Senior Manager, People & Operations

Center for AI Safety (CAIS) • San Francisco, CA

5d • $150,000 - $200,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Center for AI Safety (CAIS) is a research and advocacy organization focused on mitigating societal-scale risks from AI. CAIS is seeking a hands-on Senior Manager of People & Operations to own People Operations end to end as the organization grows, manage the Office Manager, and lead cross-functional operational projects. The role reports to the VP of Operations, who oversees Finance, IT, Compliance, Legal, HR, and Facilities.

The position is full-time and on-site five days per week in San Francisco; local candidates only. The role covers the full employee lifecycle, including recruiting, onboarding, offboarding, benefits administration, HR policies, and performance cycles. It also involves serving as an initial contact for employee questions and sensitive employee-relations matters, maintaining employment compliance with outside counsel, running the intern program, and developing retention practices.

The Senior Manager will manage and develop the Office Manager, coordinate vendors, build scalable systems and processes, and take on tactical work as needed. The role also leads operational projects from scoping through execution, including HR systems implementations, tool rollouts, compliance initiatives, process improvements, and office moves or build-outs. The successful candidate will navigate ambiguity, exercise sound judgment, identify risks early, and know when to escalate decisions to the VP of Operations.

Requirements

• 7+ years in core operations, people operations, or a similarly high-ownership role, including hands-on ownership of HR at a small or fast-growing organization.
• Experience running at least two other back-office functions, such as IT, legal, facilities, or compliance.
• Experience managing people and vendors.
• A track record of building or improving processes, rather than only maintaining existing ones.
• Comfort working closely with senior leaders and acting as a force multiplier for them.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• High agency and low ego, with willingness to take ownership of broken or missing processes without waiting to be asked.
• Highly organized and detail-oriented.
• Discretion and sound judgment when handling sensitive information.
• Genuine interest in AI safety and CAIS’s mission.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Local to San Francisco and able to work on-site five days per week.

Nice To Haves

• Working knowledge of California employment law.
• Experience implementing an HRIS, PEO, or similar people systems.
• Experience scaling operations at an early-stage or fast-growing mission-driven organization.
• Experience in a research organization, AI, or technology company.
• Experience managing an office move or build-out.

Responsibilities

• Own the full employee lifecycle, including recruiting processes, onboarding, offboarding, benefits administration, HR policies, and performance cycles.
• Manage recruiting vendors and the hiring pipeline, partnering with hiring managers to keep candidates moving and provide a strong candidate experience.
• Serve as the first point of contact for employee questions and sensitive employee-relations matters, escalating to the VP of Operations and outside counsel as needed.
• Maintain compliance with California and federal employment requirements, including required training, postings, and records, in partnership with outside legal counsel.
• Run the intern program and develop retention practices such as structured onboarding, check-ins, and exit interviews.
• Manage and develop the Office Manager by setting priorities, delegating, coaching, and owning performance.
• Take ownership of day-to-day execution across the function to create leverage for the VP of Operations.
• Coordinate key vendors and hold them to clear expectations.
• Build systems and processes that enable the team to scale.
• Step in on tactical, hands-on work when needed.
• Lead operational projects from scoping through execution, including HR systems implementations, tool rollouts, compliance initiatives, process improvements, and office moves or build-outs.
• Navigate ambiguity, make sound tradeoffs, keep work moving, and escalate decisions at the appropriate time.
• Surface risks early and bring forward solutions.
• Depending on organizational needs, take direct ownership of specific vendor relationships.

Benefits

• Health insurance for the employee and dependents.
• 401(k) plan with 4% matching.
• Unlimited PTO.
• Lunch and dinner at the office.
• Annual professional development stipend.
• Access to some of the top talent working on technical and conceptual research in AI safety.
• A $1,500 referral bonus when a referred hire has been with CAIS for 90 days.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior