Director of People Operations

COMPANY WHAT YOU’LL DO RYZE is hiring a Director, People Operations to build the operational and strategic backbone of the People function. Reporting to one of the Co-Founder’s, this person will lead a team of People Operations Partners & Generalists while acting as a strategic partner to leaders across the business. This is a builder’s role: someone who can move fast, make smart judgment calls, and turn strategy into programs that stick. Responsibilities will include: Own People Operations end to end, building right-sized infrastructure, processes, and tools as RYZE scales across DTC, retail, and new categories. Lead, coach, and develop a team of People Operations Partners and Generalists Act as a trusted advisor to leaders across the business on team dynamics, organizational design, and growth challenges, structuring teams for scale. Design and lead performance management, succession planning, and workforce planning frameworks that connect individual goals to business priorities, including calibration, manager enablement, and data integrity across review cycles. Build retention, culture, and employee engagement strategies that keep pace with a fast-growing, distributed team. Lead learning and development and onboarding, giving every new hire a structured path from day one. Maintain a general working knowledge of compensation and benefits programs Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment law across a multi-state remote workforce, staying ahead of risk rather than reacting to it, and serve as the escalation point for employee relations matters. Building SOPs and communication frameworks that make delivery clean and consistent. Champion AI adoption and workflow automation across the People function, from document creation to performance plan development, to help the team run leaner and faster. Partner with Talent Acquisition, Legal, IT, and Finance to ensure smooth rollout of People Operations initiatives, and bring feedback into policies and processes. Partner with Founders and cross-functional leaders on org design and change management, translating strategy into action without getting stuck in process for its own sake. Professional Qualifications 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including team leadership, earned in a high-growth startup or scale-up DTC, CPG, or omnichannel environment. Proven track record building and scaling People Operations infrastructure, not just maintaining what already exists. Hands-on experience across performance management, succession planning, workforce planning, retention, and employee engagement. Experience leading organizational design and change management Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local employment law, with real experience supporting a multi-state workforce. General working knowledge of compensation and benefits programs, and comfort with HR technology including HRIS platforms, ATS, and people analytics. Demonstrated experience with AI tools and workflow automation in HR Comfortable operating in a fast-moving, founder-led culture, with a strong bias toward moving things forward over getting stuck in process. Bachelor’s degree in HR, Business Administration, or a related field. WHAT WE OFFER Competitive compensation aligned with experience and market benchmarks. Comprehensive benefits package Paid time off and company-observed holidays. Opportunities for professional growth and development. A collaborative, inclusive, and supportive work environment. Access to tools, resources, and training to support success in the role. #J-18808-Ljbffr