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Kaizen Labs is a government technology company founded in 2022 that replaces legacy federal systems with modern software. The company powers America's application layer, serving federal agencies with systems used by tens of millions of Americans. Kaizen has achieved 35x revenue growth this year and is backed by NEA, a16z, Accel, 776, and Carpenter Capital, with offices in New York City and DC.
This is Kaizen's first dedicated People Operations hire. You will own and build the people infrastructure function from the ground up as the company scales. You'll be the central point of contact for employees and managers across the entire employee lifecycle.
Key responsibilities include:
- End-to-end onboarding and offboarding (offer letters, I-9 verification, background checks, tool provisioning, system access, 30/60/90 check-ins, documented exit processes)
- Payroll operations: adding employees, processing changes, troubleshooting, ensuring accurate and timely runs
- Benefits program management: open enrollment, carrier coordination, employee support, potential PEO migration, stipend maintenance, usage tracking
- People compliance across all active states: SOS registrations, unemployment insurance, quarterly/annual filings, employee records, handbook maintenance, working with tools like Mosey, Corpnet, and AbstractOps
- Employee engagement: pulse surveys, feedback initiatives, sentiment tracking, surfacing themes to leadership
- Performance management support: mid-year and end-of-year reviews, manager check-ins, scorecard coordination
- Office coordination: team gatherings, employer branding events, team outings
- Office relocation leadership: broker relationships, space touring, buildout coordination, move-in execution
- Equity administration in Carta: option grants, termination processing, cap table management
- Headcount planning and compensation framework development with COO and Recruiting Lead
- Recruiting operations support: interview coordination, offer workflows, ATS management, recruiting-to-people handoff
- AI tool adoption: actively using AI to automate workflows, draft communications, and build scalable processes
You'll work across people, finance, and admin functions without clean lane boundaries. The role requires direct communication skills for sensitive employee and manager conversations, judgment, and empathy.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 4+ years of experience in People Operations, HR Operations, or related program management roles
- Experience at one or more scaling startups operating without a full HR team
- Hands-on fluency with core People Ops tools: Gusto or Rippling, Carta, PEOs (Sequoia or equivalent), compliance platforms (Vanta, Mosey, AbstractOps)
- Ownership mentality: you've run a people ops or back-office function yourself, not just supported someone else
- Comfort operating across people, finance, and admin functions without needing clean lane boundaries
- Clear, direct communicator who can navigate sensitive conversations with judgment and empathy
- Fluency with AI tools as a genuine part of your workflow to move faster, write better, and build scalable processes
STRONG CANDIDATES MAY ALSO HAVE:
- Experience supporting or leading a PEO migration
- Familiarity with federal contracting compliance from a people/HR perspective
- Experience with SOC 2 or similar security frameworks in a people ops context
