Founding People Operations Manager (Washington)

Location : Remote; preference for candidates in the Washington, DC metro area

Type : Full-time

Reports to : Co-founding team (COO)

Team : ~15 and growing

About Schemata

At Schemata, we are transforming the $400 B virtual‑training and simulation market by fusing 3D computer vision, neural rendering and large multimodal models inside highly regulated industries. Our platform delivers photorealistic, intelligent 3D experiences, demanding robust spatial reasoning, high‑performance data pipelines and seamless integration between traditional graphics and AI‑driven perception.

Why This Role

This is a founding hire. You will be the first person at Schemata whose entire job is people and administration, and you will build that function from the ground up. There is no playbook here to inherit and no manager to hand you a task list. There is a fast-growing company, a founding team that needs its time back, and a wide-open mandate to design how this company runs as it scales from 15 people to many more.

If you are ambitious, this is the opportunity: you'll own a function end to end, make real decisions, and build the systems a much larger Schemata will run on for years. This role is for a builder, not a maintainer.

What You'll Own

You will own the company's full back office. Early on, that means doing the work yourself. Over time, it means building the processes, tools, and eventually the team that runs it. The core areas:

People Operations and HR

• Build and run our people operations from the ground up: onboarding and offboarding, employee records, PTO, and benefits, and own the systems behind them (Rippling, Human Interest 401(k)).
• Write and maintain the policies, handbook, and compliance that a growing multi-state workforce needs, and keep us ahead of federal and state requirements.
• Stand up the people programs that make a small company a great place to work: performance cycles, feedback surveys, and manager support as we scale.
• Be the first point of contact employees trust for questions big and small.

Recruiting and Talent

• Drive hiring as we grow: own job postings, sourcing support, interview coordination, candidate experience, and the full pipeline.
• Run offers, background checks, and the handoff into onboarding, and build a hiring process that scales with us.
• Executive and operational support
• Give the founding team their time back through direct support: calendar management, travel, expenses, and meeting coordination.
• Keep leadership organized and on track by preparing materials, tracking action items, and owning the details.
• Handle sensitive, company- and founder-level information with discretion and judgment.

Culture and Events

• Plan and run the events that hold a two-office company together: on-sites, off-sites, and team gatherings across DC and SF.
• Own them end to end, from venue and budget to travel and agenda.

Everything else that makes a company run

• Take on the office logistics, vendor management, and back-of-house projects the founding team no longer has capacity to carry.
• Spot what is broken or missing before anyone asks, and go build the fix.

What We're Looking For

We care far more about drive, ownership, and judgment than about a perfect resume. If you are early in your career but hungry to build, or further along and want real scope at a company on the rise, we want to hear from you.

You'll thrive here if you

• Have 3+ years across people operations, HR, recruiting, operations, or executive support, ideally at a startup or small company.
• Bring a working knowledge of HR fundamentals (payroll, benefits, onboarding, basic employment compliance) and know when to bring in expert help.
• Are relentlessly organized and can run many different things at once without dropping details.
• Default to action, take ownership of outcomes, and are happiest when handed a problem and trusted to solve it.
• Communicate clearly and handle confidential information with maturity.
• Want to build a function and grow with the company, not just hold a defined seat.

Bonus points for

• Experience with Rippling, Human Interest, Notion, or comparable HR and operations tools.
• Exposure to a defense, government contracting, or otherwise regulated environment.
• Full-cycle recruiting experience.
• Ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance (U.S. citizenship required for some of our work).
• Are based in the DC metro area and able to work a hybrid schedule (2 days/week in office).

Compensation and Growth

• Base salary: Competitive salary
• Equity: Meaningful founding-level stock options.
• Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision coverage, 401(k) through Human Interest, paid parental leave, and paid time off.
• Trajectory: A clear path to grow into the leader of People and Operations as Schemata scales. This is a ground-floor seat with real upside for the right person.

How to Apply

Send a resume and a short note on why this role fits you to View email address on apply.placed-app.com. We review applications on a rolling basis and move quickly for the right person.