People Operations Specialist

People Operations SpecialistAs our People Operations Specialist, your mission is to own the operational complexity that keeps our people function running — coordinating our immigration program, managing the vendor relationships that underpin our US and international workforce, and executing the day-to-day HR operations that employees depend on. You'll be the second dedicated People Operations hire at HappyRobot, joining a small team that is building the people function from the ground up. That means real ownership from day one, no bureaucracy between you and meaningful work, and genuine room to grow as the team and company scale. You'll work closely with our People Operations Lead, and partner directly with our Head of People on the operational priorities that matter most.ResponsibilitiesOwn our immigration program. We have a high volume of active immigration cases and this is some of the most time-sensitive, employee-facing work on the team. You'll be the primary point of contact for employees navigating visa sponsorship, manage our relationship with outside immigration counsel, track all case milestones and deadlines, and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. You'll also build the tracking systems and automations that make this program scalable.Coordinate our US people operations through our PEO. We use a PEO for our US population, so you're not running payroll from scratch — but you are the owner of that relationship and of payroll administration. You'll be the go-to for employee questions on benefits, payroll, and coverage, manage exceptions and escalations, and make sure the PEO relationship is working as hard as it should for our team.Support our international employees across multiple countries. We have employees in France, Spain, Switzerland, and beyond. You'll coordinate with our EOR partners and local counsel to make sure our international employees are well-supported — handling operational questions, managing onboarding and offboarding logistics, and flagging compliance considerations before they become problems.Keep our HRIS clean and running. You'll own day-to-day operations, data integrity, and record management in Rippling — employee records, status changes, employment eligibility, payroll, and supporting broader HRIS workflows as we build them out. Clean data is the foundation everything else is built on.Handle HR administration with care. Background checks via Checkr, I-9 compliance, onboarding logistics — the operational tasks that underpin the employee lifecycle. You take pride in these being done right, not just done.Build automations that eliminate manual work. You're always looking for the process underneath the task. You'll partner with our People Operations lead to identify where manual steps are slowing things down and build smarter — using AI tools, Rippling workflows, and whatever gets the job done sustainably.Must Have3–5 years in HR operations or people operations at a tech company or fast-scaling startup. You've owned real operational surface area — not just supported someone else's work — and you know what it feels like to be the person things depend on.HRIS proficiency (Rippling preferred) and comfort being an end-to-end HRIS adminImmigration coordination experience. You've managed immigration cases — H-1B, L-1, O-1, green card processes — and you know how to work with outside counsel, track deadlines, and communicate with employees who are depending on you. This doesn't have to be your entire background, but it can't be your first rodeo either.Comfort with international HR complexity. You've worked with employees or contractors across multiple countries and know how to navigate that complexity — whether through EOR partners, local counsel, or your own experience with international employment frameworks. You know what you don't know and you know who to call.Strong vendor coordination instincts. A lot of what makes this role work is managing the relationships and systems that surround you — PEO, EOR, immigration counsel, HRIS support. You're someone who keeps vendors accountable, knows when to escalate, and doesn't let things stall because you're waiting on someone else.AI-native and automation-oriented. You reach for automation before doing something manually for the third time. You've built workflows in your HRIS, automate tasks using tools like chat GPT or Claude, and you're genuinely excited about using AI to work smarter. This is a real part of how you operate, not a checkbox.High ownership, high precision, low ego. You take deep satisfaction in closing loops and keeping things clean. You're energized by being the person your teammates can count on. The details matter to you, and you're comfortable doing the unsexy work that holds everything together.Startup orientation. You've thrived where the playbook wasn't fully written. You're comfortable with ambiguity, resourceful when you don't have all the answers, and you see a ground-floor people function as an opportunity — not a risk.Why Join Us?Opportunity to work at a high-growth AI startup, backed by top investors.Rapidly growing and backed by top investors including a16z, Y Combinator, and Base10.Ownership & Autonomy - Take full ownership of projects and ship fast.Work With the Best - Join a world-class team of engineers and builders.Our Operating PrinciplesExtreme OwnershipWe take full responsibility for our work, outcomes, and team success. No excuses, no blame-shifting — if something needs fixing, we own it and make it better. This means stepping up, even when it's not "your job." If a ball is dropped, we pick it up. If a customer is unhappy, we fix it. If a process is broken, we redesign it. We don't wait for someone else to solve it — we lead with accountability and expect the same from those around us.CraftsmanshipPutting care and intention into every task, striving for excellence, and taking deep ownership of the quality and outcome of your work. Craftsmanship means never settling for "just fine." We sweat the details because details compound. Whether it's a product feature, an internal doc, or a sales call — we treat it as a reflection of our standards. We aim to deliver jaw-dropping customer experiences by being curious, meticulous, and proud of what we build — even when nobody's watching.We are "majos" Be friendly & have fun with your coworkers. Always be genuine & honest, but kind. "Majo" is our way of saying: be a good human. Be approachable, helpful, and warm. We're building something ambitious, and it's easier (and more fun) when we enjoy the ride together. We give feedback with kindness, challenge each other with respect, and celebrate wins together without ego.Urgency with Focus Create the highest impact in the shortest amount of time. Move fast, but in the right direction. We operate with speed because time is our most limited resource. But speed without focus is chaos. We prioritize ruthlessly, act decisively, and stay aligned. We aim for high leverage: the biggest results from the simplest, smartest actions. We're running a high-speed marathon — not a sprint with no strategy.Talent Density and Meritocracy Hire only people who can raise the average; 'exceptional performance is the passing grade.' Ability trumps seniority. We believe the best teams are built on talent density — every hire should raise the bar. We reward contribution, not titles or tenure. We give ownership to those who earn it, and we all hold each other to a high standard. A-players want to work with other A-players — that's how we win.First-Principles Thinking Strip a problem to physics-level facts, ignore industry dogma, rebuild the solution from scratch. We don't copy-paste solutions. We go back to basics, ask why things are the way they are, and rebuild from the ground up if needed. This mindset pushes us to innovate, challenge stale assumptions, and move faster than incumbents. It's how we build what others think is impossible.