People Operations Manager

Transluce•San Francisco, CA

3d•$150,000 - $200,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Transluce is a non-profit research lab building world-class tools to oversee AI and steer its development for the public good. We use AI to investigate AI, at a scale manual testing cannot reach, and we build in public so anyone can use what we make. We are growing from 20 to 40+ employees in the next 12 months. This role is the first dedicated people operations position at Transluce, responsible for hiring, retaining, and building a positive company culture as the team grows. The position involves designing and implementing systems for onboarding, feedback, and employee support, with a focus on proactive problem-solving rather than reactive fixes. It is an individual-contributor role reporting to the Chief of Staff, with the potential to help expand the operations team in the future. The ideal candidate is energized by building a new domain, has strong opinions on people operations best practices, is invested in both designing and executing processes, and is observant and detail-oriented.

Requirements

Has owned hiring rounds end to end alongside hiring managers, with a strong foundational understanding of HR fundamentals
Has owned core people operations (payroll, benefits, onboarding, visas) and is excited to run them hands-on
Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to navigate complexity with honesty, care, and discretion
Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Nice To Haves

At least 4 years of professional experience including running people operations, ideally at growing startups or nonprofits.
Experience recruiting highly sought-after technical or research talent; familiarity with the AI research ecosystem is a plus
Experience scaling a people function as an organization grows
Already leverages AI and other productivity tools to work effectively or eager to learn.

Responsibilities

Own our hiring process end-to-end and run it: candidate communications, scheduling, program management, and funnel analysis
Shape our sourcing strategy (channels, events, partners, outreach) to increase the quality of our top of funnel
Develop seamless onboarding practices, providing new employees with everything they need in their first week rather than their first month
Own our benefits, payroll, and HRIS: run them yourself, decide which vendors we use and when we switch, and be the person the team trusts with questions about any of it
Establish the policies and practices that keep our culture strong as we grow: candid feedback, continuous learning, and clear expectations for what good work looks like.
Advise managers and employees through sensitive people situations, including performance concerns, conflict, feedback, and other employee-relations issues
Own our federal and multi-state employment compliance.
Make the calls that carry real risk: leaves, accommodations, and how we classify employees and contractors
Meet the deadlines that cannot slip: visa cases with external counsel, business licenses, state registrations, required trainings and postings