Head of People

The role

The Head of People will build and own the people strategy, including performance management, compensation, and culture. This person will partner with leadership on organizational design and evolve HR infrastructure.

What you will do

• Build and own people strategy including performance management, compensation, employee development, and culture
• Partner with leadership on organizational design, headcount planning, and talent decisions
• Evolve HR infrastructure by refining policies, ensuring compliance, and optimizing benefits programs
• Design and implement performance management frameworks
• Lead compensation strategy including pay bands, equity grants, and market benchmarking
• Drive culture and engagement initiatives
• Manage employee relations and coach managers
• Build manager enablement programs
• Ensure compliance with employment laws and regulations across all locations
• Partner with recruiting lead on hiring strategy and process improvements

Required qualifications

• 5-8+ years in People/HR roles at high-growth startups
• At least 2 years in leadership
• Experience scaling people functions at early-stage companies (50-200 employees)
• Track record designing and implementing people processes
• Business partner mentality
• Strong coaching skills
• Comfort with ambiguity
• Excellent judgment on sensitive employee matters

Nice to have

• Experience in fintech, lending, or regulated industries
• Background in AI/ML or technical product companies
• Previous experience scaling a company through hyper-growth (50→200+ employees)
• Knowledge of multi-state employment compliance

Benefits

• Medical coverage
• Dental coverage
• Vision coverage
• Generous 401(k)
• Catered lunches

About the company

Salient builds AI agents for regulated financial services. The company is backed by a16z and Y Combinator and is building in person in San Francisco.