---
title: 'People Operations Lead at Kernel'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/people-operations-lead-kernel-san-francisco-36zypgj3wh8s'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-01'
---

# People Operations Lead at Kernel

- **Company:** Kernel
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-20
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-01
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/usekernel/84088283-b254-4f2a-b79f-c1a887b58478

## Job description

## About Kernel

Kernel provides crazy fast, open source infrastructure for AI agents to use the internet. Our API allows developers to instantly spin up secure browsers and automate anything on the web. We handle all the hard problems of running browser-based agents in production: agents x user credentials, autoscaling, bot detection, and human-in-the-loop workflows. We’re used by teams at Cash App, Vercel, Framer, Rye, and over 5000 developers for tasks like QA automation, RPA, virtual assistants, and CUA RL environments. We've raised $22M from Accel, YCombinator, Vercel, Paul Graham, Solomon Hykes (Docker), David Cramer (Sentry), Charlie Marsh (Astral), and more.

## About the role

Kernel is making its first People team hire: an experienced generalist who will own HR and people operations end-to-end for a ~30-person team across San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati, and remote. This is a hands-on, individual contributor role. You’ll run the day-to-day yourself, including onboarding, payroll, benefits, compliance, and employee relations, and build systems appropriate for our stage and then scale them as the team grows. You’ll work closely with the recruiting team on offers and onboarding.

## What you'll do

- Own the employee lifecycle from signed offer to offboarding, including onboarding, I-9s, equipment, and policy acknowledgments
- Run payroll and benefits administration in our HRIS and payroll systems, including our 401(k)
- Keep us compliant across states (CA, NY, OH, and anywhere remote teammates live) including registrations, state-mandated benefits, and required trainings
- Build just enough playbooks and structure: handbook, leveling, comp bands, and a lightweight performance and feedback cycle
- Be a trusted resource for employees and managers on policies, benefits, and employee relations
- Help shape culture across offices: team rituals, offsites, and how we work as we grow
- Use AI and automation to handle the busywork so you can focus on the work that needs a human

## What we're looking for

- 4+ years in people operations or HR, ideally as an early people/HR hire at a high-growth startup
- Hands-on experience running payroll, benefits, and an HRIS (Rippling a plus)
- Working knowledge of multi-state US employment compliance
- Strong judgment and discretion with sensitive topics
- A builder's mindset: you know when process helps and when it gets in the way
- Startup experience: you've built fast, worn multiple hats, and figured things out without a playbook
- Excited to grow into building a team as Kernel scales

Hiring process

- 30-min intro call with our Chief of Staff
- 30-min conversation with our CEO
- On-site interviews (can do video conference as needed), including a 60-minute working session to walk through a few realistic scenarios
- Offer!

## About Kernel

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Kernel builds crazy fast, open-source infrastructure for AI agents to access and interact with the internet using cloud-hosted browsers.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series A)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, United States
- **Founded**: 2025
- **Founders**: Rafael Garcia (Co-Founder & CEO) and Catherine Jue (Co-Founder & CTO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: AI Infrastructure / Developer Tools / Browser Automation
- Target customers: B2B – engineering teams building web agents, browser automations, and AI applications (trusted by Cash App, Framer, Rye, and 3,000+ teams)
- Mission or purpose: To make cloud infrastructure 100x better by providing well-designed, opinionated tooling that unlocks superpowers for the next generation of AI applications.

