---
title: 'People Operations Generalist at NOX METALS'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/people-operations-generalist-nox-metals-ferndale-mkyz87nf9kfa'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-17'
---

# People Operations Generalist at NOX METALS

- **Company:** NOX METALS
- **Location:** Ferndale
- **Compensation:** $58k–$70k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/nox-metals/4eeec83e-5711-44ed-b5e2-8c77a26141e8

## Job description

About Nox Metals. American factories deserve a supply chain that moves as fast as they do. Nox Metals is building it, along with the tools that run it. We’re a technology company in Metro Detroit supplying aluminum plate, bar, and rounds to aerospace and defense manufacturers. We use software and automation to supply metal to American factories faster than the industry thought possible. The role. We’re hiring a People Operations Generalist to run day-to-day People Ops at our Ferndale facility. You own the employee experience from the signed offer to the last day: offers, onboarding, payroll, employee concerns, records, benefits, offboarding, and site safety support. You’ll be a visible presence on the factory floor and a careful steward of sensitive information. One hour you’re processing payroll, the next you’re welcoming a new hire or helping a supervisor handle a tough conversation the right way. As Nox opens new plants, each site gets its own Generalist, and you’ll help set the standard. Shift hours: Monday through Friday, days, with flexibility to cover early, late, or weekend hours for onboarding and floor support. You will:

- Process payroll for the site every pay period, including timekeeping review, payroll inputs, corrections, and new hire and termination changes
- Prepare offer letters and run preboarding, orientation, paperwork, equipment, and first-week schedules
- Run offboarding: final pay, equipment return, exit paperwork, and system access removal
- Take in employee concerns and complaints, document them carefully, and escalate when needed
- Support site safety: track required training, keep OSHA recordkeeping current, and help with incident reporting
- Maintain complete and accurate employee records, I-9s, and employment documents
- Support benefits enrollment and changes, and answer everyday employee questions
- Explain policies clearly to employees and supervisors, and apply them consistently
- Prepare regular people reports and fix data discrepancies
- Improve forms, checklists, and SOPs as the team grows

You are:

- 2 to 4 years in HR, People Operations, or payroll, including hands-on payroll processing
- Discreet and trustworthy with confidential information
- Precise: payroll is right every time, and you catch errors before they reach a paycheck
- Calm and fair when someone brings you an urgent or personal concern
- Comfortable supporting both factory employees and managers, on the floor and in the office
- A clear communicator who can explain a process without jargon
- Comfortable with HR and payroll software, spreadsheets, and shared documentation

Nice to have:

- ADP experience
- Multi-state payroll experience, especially Michigan and California
- Experience supporting hourly teams in manufacturing, warehousing, or logistics
- OSHA recordkeeping experience or OSHA 10 or 30 certification
- Knowledge of Michigan employment practices
- SHRM-CP or PHR certification
- Comfort using AI tools carefully for administration, analysis, and communications

Pay and benefits:

- $58,000 to $70,000 salary, based on experience
- Equity in Nox Metals
- Company-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance

This role is full time and in person in Ferndale, MI. Nox Metals is an equal opportunity employer. We hire based on skill, attitude, and fit for the work, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, height, weight, marital status, or any other protected status under federal, state, or local law. We will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, and the California Fair Chance Act.

## About NOX METALS

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: NOX METALS is an AI-powered metals supplier that provides instant quotes and rapid delivery of cut-to-size aluminum plate to American manufacturers through vertically integrated, software-driven factories.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage; raised $11.5M seed round per company website, plus $4.6M pre-seed from Y Combinator per LinkedIn – conflicting reports)
- **Headquarters**: Detroit, Michigan, United States (2703 23rd Street, Detroit, MI 48216)
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Zane Hengsperger (Founder & CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Manufacturing, metals processing, industrial supply chain
- **Target customers**: Job shops, OEMs, Tier 1/2/3 suppliers, aerospace, defense, and industrial manufacturers (B2B)
- **Mission**: To reindustrialize America by supplying manufacturers at warp speeds and lower prices, with the goal of enabling 100x more parts made in the USA.

