Core Responsibilities- Partner with the executive team on company-wide planning and priorities, bringing a people-and-systems lens to decisions beyond HR
- Build and own the full system for how Photon finds, evaluates, and closes talent - shaping how the company is perceived and experienced by candidates from first touch through offer
- Own the company's internal tool stack and AI operating system - what tools exist, what's enforced, what gets built, bought, or retired
- Own budgeting and forecasting for people programs, internal tooling, and team activities
- Own the rituals and cadence that bring the team together as it grows - from regular team moments to how the company comes together for bigger milestones
- Own onboarding and offboarding, and the overall day-to-day experience of working at Photon
- Design and evolve Photon's approach to feedback and performance as the company grows - rather than importing a traditional review cycle by default
- Own comp and benefits administration, including plan selection, and leveling execution in partnership with the COO
- Own HR compliance across the states Photon operates in
Required Qualifications- 5+ years building or running a people function, including experience building one substantially from scratch
- Demonstrated ownership of full-cycle recruiting, not just process administration
- Real, hands-on IT/systems fluency: tool selection and consolidation, access provisioning, internal automation
- Experience operating without established process, and building it as you go, ideally at a company under ~100 people
- A track record or clear point of view on developing people so they grow and stay, not just onboard and get managed
- Able to work in-office in NYC at least 3 days a week
Preferred Qualifications- Experience building internal tools yourself, whether through scripting, automation, or no-code/AI-assisted platforms
- Background in healthcare or health-tech
- Prior experience partnering closely with a CEO/COO on company-wide planning or rhythm of business
- Experience building teams and systems and doing hard operational work outside of a straight HR career path or a traditional startup environment - evidence you can build under real constraints, not just in a familiar playbook
Pay TransparencyThe estimated base salary for this role is
$180,000 - $210,000 USD annually. Actual compensation will depend on skills, qualifications, and experience, and includes equity and benefits. At our stage, we place significant value on equity as part of total compensation.
CompensationThe base pay range for this role is $180,000 - $210,000 per year.