People Operations Lead
- Location
- San Francisco, NY
- Job type
- Full-time
- Level
- Lead / Staff
- Experience
- 4+ years
- Listed
- 19 days ago
Skills & highlights for this role
- payroll administration
- benefits administration
- HRIS
- multi-state employment compliance
Also useful
- Rippling
Stated benefits & perks
- 401k
About the role
Kernel is making its first People team hire: an experienced generalist who will own HR and people operations end-to-end for a ~30-person team across San Francisco, New York, Cincinnati, and remote.
This is a hands-on, individual contributor role. You’ll run the day-to-day yourself, including onboarding, payroll, benefits, compliance, and employee relations, and build systems appropriate for our stage and then scale them as the team grows. You’ll work closely with the recruiting team on offers and onboarding.
What you'll do
- Own the employee lifecycle from signed offer to offboarding, including onboarding, I-9s, equipment, and policy acknowledgments
- Run payroll and benefits administration in our HRIS and payroll systems, including our 401(k)
- Keep us compliant across states (CA, NY, OH, and anywhere remote teammates live) including registrations, state-mandated benefits, and required trainings
- Build just enough playbooks and structure: handbook, leveling, comp bands, and a lightweight performance and feedback cycle
- Be a trusted resource for employees and managers on policies, benefits, and employee relations
- Help shape culture across offices: team rituals, offsites, and how we work as we grow
- Use AI and automation to handle the busywork so you can focus on the work that needs a human
What we're looking for
- 4+ years in people operations or HR, ideally as an early people/HR hire at a high-growth startup
- Hands-on experience running payroll, benefits, and an HRIS (Rippling a plus)
- Working knowledge of multi-state US employment compliance
- Strong judgment and discretion with sensitive topics
- A builder's mindset: you know when process helps and when it gets in the way
- Startup experience: you've built fast, worn multiple hats, and figured things out without a playbook
- Excited to grow into building a team as Kernel scales
Hiring process
- 30-min intro call with our Chief of Staff
- 30-min conversation with our CEO
- On-site interviews (can do video conference as needed), including a 60-minute working session to walk through a few realistic scenarios
- Offer!
About Kernel
Kernel provides crazy fast, open source infrastructure for AI agents to use the internet. Our API allows developers to instantly spin up secure browsers and automate anything on the web. We handle all the hard problems of running browser-based agents in production: agents x user credentials, autoscaling, bot detection, and human-in-the-loop workflows.
We’re used by teams at Cash App, Vercel, Framer, Rye, and over 5000 developers for tasks like QA automation, RPA, virtual assistants, and CUA RL environments. We've raised $22M from Accel, YCombinator, Vercel, Paul Graham, Solomon Hykes (Docker), David Cramer (Sentry), Charlie Marsh (Astral), and more.
From Kernel's careers page, first listed on Rolev.ai on October 21, 2026. Rolev.ai is not the employer.
How Rolev.ai helps with this application
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Common questions
Where is the People Operations Lead job at Kernel located?
This People Operations Lead position at Kernel is located in San Francisco, NY. Always check Kernel's application page for specific state eligibility or relocation policies.
What qualifications are required for People Operations Lead at Kernel?
For the People Operations Lead role, Kernel highlights 4+ years of relevant experience; experience with payroll administration, benefits administration, HRIS, multi-state employment compliance. Rolev.ai can score your existing resume against these requirements and show any skill gaps before you apply.
How do I apply for the People Operations Lead position at Kernel?
This listing links directly to Kernel's Ashby application page. You can apply directly on Kernel's site, or use Rolev.ai to check your resume fit, generate a zero-hallucination tailored resume and cover letter for this posting, and autofill the Ashby application form in 1 click with the Rolev.ai Chrome extension. You always review the form and press Submit yourself.