Senior People Ops Generalist

Job Description

Job Description

540 is looking for a Senior People Ops Generalist to own the operational backbone of our People function. We're about 100 people across 25+ states, building software for federal missions including the Army, Air Force, and USCIS. Keeping our processes light and our culture strong only works when the machinery underneath is airtight — payroll lands, benefits work, employees get answers, managers get good guidance, and we stay compliant everywhere we operate.

That's where you come in.

You'll own the day-to-day operation of People Ops: benefits and 401(k), payroll, culture and employee experience, compliance, leave, employee relations, HR systems. You'll report directly to our Chief People Officer (CPO), and the two of you will make up the core People Ops team. You'll also work closely with our Ops Coordinator, Director of Talent, and Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist across the employee lifecycle — from offer and onboarding through promotions, internal talent mobility, and offboarding.

You're joining at an important moment. 540 is transitioning from a PEO to Rippling ASO, which means we're taking greater ownership of our benefits, payroll, compliance, and employment risk. Rippling will handle a lot of the mechanics; the judgment calls will belong to us — and many of them will belong to you.

You'll step into an active migration involving a new benefits stack, state account transitions, and our first in-house payroll runs, with the opportunity and authority to help shape what the People Ops function becomes. Our benefits plan year renews January 1, so you'll join at a meaningful point in the annual cycle and help own the renewal that shapes our plans for the year ahead.

You won't inherit a finished function. You'll inherit a real one, in motion, with the authority to make it better.

Location : Hybrid — Arlington, VA (1-2x per month)
Citizenship & Clearance Requirement : Must be eligible to work in the United States without sponsorship
Education Requirement: Bachelor's Degree
540 Internal Thrive Level: Senior People Ops Generalist

WHY 540?

540 is a forward-thinking company that the government turns to in order to #getshitdone. We don't just talk about innovation – we deliver it. We break down barriers, build impactful technology, and solve mission-critical problems.

HOW YOU'LL DRIVE IMPACT

• Own benefits administration across medical, dental, vision, life, disability, FSA/HSA, our Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP), and voluntary benefits, including enrollments, qualifying life events, and terminations
• Manage carrier invoice reconciliation, along with eligibility and claims escalations
• Own open enrollment - HRIS configuration, employee communications, and post-enrollment audits
• Administer our 401(k) program, including contribution funding, eligibility, and loans, and ACA measurement tracking, 1094-C/1095-C filing, COBRA, and state continuation requirements
• Run end-to-end semi-monthly payroll for approximately 100 employees across 25+ states with support from Rippling ASO, including regular payroll, off-cycles, retroactive pay, bonuses, and final pay
• Direct and verify Rippling's work on state and local payroll tax registrations, withholding accounts, and unemployment insurance accounts as we hire into new jurisdictions; Rippling handles the filings, and you'll be the one who confirms they're right
• Understand and apply state-specific employment and government contracting requirements, including pay frequency, final pay deadlines, expense reimbursement, wage and hour requirements, and pay transparency
• Own onboarding as an employee experience rather than a checklist, with particular attention to the first 90 days, when 540's culture transfers to new employees 
• Partner with the CPO on employee engagement surveys and own their administration, analysis, and translation into visible, meaningful changes
• Own the perks and benefits program as a program: understand what employees actually use, retire what they don't, and bring the CPO a recommendation at each renewal
• Own day-to-day employee experience programs including Great Place to Work certification, Fortune/Inc submissions
• Support the recognition day to day (Red Hot Awards) program, and make sure it stays fast and real
• Partner with the Ops Coordinator on 540 Week and company culture initiatives
• Administer FMLA, state paid family and medical leave, paid sick leave, parental leave, and other company leave programs across the states where we operate
• Run and document the ADA interactive process and coordinate workers' compensation claims, injury reporting, and return-to-work processes
• Coach managers through performance concerns, including expectations, documentation, and difficult conversations
• Run the operational side of our employee feedback cycle, including timelines and set-up
• Serve as a trusted first point of contact for employee questions, concerns, and conflicts, handling sensitive information with judgment and discretion
• Maintain our employee handbook and state-specific addenda, and monitor legislative and regulatory changes across every state where we operate, flagging what needs to change before it becomes a problem
• Own compliance requirements including EEO-1, OSHA 300/300A, VETS-4212, state new-hire reporting, pay transparency, pay-data reporting, employment verifications, unemployment claims, and classification reviews
• Serve as an administrator and power user of Rippling, owning data integrity, workflows, permissions, audits, and People reporting
• Use AI and automation to eliminate repetitive People Ops work, improve accuracy, and create more time for work that requires human judgment

REQUIRED SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

• 5+ years of progressive People Operations/HR experience, including at least 2 years of hands-on multi-state payroll experience and a strong understanding of how wage and hour, leave, disability, final pay, reimbursement, and other employment requirements vary by jurisdiction
• A thoughtful, creative approach to People Ops — you design policies, processes, and programs around 540's people and culture rather than copying a template, and you can explain the reasoning behind what you build
• Hands-on benefits administration experience, including open enrollment and experience supporting 401(k), leave, and employee lifecycle programs
• Working knowledge of FLSA, FMLA, ADA, wage and hour requirements, and relevant state-level employment requirements — plus the ability to research and apply requirements when entering a new jurisdiction
• Demonstrated manager coaching and employee relations experience, including guiding managers through performance concerns, documentation, difficult conversations, warnings, and/or performance improvement plans
• Proficiency with a modern HRIS/payroll platform such as Rippling, Paylocity, Gusto
• Strong operational discipline and attention to detail when working with payroll, benefits, employee data, and compliance deadlines
• Sound judgment under ambiguity and the ability to handle highly sensitive employee and company information with complete discretion
• Strong plain-language communication skills — you can explain something like an HDHP or HSA to someone who has never selected a health plan without hiding behind HR jargon
• Comfort operating in a lean People function where you'll work throughout the full employee lifecycle
• Comfort using AI and automation as part of your day-to-day work

NICE TO HAVE

• PHR/SPHR, SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP, CPP, or FPC certification
• People Operations experience within a mid-sized government contractor, including familiarity with federal contractor reporting requirements such as VETS-4212
• Experience supporting an HRIS implementation, PEO transition, or payroll migration; Rippling experience is a plus
• Experience administering a Medical Expense Reimbursement Plan (MERP)
• Experience supporting a high-growth, geographically distributed organization
• Demonstrated experience delivering successful employee engagement, recognition, and/or employee experience programs, such as earning or maintaining Great Place to Work certification

BENEFITS & PERKS

• Flexible PTO + all Federal holidays off
• Health, dental and vision insurance plans
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• 401k with employer match
• Company-sponsored life insurance, short- and long-term disability 
• Professional development (training, certifications, conferences)
• Paid cloud developer accounts
• Referral bonuses
• HQ office perks (parking / metro reimbursement, nitro coffee & lunches) 
• Annual social events (540 Week, hackathon, charity golf tournament, etc.)
• Access to 540's Washington Capitals & Nationals tickets

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO)

540's policy is to provide equal employment opportunity 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.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.