People Operations Manager Non-Profit AI Research Lab San Francisco $150,000 - $200,000 BaseThe opportunityHiring well, keeping the people we hire, and building a place worth staying are among the highest-leverage things we do - and right now, nobody owns that full-time. You'll be the first dedicated People/HR hire, reporting directly to the Chief of Staff. This is an individual-contributor role: you design the systems and run them. We have a solid operational foundation (HRIS, benefits, ATS), but a lot of what works for 20 people won't work for 40+, and your judgment shapes what gets built and in what order.
Strategy and execution aren't separable here. The systems you design are the ones you run day to day - from fixing a payroll error to deciding what we need to build next quarter. As we're a very small team, you may also flex into other operational domains, further expanding your skillset. We expect to keep expanding the operations team, and you'd help define and hire for those future roles.
What you'll doHiring - you enable Transluce's growth by ensuring we can hire the best people- Own our hiring process end-to-end: candidate communications, scheduling, program management, funnel analysis
- Shape our sourcing strategy - channels, events, partners, outreach - to raise the quality of our top of funnel
People - you design the employee experience from recruitment to last day- Build onboarding that gives new employees everything they need in their first week, not their first month
- Own benefits, payroll and HRIS: run them yourself, choose and switch vendors, and be the person the team trusts with any question about them
- Establish the policies and practices that keep our culture strong as we grow - candid feedback, continuous learning, clear expectations for good work
- Advise managers and employees through sensitive situations: performance concerns, conflict, feedback, employee relations
Compliance - you own our federal and multi-state employment compliance- Decide what we handle in-house versus escalate to outside counsel and HR providers
- Make the calls that carry real risk: leaves, accommodations, worker classification
- Meet the deadlines that can't slip: visa cases with external counsel, business licenses, state registrations, required trainings and postings
LocationWe work from our San Francisco office four days a week. Our in-person culture is a big part of what makes Transluce special - this isn't a remote role. We're open to sponsoring international visas for exceptional candidates.
RequirementsEssential- You have owned hiring rounds end-to-end alongside hiring managers, with strong foundational HR knowledge
- You have personally owned core people operations - payroll, benefits, onboarding, visas - and are excited to run them hands-on, not just direct them
- You have strong interpersonal skills; and navigate complexity with honesty, care and discretion
- You have excellent written and verbal communication
Particularly valuable- 4+ years running people operations, ideally at a growing startup or nonprofit - candidates with less overall experience or nontraditional backgrounds are encouraged to apply and may be considered for similar roles
- Experience recruiting highly sought-after technical or research talent; familiarity with the AI research ecosystem is a plus
- Experience scaling a people function as an organization grows
- Already comfortable using AI or other productivity tools to work effectively - or eager to learn; deep technical skill is not required
This role is not right for you if:- You want to set direction and hand the details to someone else
- You dislike ambiguity and prefer an established playbook
- Employee-relations work drains you
Benefits- $150,000-$200,000/year depending on experience.
- Comprehensive benefits.
- We're open to sponsoring international visas for exceptional candidates.
- You'll be joining a 20-person team on its way to 40+, with direct input into how the organization is built as it scales.
How to apply: submit your CV. No cover letter required - the application questions cover what we need to know
