HR Operations Lead

Merlin Labs•Boston, MA

About The Position

As we prepare for rapid growth and a planned public offering in 2026, we are seeking an HR Operations Lead to serve as the operational backbone of our People function. This role is designed for someone who brings discipline to complexity â a systems-oriented operator who thrives in data, cares deeply about accuracy and controls, and ensures that all People practices are connected, scalable, and execution-ready. You will help evolve our HR operations from early-stage startup execution to public-company readiness, building durable infrastructure while preserving a thoughtful, human-centered employee experience. This role operates with high autonomy and is critical to ensuring our People function is reliable, auditable, and decision-ready. This is an individual contributor role with significant ownership and visibility across the organization.

Requirements

7-10 years of experience operating across HR systems, people data, compliance, and process design in high-growth or scaling organizations.
Demonstrated cross-functional fluency across HR disciplines (People Ops, Talent, Total Rewards, Finance, Legal), with depth in systems and operations.
Strong hands-on experience with HR technology ecosystems (Rippling, Lever, or similar), including reporting, integrations, and workflow automation.
High comfort working with data â building dashboards, validating accuracy, and translating insights into action.
Clear, confident communicator who can distill complex People topics into practical guidance for leaders and employees.
Exceptional operational judgment, integrity, and discretion when handling sensitive data and controls.
Ability to operate independently, prioritize effectively, and bring structure to ambiguity in a fast-moving, pre-IPO environment.

Responsibilities

Own end-to-end HR operational workflows (onboarding through offboarding), ensuring processes are well-documented, repeatable, and scalable
Serve as the system owner for our core People systems, including: Rippling (HRIS): data architecture, workflow automation, approvals, alerts, and process control, and Lever (ATS): data integrity, lifecycle reporting, headcount alignment, and downstream integration with HR systems
Maintain high-quality, compliant employee data, proactively identifying and closing gaps ahead of audits, diligence, and IPO readiness.
Design and maintain people analytics and reporting, including: headcount and workforce composition; attrition and retention trends; org structure, role architecture, and growth tracking; compliance, training, and policy attestation reporting.
Translate HR and talent data into clear, decision-ready insights for People leadership, Finance, and executive stakeholders.
Ensure People data and processes are audit-ready, internally consistent, and aligned with public-company expectations.
Own the operational lifecycle of employee handbooks, policies, and procedures, ensuring they are current, compliant, and consistently applied.
Partner with Legal, Finance, and People leadership to support governance reviews, risk mitigation, and documentation standards.
Establish and maintain process discipline across People programs so policies, systems, and execution stay tightly aligned.
Manage and curate the People Operations content in our internal knowledge base (Confluence), ensuring it serves as a reliable source of truth.
Monitor and manage multi-state compliance requirements, including documentation, notices, filings, and reporting obligations.
Support preparation for internal controls reviews, external audits, and SOX-adjacent readiness activities as we approach IPO.
Ensure operational handoffs between People Ops, Total Rewards, Finance, Legal, and Talent functions are clearly defined and consistently executed.
Identify compliance risks and process gaps early, and recommend practical, scalable solutions.
Provide the operational backbone for core People programs, including: performance review cycles and calibration logistics; engagement surveys and feedback mechanisms; and compliance, policy, and ethics training administration
Use qualitative and quantitative inputs to identify trends, risks, and opportunities across the employee lifecycle.
Support clear internal communications related to People Ops processes, system changes, and policy rollouts.