People Operations Specialist

About HappyRobot

HappyRobot is the infrastructure for enterprises to build and orchestrate AI workforces. Our AI workers don't just communicate through voice and email - they make decisions, take action, and run operations autonomously across entire enterprise systems. Born in Y Combinator (S23) and backed by a16z, Base10, Prysm Capital and Eurazeo with over $200M raised, we power critical operations for global enterprises worldwide.

Our platform is battle-tested in the most demanding environments, where AI has real consequences. We started in logistics, built our own voice stack, models, and orchestration layer from the ground up, and are now bringing that infrastructure to every enterprise that runs the real economy. Learn more about our vision in our manifesto.

About the role

We're looking for a People Operations Specialist to be the backbone of HappyRobot's people function — the person employees go to with questions, and the person who makes sure everything behind the scenes actually works. You'll own onboarding end-to-end, run benefits and leave administration across every country we operate in, and manage the day-to-day relationship with our PEO and EOR partners in the US, Spain, UK, EMEA, and LATAM.

This is a hands-on, detail-driven role for someone who takes real pride in clean data, closed loops, and being the teammate everyone can count on. You'll keep our HRIS (Rippling) accurate and current, navigate the compliance complexity that comes with hiring across multiple countries, and automate the repetitive parts of the job rather than grinding through them manually. As the people function matures, you'll also get to help shape engagement initiatives, policy, and programs, with real opportunity to go deeper into the areas you care most about.

Responsibilities

• Be the go-to for employee questions. You'll be the first point of contact for questions about benefits, payroll, policies, leave, and anything else people-related. You'll answer quickly, know when to escalate, and turn repeat questions into better documentation.

• Own onboarding. From offer signed to their first day, you'll make sure every transition runs smoothly. That covers background checks, work authorization, equipment and access coordination, and a first week that sets new hires up to succeed.

• Run benefits and leave administration. You'll manage our benefits programs and statutory leave across the countries we operate in, including enrollments, life-event changes, and local requirements. You'll make sure employees understand what they're entitled to.

• Manage our PEO and EOR partners. You'll own day-to-day coordination with our PEO for employees in the US, Spain, and the UK, and with our EOR partners across EMEA and LATAM. You'll keep vendors accountable, resolve exceptions, and flag compliance questions before they become problems.

• Keep our HRIS clean and running. You'll own employee records, status changes, and data integrity in Rippling. Clean data is the foundation everything else is built on.

• Help build people programs. Beyond operations, you'll help with engagement initiatives, policy updates, team events, and whatever else the team needs as the function matures.

• Automate the repetitive work. You'll find where manual steps slow us down and fix them with AI tools, Rippling workflows, or whatever gets the job done sustainably.

Required Qualifications

• 2–4 years in HR, People Operations, or a generalist People role, ideally at a tech company or fast-growing startup. You've owned real work, not just supported someone else's.

• Hands-on HRIS experience (Rippling preferred) and comfort learning new systems quickly.

• Breadth across the employee lifecycle. You've worked on some mix of onboarding, benefits, payroll, compliance, and employee support, and can be a strong thought partner across these areas. As the team grows you will have an opportunity to dive deeper into areas of special interest.

• Comfort with international HR complexity. You've worked with employees or contractors across multiple countries and know how to navigate that complexity — whether through EOR partners, local counsel, or your own experience with international employment law and frameworks. You have a strong understanding of local employment law and compliance that guide your decisions and help shape our operations. For roles based in San Francisco: US employment law; Mexico City: Mexico and LATAM; Madrid: Spain and EMEA. You know what you don't know and you know who to call.

• Strong coordination skills. You can manage multiple vendors and stakeholders, like PEOs, EORs, and outside counsel, keep them accountable, and keep things moving.

• AI-native and automation-oriented. You reach for automation before doing something manually for the third time. You've built workflows in your HRIS, automate tasks using tools like chat GPT or Claude, and you're genuinely excited about using AI to work smarter. This is a real part of how you operate, not a checkbox.

• High ownership, high precision, low ego. You take deep satisfaction in closing loops and keeping things clean. You're energized by being the person your teammates can count on. The details matter to you, and you're comfortable doing the unglamorous work that holds everything together.

• Startup orientation. You've thrived where the playbook wasn't fully written. You're comfortable with ambiguity, resourceful when you don't have all the answers, and you see a ground-floor people function as an opportunity — not a risk.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience coordinating global immigration cases with outside counsel

• Experience working with a PEO and EORs

• Spanish or French language skills

Why join us?

• Join a world-class team of engineers and builders.

• Backed by top investors including a16z, Y Combinator, Base10, Prysm Capital and Eurazeo.

• Have ownership and autonomy of projects and are encouraged to ship.

• Comprehensive Benefits including healthcare, dental, vision coverage.

• Competitive salary + equity in a high-growth startup.

Our Operating Principles

Extreme Ownership

We take full responsibility for our work, outcomes, and team success. No excuses, no blame-shifting — if something needs fixing, we own it and make it better. This means stepping up, even when it’s not “your job.” If a ball is dropped, we pick it up. If a customer is unhappy, we fix it. If a process is broken, we redesign it. We don’t wait for someone else to solve it — we lead with accountability and expect the same from those around us.

Craftsmanship

Putting care and intention into every task, striving for excellence, and taking deep ownership of the quality and outcome of your work. Craftsmanship means never settling for “just fine.” We sweat the details because details compound. Whether it’s a product feature, an internal doc, or a sales call — we treat it as a reflection of our standards. We aim to deliver jaw-dropping customer experiences by being curious, meticulous, and proud of what we build — even when nobody’s watching.

We are “majos”
Be friendly & have fun with your coworkers. Always be genuine & honest, but kind. “Majo” is our way of saying: be a good human. Be approachable, helpful, and warm. We’re building something ambitious, and it’s easier (and more fun) when we enjoy the ride together. We give feedback with kindness, challenge each other with respect, and celebrate wins together without ego.

Urgency with Focus
Create the highest impact in the shortest amount of time. Move fast, but in the right direction. We operate with speed because time is our most limited resource. But speed without focus is chaos. We prioritize ruthlessly, act decisively, and stay aligned. We aim for high leverage: the biggest results from the simplest, smartest actions. We’re running a high-speed marathon — not a sprint with no strategy.

Talent Density and Meritocracy
Hire only people who can raise the average; ‘exceptional performance is the passing grade.’ Ability trumps seniority. We believe the best teams are built on talent density — every hire should raise the bar. We reward contribution, not titles or tenure. We give ownership to those who earn it, and we all hold each other to a high standard. A-players want to work with other A-players — that’s how we win.

First-Principles Thinking
Strip a problem to physics-level facts, ignore industry dogma, rebuild the solution from scratch. We don’t copy-paste solutions. We go back to basics, ask why things are the way they are, and rebuild from the ground up if needed. This mindset pushes us to innovate, challenge stale assumptions, and move faster than incumbents. It’s how we build what others think is impossible.

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