## Products & Services
- **Gondor (Ordering Platform)**: An AI-powered system where customers upload material lists or paste part specs, and the AI parses, prices, and returns a quote in under 60 seconds. Offers real-time order tracking, mill certs, and one-click reordering.
- **Nox Nest (AI Nesting Engine)**: An ML-trained bin-packing solver that evaluates hundreds of thousands of cut combinations to find the optimal path, reducing scrap and creating predictive inventory based on likely future orders.
- **Predictive Inventory**: AI that anticipates what American manufacturers need and stocks material before customers even place an order.
- **AI Schedule**: Machine-learning trained scheduling and job timing to lower lead times.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed (private company)
- **Key Metrics**:
  - Total funding: $11.5M seed round (per company website) plus a $4.6M pre-seed round led by Y Combinator (per LinkedIn/Tracxn)
  - Team size: ~22 (per Y Combinator profile; LinkedIn shows 8 employees but 24 active job postings, suggesting rapid growth)
  - Headcount growth: +27.3% monthly (LinkedIn)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Y Combinator (led pre-seed; Summer 2025 batch), Jared Friedman (Primary Partner at YC)
- **Growth Signals**: Raised $11.5M seed round in 2026; 24 open positions; expanding from aluminum plate/block into steel, tube, and sheet; LinkedIn followers 4,148 with +8.3% monthly growth.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Vertically integrated factories**: NOX builds and operates its own automated cutting facilities, removing middlemen, brokers, and manual scheduling layers.
- **AI-first operations**: ML-driven nesting, scheduling, and inventory prediction deliver quotes in seconds and lead times in days rather than weeks.
- **Lower overhead**: Automation (robots pick, cut, package, label) reduces human bottlenecks, enabling better pricing and faster throughput.
- **Real-time visibility**: Every order tracked from quote to delivery, with mill certifications attached.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current priorities**: Scale the Detroit factory, expand product offerings into steel, tube, and sheet, and continue building out the software platform (Gondor, Nest, AI Schedule).
- **Direction**: Become the fastest and lowest-cost supplier to America’s industrial base by treating the factory as a software product.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Early-stage startup backed by Y Combinator; mission-driven to reindustrialize America; fast-paced environment where software and hardware meet.
- **Work environment**: On-site in Detroit, MI (2703 23rd Street). Roles span software engineering (perception, full-stack), factory operations, shift leads, sales, and IT/SecOps.
- **Perks & highlights**: Opportunity to work with advanced manufacturing technology (AI, robotics, automated cutting lines); competitive salaries ($80K–$150K for engineering roles); direct impact on the supply chain of American manufacturing.
- **Engineering culture**: Emphasis on building automated factories that are “the product” – software engineers work alongside factory operators to optimize real-time production.

## Sources
1. [NOX METALS Website](https://noxmetals.co/)
2. [Y Combinator Company Profile](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/nox-metals)
3. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/noxmetals)
4. [Careers Page (Ashby)](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/nox-metals)

## Other roles at NOX METALS

- [Recruiter](https://feeny.ai/job/recruiter-nox-metals-ferndale-dgj128t2kh6n) — Ferndale
- [Production Supervisor (Weekday 2nd Shift - DET)](https://feeny.ai/job/production-supervisor-weekday-2nd-shift-det-nox-metals-ferndale-j384akngkkkg) — Ferndale
- [Factory Technician (LA)](https://feeny.ai/job/factory-technician-la-nox-metals-los-angeles-ccxhfyjfjte8) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Director of Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-manufacturing-nox-metals-los-angeles-j9hnwe3x6f27) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Operations Trainer](https://feeny.ai/job/operations-trainer-nox-metals-detroit-wpaekh9e021f) — Detroit, MI
- [Production Supervisor (LA)](https://feeny.ai/job/production-supervisor-la-nox-metals-los-angeles-6pjh802z7tcq) — Los Angeles, CA
- [Material Handler (LA)](https://feeny.ai/job/material-handler-la-nox-metals-los-angeles-w3ywe51e1gwk) — Los Angeles, CA
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