HR & Operations Manager

iota Biosciences•Alameda, CA

20h

About The Position

We’re looking for a proactive, high-judgment HR & Operations Manager to help build and run our people function during an important stage of growth. You’ll support a small, close-knit, mission-driven team working on meaningful, early-stage work, where collaboration and trust matter deeply. With our PEO managing payroll, benefits, and core compliance, this role focuses on elevating the employee experience, running high-quality HR operations, leading recruiting, and supporting day-to-day office needs. This is a high-trust role for someone who can hit the ground running, thrives in early-stage environments, and enjoys a mix of execution and problem-solving. You’ll own day-to-day HR operations while partnering closely with leadership on higher-risk or more strategic people decisions, helping the company scale with clarity and operational excellence. You’re a self-starter with strong attention to detail and a bias toward building simple, scalable processes.

Requirements

5–7 years of experience in People Operations, HR, or recruiting roles, ideally in a startup or scaling environment.
Comfortable operating in a PEO-based model, with strong instincts for what to own internally versus when to escalate.
A strong operational thinker who brings clarity, structure, and consistency to ambiguous environments.
Experienced running full-cycle recruiting with a high bar for quality.
A warm, clear, and direct communicator who builds trust quickly.
High integrity and sound judgment; reliable, discreet, and trusted with sensitive information.
Comfortable being both strategic and hands-on, and willing to jump in wherever needed.
Motivated to grow into broader HRBP responsibilities and take on increasing ownership as the company scales.

Responsibilities

Own full-cycle recruiting across technical and non-technical roles (intake, sourcing, interviewing, closing).
Partner with hiring managers to design structured, high-quality hiring processes.
Maintain ATS hygiene, dashboards, and hiring metrics; provide insights to guide workforce planning.
Drive improvements that strengthen candidate experience and hiring velocity.
Serve as the primary internal owner for People Operations in a PEO-supported model, partnering closely with the PEO for payroll, benefits, and compliance.
Run onboarding and offboarding processes that are thoughtful, consistent, and well-organized.
Manage Leaves of Absence (LOA) end-to-end, coordinating between employees, managers, and the PEO.
Maintain people documentation, SOPs, and self-service resources.
Lead people programs such as performance reviews, engagement surveys, and manager enablement.
Act as the owner of day-to-day HR decisions, escalating thoughtfully on sensitive or complex matters.
Experience supporting immigration matters (e.g., visas, work authorization, coordination with external counsel), with sound judgment around confidentiality and risk.
Serve as a trusted, confidential resource to employees and managers.
Provide coaching on communication, feedback practices, early employee relations concerns, and team dynamics.
Support org planning, role scoping, leveling, and compensation processes.
Identify patterns and proactively recommend people and culture improvements.
Support day-to-day office operations, vendor coordination, and workplace logistics.
Help plan and execute company offsites, team events, and culture-building initiatives.
Step into operational and administrative gaps when needed — true startup mindset.
Project examples include: Building people playbooks and manager toolkits Refining onboarding or cross-team workflows Shaping employer brand or internal communications Supporting organizational changes or team transitions