People Operations Lead at People Culture Talent (San Francisco, CA)People Operations Lead

Note: We are recruiting on behalf of our valued client. This opportunity is for a position with their organization, not with People Culture Talent. We're excited to help connect talented professionals with this exceptional team!

We're hiring a People Operations Lead to help build the foundation for how a fast growing technology company attracts and develops its team. This is a rare opportunity to join at a stage where many of the most important people programs are still being defined. You'll work closely with leadership to create systems that scale, guide managers through critical people decisions, and shape the employee experience from the ground up. Reporting to the Head of People, you'll be the second dedicated People hire and a key partner in building a thoughtful, high performing organization. Success in this role requires someone who can move comfortably between strategic initiatives and hands on execution, bringing structure where it's needed without creating unnecessary process. If you're energized by building, enjoy solving people challenges in real time, and want meaningful ownership over how a company grows, we'd love to connect.

• People Program Design — Build and evolve foundational programs including onboarding, performance management, compensation, career development, and other initiatives that support company growth.
• Manager & Leadership Partnership — Serve as a trusted advisor to leaders, providing guidance on team effectiveness, organizational design, employee relations, and people decisions.
• Organizational Scaling — Create lightweight systems and processes that improve consistency while preserving speed and flexibility.
• Culture & Employee Experience — Help shape an environment where employees can do their best work, driving initiatives that strengthen engagement, communication, and team health.
• HR Operations & Compliance — Ensure the fundamentals are operating smoothly, from policies and documentation to compliance and employee lifecycle management.
• Workforce Planning — Partner with leadership on headcount planning, organizational structure, and evolving team needs.
• People Infrastructure — Identify gaps before they become bottlenecks, building the frameworks and tools needed to support a growing organization.

• 6+ years of experience building People programs in an early stage or high growth environment where adaptability and execution mattered as much as expertise.
• Strong HR business partnering skills and the ability to translate business goals into practical people strategies.
• Sound judgment when navigating sensitive employee situations, balancing empathy with accountability.
• A builder's mindset. You enjoy creating systems from scratch and improving them as the organization evolves.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and making progress without waiting for perfect information.
• A practical approach to People Operations that focuses on outcomes rather than process for process's sake.
• Familiarity with modern AI tools and a curiosity about how technology can improve internal workflows is a plus.

• Build, Don't Inherit — You'll have a direct hand in creating the programs, systems, and practices that will shape the company's future.
• Meaningful Influence — This role sits close to leadership, giving you visibility into key decisions and the opportunity to influence how the organization grows.
• Broad Scope — You'll work across strategy, operations, employee experience, and organizational effectiveness rather than being confined to a single area of HR.
• A Defining Growth Stage — The company has established a strong foundation and is investing in the people infrastructure needed to support its next chapter.

The starting salary for this role is $170,000, with a range up to $275,000 USD. The provided salary depends on many factors, such as work experience and transferable skills, business needs and impact, and market demands.

This fast growing AI infrastructure startup is helping define how advanced AI systems are evaluated and understood in real world settings. Their platform helps researchers, developers, and organizations better understand how AI systems perform in real world settings through large scale human feedback, benchmarking, and evaluation. With over a million daily users and the trust of every major AI lab — including OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic — the platform has become a go to resource for understanding AI model performance and capabilities. Behind the platform is a team of researchers, engineers, and builders from leading technology companies and research institutions, united by a commitment to rigorous thinking, craftsmanship, and meaningful impact. Operating at the center of the AI ecosystem, the company works closely with many of the organizations shaping the future of artificial intelligence. This is an opportunity to join a mission driven team tackling some of the most important challenges in AI, with the chance to contribute to technology that is used and trusted by millions around the world.