About this roleWe're looking for a People & Talent Operations Manager to own the full people function at Highbeam. This is a hands-on role: you'll run the day-to-day across people operations, recruiting coordination, payroll, and compliance, refining the processes and controls we already have in place and bringing more rigor to them as the team grows. You'll help sharpen the policies that govern how we run by enforcing and embedding them into our internal AI agents, flag exceptions, and surface issues before they hit the team.
This role is based in our Toronto office.
What you'll doPeople Operations- Run payroll, contractor payments, and bonus cycles across the US and Canada, sharpening the cycles we already operate
- Own employee onboarding end-to-end: offer letters, I-9s, payroll setup, and option grant coordination with outside counsel
- Manage employee lifecycle transitions (onboarding, role changes, offboarding) with care and professionalism
- Administer 401(k), parental leave, and other benefits programs, refining enrollment and rollover workflows as we grow
- Review and process employee expenses in line with company policy, tightening controls where they're loose
- Maintain and iterate on HR policies and employment contracts as the team scales
- Stay ahead of state, federal, and tax compliance (multi-state payroll, business registrations, insurance), modernizing the controls that protect the company
Recruiting- Own the candidate experience from first touch to offer, ensuring every interaction reflects the Highbeam brand
- Own the ATS: maintain job postings, manage candidate pipelines with hiring managers, and keep hiring moving efficiently
- Coordinate recruiting logistics including onsite schedules, candidate communications, and follow-up with external recruiters
- Manage agency relationships, including contracts and payments
- Source candidates directly, building out our pipeline for key roles
Qualifications- 3 - 5 years in people operations, HR, business operations, or a related cross-functional role, ideally at a startup or high-growth company
- Experience running multi-jurisdiction payroll (US and Canada for us)
- Comfortable working with employment lawyers, payroll tools, and ATS tools (Ashby a plus)
- High attention to detail and discretion with sensitive information; pragmatic about when to keep things simple
- Self-directed; you can identify what needs to get done without being told
- Excellent communication skills, especially around sensitive topics like compensation and compliance
- Experience supporting H-1B or other immigration processes is a plus
- Familiarity with Canadian employment law and ROE filings is a bonus
- Interest in using AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT, or similar) to encode policies, build agentic workflows, and automate operational work is a plus
You'll thrive at Highbeam if...- You love working in-person with a high-performing team
- You enjoy working in an idea-meritocratic, low-ego environment
- You are proactive and self-directed, and you excel in ambiguous, fast moving environments
- You care about delivering a polished customer experience
- Bonus: You have experience working in fintech, AI or early-stage startups
What we offer- Chance to join the founding team of a well-funded startup chasing a huge opportunity
- Competitive salary and meaningful equity
- Great location: Our NYC office is in NoHo, a short walk from the A,C,E • B,D,F,M • N,Q,R,W • 1 • 6 trains. Our Toronto office is downtown near St. Andrew Station.
- Generous PTO
- Comprehensive health & benefits package
- Stipends for lunch, commute, wellness, and purchasing customer products
- Yearly offsite-last year we went to Mexico City!
