[Hiring] People Operations Lead @Kernel

Role Description

Kernel is making its first People team hire: an experienced generalist who will own HR and people operations end-to-end for a ~30-person team across San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati, and remote.

This is a hands-on, individual contributor role. You’ll run the day-to-day yourself, including:

• Onboarding
• Payroll
• Benefits
• Compliance
• Employee relations

You’ll work closely with the recruiting team on offers and onboarding.

What you'll do:

• Own the employee lifecycle from signed offer to offboarding, including onboarding, I-9s, equipment, and policy acknowledgments
• Run payroll and benefits administration in our HRIS and payroll systems, including our 401(k)
• Keep us compliant across states (CA, NY, OH, and anywhere remote teammates live) including registrations, state-mandated benefits, and required trainings
• Build just enough playbooks and structure: handbook, leveling, comp bands, and a lightweight performance and feedback cycle
• Be a trusted resource for employees and managers on policies, benefits, and employee relations
• Help shape culture across offices: team rituals, offsites, and how we work as we grow
• Use AI and automation to handle the busywork so you can focus on the work that needs a human

Qualifications

• 4+ years in people operations or HR, ideally as an early people/HR hire at a high-growth startup
• Hands-on experience running payroll, benefits, and an HRIS (Rippling a plus)
• Working knowledge of multi-state US employment compliance
• Strong judgment and discretion with sensitive topics
• A builder's mindset: you know when process helps and when it gets in the way
• Startup experience: you've built fast, worn multiple hats, and figured things out without a playbook
• Excited to grow into building a team as Kernel scales

Hiring process

• 30-min intro call with our Chief of Staff
• 30-min conversation with our CEO
• On-site interviews (can do video conference as needed), including a 60-minute working session to walk through a few realistic scenarios
• Offer!