People Ops Manager

AENU; Brisbane (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent health, dental and visionIns

FSA option

16 weeks paid parental leave

Generous stock options

Flexible PTO for exempt employees

401(k)

Wellness reimbursement

Education and conference budget

Job summary

Heirloom is seeking a senior HR professional to scale people operations across the full employee lifecycle, compliance, culture, and internal communications. You will take initiative, work independently, and drive improvements as the company scales.

The role requires 7+ years of progressive HR experience, including immigration support and experience building HR processes from scratch. A hands-on leader who embraces AI and automation will thrive in our fast-paced, early-stage environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of progressive HR experience including HRIS, payroll, benefits, and compliance.
• Experience managing employee lifecycle and immigration support.
• Ability to design processes and communicate at company-wide level.

Responsibilities

• Own HR systems and processes—including HRIS administration, payroll coordination, and benefits, leave, and open enrollment administration.
• Ensure full compliance with federal and state employment law, owning required policies, postings, audits, and the employee handbook.
• Own onboarding and offboarding end-to-end, and support performance management cycles, including manager enablement.
• Partner on compensation administration (bands, offers, equity paperwork) and provide light-touch recruiting support as needed.
• Serve as the first point of contact for employee questions, conflicts, and investigations, handling sensitive matters with discretion.
• Design and run engagement and culture initiatives, and coach managers through people issues.
• Own company-wide communications — all-hands content, regular updates, and org announcements — including messaging on sensitive or high-stakes topics.
• Define people ops metrics and report on them to leadership.
• Own or support vendor and tooling contracts adjacent to people ops, and take on ad hoc operational projects as the company scales.

Skills

HRIS management

Payroll administration

Benefits administration

Compliance

Employee lifecycle management

Immigration support

Onboarding and offboarding

Performance management

People operations

Communication

Job description

Why you should join Heirloom

• We are solving the challenge of our generation. Climate change is an existential threat, and we need as many of the world’s motivated minds as possible to help. There is no greater challenge or opportunity than fighting climate change.

• We are a world-class team. We are engineers, scientists, and concerned humans from a variety of backgrounds and experiences who are pooling our knowledge and skills to collectively build a more equitable, prosperous future for all.

• We remain united, resilient, and optimistic. We recognize the magnitude of the challenge ahead of us, yet believe that we can contribute to mitigating the worst effects of climate change. It won’t be easy, but we won’t quit.

About the Role

We are looking for an individual with at least seven years of progressive human resources experience, including HRIS management, employee lifecycle management (including immigration support), compliance, and payroll and benefits administration. This is an opportunity to scale our people operations — spanning the full employee lifecycle, compliance, culture, and internal communications. You take initiative, operate independently, figure things out on your own when you don't know the answer, and improve things when you see they aren't working.

Your responsibilities will be to

• Own HR systems and processes — HRIS administration, payroll coordination, and benefits, leave, and open enrollment administration.

• Ensure full compliance with federal and state employment law, owning required policies, postings, audits, and the employee handbook.

• Own onboarding and offboarding end-to-end, and support performance management cycles, including manager enablement.

• Partner on compensation administration (bands, offers, equity paperwork) and provide light-touch recruiting support as needed.

• Serve as the first point of contact for employee questions, conflicts, and investigations, handling sensitive matters with discretion.

• Design and run engagement and culture initiatives, and coach managers through people issues.

• Own company-wide communications — all-hands content, regular updates, and org announcements — including messaging on sensitive or high-stakes topics.

• Define people ops metrics and report on them to leadership.

• Own or support vendor and tooling contracts adjacent to people ops, and take on ad hoc operational projects as the company scales.

What you will bring

• 7+ years of progressive HR experience, including HRIS management, payroll and benefits administration, compliance, and employee lifecycle management (including immigration support).

• A track record of building HR processes and systems from scratch, not just maintaining what already exists.

• Sound judgment and discretion in handling sensitive, confidential, or high-stakes employee situations.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with comfort drafting company-wide messaging on sensitive topics.

• Comfort operating with ambiguity and wearing multiple hats, as this role may extend beyond core HR into broader generalist operations.

• A bias toward action — you identify what's broken, propose a fix, and drive it to completion without needing detailed direction.

• Familiarity with modern HR tools and a willingness to use AI and automation to increase efficiency and accuracy.

• Genuine interest in Heirloom's mission and comfort with the pace and resourcefulness required at an early-stage company.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

We encourage you to apply if you identify as Black, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Hispanic or Latino, LGBTQ+ – or with any other underrepresented group – even if you don't tick all the boxes in the description below.

Perks and Benefits for Eligible Employees

• Excellent health, dental and vision insurance covered up to 100% by Heirloom. FSA option

• 16 weeks paid parental leave for all Heirloom employees

• Generous stock options

• Flexible PTO for exempt (salaried) employees & 120 hours for full time non-exempt (hourly) employees

• 401(k)

• Monthly health and wellness reimbursement

• Annual education and conference budget

Our Principles

• Radical Honesty. We strive to foster an inclusive environment premised on transparency and respect. We push for excellence, yet always remain thoughtful when challenging each other.

• Persistent Optimism. We show up to work with optimism and don't shy away from a challenge. We recognize that the ambitious nature of our mission requires hopefulness, dedication, and persistence.

• Maximize Learning. Compounding knowledge is our key to victory - we continuously hone our crafts, seek the fastest paths to improve, and are quick to absorb and apply new insights.