensitive information about people.
• Excellent written communication and a high bar for detail.
• Comfort with ambiguity and with building systems that don’t exist yet.
• Based in the Bay Area and able to be in our Palo Alto office at least three days a week.

Nice to Have

• Experience scaling a company through early hiring, such as growing a team from 10 to 50 people.
• Experience supporting immigration and visa processes for technical hires.
• Familiarity with basic AI and operations tools.
• Interest in AI and in the work the team is doing.