Senior People Operations Specialist

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About Zello

Zello is a voice-first communication platform powered by our industry-leading push-to-talk technology to improve collaboration and productivity for desk-less workers. With over 175 million users were the #1 rated push-to-talk app in the world delivering 9 billion (yes with a B) messages a month.

At Zello our company values are at the heart of what we do everyday. Were proud to serve the frontline were privileged to connect people in times of crisis across the globe and were honored to support first responders.

And this is where you come in.

At Zello we keep frontline workers connected through instant voice-first communication. Behind that mission is a People team focused on creating an exceptional employee experience and helping our organization grow.

Were a four-person People team supporting approximately 85 Zellonauts and were building an AI-enabled People function that scales with our business.

Were looking for a Senior People Operations Generalist who loves making things work better. Someone who takes pride in operational excellence enjoys solving complex problems and gets excited about building smarter systems and processes.

Youll own the operational foundation of our People function including payroll benefits HRIS compliance and the employee lifecycle. Youll also have the autonomy to challenge how things work today introduce new technology and create solutions that make work easier for employees and the People team.

Youll work directly with our VP of People have meaningful ownership over how we operate and see the impact of your work across Zello.

If you love bringing order to complexity take pride in getting the details right and find yourself thinking There has to be a better way to do this wed love to meet you.

After a Successful First Year You Will Have

• Owned reliable People operations: Independently managed payroll benefits HRIS and employee lifecycle processes with strong accuracy compliance and controls allowing the VP of People to step out of day-to-day operations.

• Built smarter scalable processes: Automated or AI-enabled at least five recurring processes reducing manual work by 10 hours monthly with appropriate quality checks.

• Improved the employee experience: Elevated onboarding to help new hires ramp more effectively and improved employee access to People information through simpler workflows and self-service resources.

• Advanced our People technology: Delivered a recommendation on our HRIS/payroll transition and if approved led operational implementation toward our target go-live.

• Strengthened our operational foundation: Documented at least 90% of recurring People Operations processes improved audit readiness and reduced dependency on individual knowledge.

What Youll Do

• Run reliable People operations: Own semi-monthly multi-state payroll benefits and 401(k) administration leaves of absence HRIS administration and employee lifecycle processes with strong accuracy and controls.

• Build smarter systems: Own HRIS workflows configuration reporting and data integrity. Use AI and automation to streamline processes while maintaining appropriate checks for accuracy and confidentiality.

• Manage compliance and operational risk: Coordinate state employment registrations filings I-9/E-Verify immigration cases with outside counsel and international employment administration. Anticipate issues maintain accurate records and resolve problems at the root cause.

• Drive our HRIS evolution: Help evaluate select and implement our next HRIS/payroll platform building project plans managing milestones and coordinating with Finance IT and external partners.

• Elevate the employee experience: Partner with Recruiting IT and managers to improve onboarding simplify employee-facing processes and make People information easier to find and use.

• Support People programs: Manage the operational execution of performance reviews compensation cycles and other recurring People initiatives.

• Own outcomes not just tasks: Independently establish priorities anticipate risks bring recommendations and drive initiatives through completion without waiting for direction.

Who You Are

• An experienced operational owner. You bring meaningful hands-on People Operations experience including independently managing multi-state U.S. payroll benefits and HR systems.

• Analytical and detail-oriented. You are comfortable with spreadsheets reconciliations and complex data. You establish controls that catch errors before they impact employees and take accountability for resolving issues.

• Naturally proactive. You dont wait for someone to establish every next step. You build plans anticipate challenges and bring thoughtful solutions and recommendations.

• Systems-minded and AI-forward. Youve improved or automated recurring processes and are excited to use technology to make work more effective. You know when to trust automation and when to validate the output.

• Pragmatic and adaptable. You understand the importance of compliance but can navigate ambiguity balance competing priorities and exercise sound judgment.

• Energized by growth. You genuinely enjoy hands-on People Operations and thrive in an environment where you can improve existing processes and build what comes next.

This Role Is Not

• An HR business partner role. Manager coaching and employee relations sit with the VP of People though theres room to grow into that work.

• A people management role. This is an individual contributor seat.

• A remote role. We work together in our Austin office four days a week.

• A keep-the-lights-on role. Youll be expected to rebuild processes not just run them.

Bonus Points

• Experience leading an HRIS or payroll implementation.

• Experience coordinating immigration international employment or complex leaves.

• Experience building AI-enabled workflows or employee self-service tools.

• Experience improving onboarding or employee programs.

• Experience in a startup or scale-up environment.

What Makes This Role Different

• Real ownership: Youll have the autonomy to improve how our People function operates not simply maintain existing processes.

• Meaningful impact: Youll work directly with our VP of People and influence systems and experiences that touch every employee at Zello.

• Room to build: Were investing in AI automation and better technology giving you the opportunity to shape how People Operations evolves as we grow.

• A career in operations: You can deepen your expertise and expand your impact without needing to move into strategic HR business partnering or people management.

• A collaborative environment: Were based in Austin and work together in our office four days a week.

We hire for potential passion for our mission and a knack for solving difficult problems over checking every qualification box. We have competitive pay equity with significant upside and intentionally design our benefits to encourage healthy and well-balanced employees flexible schedules and time off. We even offer a sabbatical after every five years of service so youre able to pursue and enjoy what matters most to you. And of course we wouldnt be a technology company without a ping-pong table and free snacks in our break room. Join us!

Zello provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race color religion age sex national origin disability status genetics protected veteran status sexual orientation gender identity or expression or any other characteristic protected by federal state or local laws.

All Zello personnel are required to comply with defined security privacy and compliance requirements applicable to their role along with requirements that are applicable to all Zello personnel.

Required Experience:

Senior IC