People Operations Manager

Jobtailor; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in San Francisco seeks an experienced People Operations leader to own the end-to-end hiring process, onboarding, benefits, payroll, and HRIS operations. You will partner with managers to design scalable processes, drive compliance across federal and state levels, and build a proactive people agenda in a fast-growing environment.

You’ll shape sourcing across channels, manage vendor relationships, and advise leadership on performance, employee relations, and policy development as the

Qualifications

• Owned hiring rounds end-to-end with managers.
• Personally owned payroll, benefits, onboarding, and visas.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to navigate complexity with honesty.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• 4+ years running people operations at a growing startup or nonprofit.
• Experience recruiting technical or research talent.
• Familiarity with the AI research ecosystem is a plus.
• Experience scaling a people function as the organization grows.
• Comfortable using AI productivity tools, or eager to learn.
• Ability to handle employee-relations work.
• Candidates with less experience may be considered for similar roles.

Responsibilities

• Own the hiring process end-to-end, including candidate communications, scheduling, program management, and funnel analysis
• Shape sourcing strategy across channels, events, partners, and outreach
• Build onboarding that equips new employees during their first week
• Own benefits, payroll, and HRIS operations, including vendor selection and changes
• Establish policies and practices supporting candid feedback, continuous learning, and clear performance expectations
• Advise managers and employees on performance concerns, conflict, feedback, and employee relations
• Manage federal and multi-state employment compliance
• Determine which compliance matters to handle in-house versus escalate to outside counsel and HR providers
• Manage leaves, accommodations, and worker classification risks
• Track visa cases, business licenses, state registrations, required trainings, and postings
• Report directly to the Chief of Staff as the first dedicated People/HR hire
• Design and run people systems while helping define and hire future operations roles

Skills

End-To-End Hiring

People Operations

Employee Relations

Federal Compliance

Onboarding Development

Sourcing Strategy

Tools

HRIS

AI Productivity Tools

Job description

• Own the hiring process end-to-end, including candidate communications, scheduling, program management, and funnel analysis
• Shape sourcing strategy across channels, events, partners, and outreach
• Build onboarding that equips new employees during their first week
• Own benefits, payroll, and HRIS operations, including vendor selection and changes
• Establish policies and practices supporting candid feedback, continuous learning, and clear performance expectations
• Advise managers and employees on performance concerns, conflict, feedback, and employee relations
• Manage federal and multi-state employment compliance
• Determine which compliance matters to handle in-house versus **escalate** to outside counsel and HR providers
• Manage leaves, accommodations, and worker classification risks
• Track visa cases, business licenses, state registrations, required trainings, and postings
• Report directly to the Chief of Staff as the first dedicated People/HR hire
• Design and run people systems while helping define and hire future operations roles

Requirements

• Owned hiring rounds end-to-end alongside hiring managers, with strong foundational HR knowledge
• Personally owned core people operations, including payroll, benefits, onboarding, and visas, and willing to run them hands-on
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to navigate complexity with honesty, care, and discretion
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• 4+ years running people operations, ideally at a growing startup or nonprofit
• Experience recruiting highly sought-after technical or research talent
• Familiarity with the AI research ecosystem is a plus
• Experience scaling a people function as an organization grows
• Comfortable using AI or other productivity tools, or eager to learn
• Willingness to work in an ambiguous, hands-on environment
• Ability to handle employee-relations work
• Candidates with less overall experience or nontraditional backgrounds may be considered for similar roles

Core Competencies

Demonstrates expertise in end-to-end hiring processes, people operations management, and compliance across federal and multi-state regulations. Proficient in onboarding, payroll, benefits administration, and employee relations, with a strong focus on communication and interpersonal skills.

Highest-signal resume keywords

• End-To-End Hiring Management
• People Operations Management
• Employee Relations
• Federal Employment Compliance
• Onboarding Development

Hard Skills

• Payroll Management
• Benefits Administration
• Onboarding
• Visa Management
• Compliance Management
• Funnel Analysis
• Program Management
• Sourcing Strategy
• Performance Management
• Conflict Resolution

Soft Skills

• Interpersonal Skills
• Written Communication
• Verbal Communication
• Discretion
• Navigating Complexity

Industry Keywords

• People Operations
• Employee Relations
• Startup Experience
• Nonprofit Experience
• AI Research Ecosystem

Tools & Technologies

• HRIS
• AI Productivity Tools