## Products & Services
- **Kernel Browser API**: An API to instantly launch sandboxed, cloud-based Chromium browsers in under 30ms (cold start) with sub-150ms cold starts on managed headful browsers. Supports headless, stealth, GPU, and profile modes. Integrates with Playwright, Puppeteer, Browser Use, and Computer Use frameworks.
- **Stealth Mode**: Built-in residential proxies and automatic CAPTCHA solving for web agents.
- **Observability Suite**: Session recording (live view), video replays (MP4), full logs, and screenshots for debugging.
- **Agent Runtime (App Platform)**: A serverless compute service to deploy and invoke agent loops on demand or via scheduled events, co-located with browsers to minimize latency.
- **Auth & Session Management**: Persistent sessions that maintain cookies and auth across invocations; managed authentication for agents.
- **Open-Source SDKs & Tools**: `kernel-images` (Go, 924 stars), `hypeman` (multi-hypervisor VM runtime), `kernel-mcp-server` (MCP server for browser automation), CLI, and Node SDK.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$22M** (Series A led by Accel, backed by Y Combinator S25 batch)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Accel, Y Combinator (S25), Tyler Bosmeny (Primary Partner at YC). Trusted by Cash App, Framer, Rye, and 3,000+ teams.
- **Growth Signals**: Raised $22M in Series A shortly after founding in 2025; Y Combinator batch S25; trusted by major fintech and design platforms; open-source repos gaining traction (kernel-images at 924 stars); team growing from 6 to ~15 employees rapidly.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Performance Moat**: Sub-30ms browser spin-ups and sub-150ms cold starts on managed browsers – significantly faster than competitors.
- **Open-Source Core**: Transparent, community-driven development with 61 public repos, fostering trust and adoption.
- **Full-Stack Observability**: Live view, video replays, and logs built-in from day one – not an afterthought.
- **Stealth & Compliance**: Built-in residential proxies, auto-CAPTCHA solving, SOC 2 compliant, and HIPAA-ready.
- **Founder-Market Fit**: CEO Rafael Garcia was co-founder/CTO of Clever (YC S12, exited for $500M), bringing deep infrastructure and scaling experience. CTO Catherine Jue was co-founder of Sway Finance (YC S16) and led Cash App’s forward-deployed engineering team.

## Strategic Focus
- Scaling the browser infrastructure platform to support more AI agent frameworks and use cases
- Expanding the open-source ecosystem and developer community
- Building out the agent runtime platform for serverless deployment
- Deepening enterprise partnerships and compliance certifications
- Growing the engineering team to accelerate product development

## Why Work Here
- **Early-stage impact**: Join a well-funded Series A startup (15 employees) backed by top-tier investors – opportunity to shape the product and culture from an early stage
- **Founding team pedigree**: Work alongside founders who have built and exited a $500M company (Clever) and led engineering at Cash App
- **Technical challenges**: Build cutting-edge infrastructure for AI agents – browser virtualization, stealth proxies, serverless compute, and observability at scale
- **Open-source culture**: 61 public repos, active community engagement, and commitment to transparent development
- **Work environment**: In-office culture based in San Francisco (4 locations in the US), with a focus on well-designed tooling and developer experience
- **Perks**: Competitive compensation at a well-funded startup; perks and benefits typical of an early-stage YC company (details available on Built In)
- **Current openings**: Infrastructure Engineer, Product Engineer, Backend Engineer, DevRel Engineer, Solutions Engineer, Customer Engineer – indicating strong growth and diverse team needs

## Sources
1. [Y Combinator – Kernel Profile](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/kernel)
2. [GitHub – Kernel Organization](http://github.com/kernel)
3. [Kernel Documentation](https://www.kernel.sh/docs)
4. [StartupHub.ai – Usekernel Profile](https://www.startuphub.ai/startups/usekernel)
5. [Built In – Kernel Jobs & Careers](https://builtin.com/company/kernel-kernel-sh/jobs)

## Other roles at Kernel

- [Technical Content Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-content-engineer-kernel-san-francisco-jx6jjsh5dqnm) — San Francisco, CA
- [Account Executive](https://feeny.ai/job/account-executive-kernel-san-francisco-7h92f9x7djp1) — San Francisco, CA
- [Solutions Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/solutions-engineer-kernel-san-francisco-ktmzc02qgxvg) — San Francisco, CA
- [Browser Security Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/browser-security-engineer-kernel-san-francisco-68rz5wz2dyyp) — San Francisco, CA
- [Developer Advocate](https://feeny.ai/job/developer-advocate-kernel-san-francisco-4x6qjb4k8rk1) — San Francisco, CA
- [DevRel Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/devrel-engineer-kernel-san-francisco-av6mcvxrf9xm) — San Francisco, CA
- [Product Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/product-engineer-kernel-san-francisco-ycshr9gtzsnc) — San Francisco, CA
- [Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/infrastructure-engineer-kernel-san-francisco-dekqe8rkd7gy) — San Francisco, CA
- [People Operations Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/people-operations-lead-atlas-new-york-n3y55dsejqkd) — New York, NY
- [People Operations Lead](https://feeny.ai/job/people-operations-lead-juicebox-san-francisco-e892sg0dazr5) — San Francisco, CA