Location: San Francisco or Remote
Contract Type: FTE
Compensation: up to c$220,000 + stock options
A category-defining enterprise AI company is looking for its first dedicated People Operations hire. Founded in late 2024 and already valued at $1.2 billion, this company has raised $200M+ across a seed and Series A round in under 18 months - one of the most compelling AI launches in recent memory.
The founding team comes from one of the world's most respected AI research institutions, and the investor roster reflects the calibre of what's being built: tier one VC's, alongside angel investors who are founders and CEOs of Perplexity and other top technology companies. The company also holds a strategic go-to-market partnership with AWS and has already signed seven-figure contracts with Fortune 100 enterprises - all within its first year of operation.
The role
This is a foundational hire at a company with serious growth ambitions - and the infrastructure to match them. The People Ops function is being built from scratch, with a clear mandate: design it automation-first and make it best-in-class from day one.
Two additional People Ops hires are planned in the near term, meaning this person will move into a team lead position over the course of this year. This is not a solo operator role for long - it's the start of a function.
The company wants every employee - whether fully remote or in-office - to have an exceptional experience at every stage of their lifecycle, from the moment they sign an offer to the day they offboard. That means building and owning the systems, tooling, and processes that make that possible: onboarding and offboarding workflows, multi-geo payroll and compliance, benefits, levelling frameworks, and company-wide SOPs.
A core part of the remit is HR technology: evaluating, implementing, and integrating the right tools so that the stack works as a cohesive whole rather than a collection of disconnected point solutions. Equally important is data integrity - ensuring the company has access to clean, accurate, real-time HR data that can genuinely inform smart people decisions as headcount scales.
The goal is a People Ops function that punches well above its weight: lean, highly automated, and capable of supporting a much larger number of employees without a proportional increase in headcount. It reports into the Head of Operations today, with a natural path toward a future Head of People Operations as the function matures.
What's needed
- Senior People Ops or People Tech background at a fast-scaling tech company
- Hands-on automation builder (n8n, Make, or equivalent)
- Multi-geo payroll and employment compliance, including international entities, EOR providers, and visa/relocation management
- Strong HR tech stack knowledge; Rippling, Ashby and Deel experience is an advantage
- Systems-first mindset: map the process, then build it; automate before hiring
- High EQ, direct communication, and genuine attention to detail
What's on offer
Competitive salary and equity, comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision), 401K, paid parental leave, and relocation support where relevant.
Location
They have a San Francisco office, but a large concentration of fully remote employees spread across the US, Europe and the Middle East. Their primary objective is hiring the absolute best individual into this role, meaning if that person requires the opportunity to work fully remotely that will be accommodated.
To be considered for this position, please apply via this advert as opposed to sending a direct message to anyone at Hawkwood, purely to ensure your application is processed through our established funnel.