HR Generalist

Location: Aptos
Employment Type: Full-Time
Reports To: Head of People

About the Role

We are seeking a seasoned and capable HR Generalist with 5-8+ years of broad HR and people leadership experience to support and elevate our People Operations function. This highly visible and hands-on role drives operational excellence across HR processes, ensures regulatory compliance, strengthens employee experience, and provides trusted guidance to leaders and employees across multiple shifts and locations.

The ideal candidate brings deep HR expertise, strong interpersonal judgment, adaptability, and excellent communication skills. They thrive in a fast-paced environment and are skilled at balancing strategic priorities with day-to-day operational needs.

Key Responsibilities

HR Partnership & Employee Relations

• Serve as a trusted HR advisor, providing sound guidance within established policies and best practices.
• Investigate and resolve employee relations matters with fairness, consistency, and confidentiality.
• Coach leaders across all levels, proactively addressing workplace concerns and supporting performance processes.
• Provide flexible support across two shifts and multiple operational locations.

Compliance & Ethics

• Lead ethics and HR compliance programs, ensuring adherence to local, federal, and California state requirements.
• Manage compliance for remote and hybrid employees in California, including wage ordinances, meal/rest breaks, and home office reimbursements.
• Conduct internal audits of personnel records, payroll practices, and HRIS data.
• Maintain required reporting and regulatory documentation (EEO, ACA, etc.).
• Manage all leaves of absence.
• Contribute to HR policy development, updates, and implementation across the organization.

Payroll & Wage/Hour

• Manage end-to-end payroll processing with accuracy and timeliness.
• Ensure wage/hour compliance, accurate overtime calculations, and proper job classification.
• Lead wage & hour trainings for employees and supervisors.
• Manage multi-state payroll activities, as applicable.
• Partner with Finance to reconcile payroll data and implement process improvements.

Benefits Administration

• Partner with a third party benefits broker team to manage employee benefit programs, managing open enrollment, employee education, and vendor relationships.
• Validate data accuracy and resolve complex benefits issues as needed.

Employee Experience & Engagement

• Champion a positive employee experience through communication, engagement initiatives, and team involvement.
• Align employee experience efforts with business needs, workforce productivity, and long-term organizational goals.
• Manage all onboarding and offboarding processes, focusing on smooth and consistent employee experiences.  Implement changes to existing processes to improve new hire experience and provide stronger support to managers.

HRIS & Data Management

• Oversee HRIS workflows and data integrity.
• Troubleshoot system issues and support enhancements or new feature rollouts.
• Maintain complete, compliant digital and physical employee records.

Miscellaneous Activities

• Support employees across multiple shifts and locations with flexibility and responsiveness.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
  
  

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 5-8+ years of HR leadership or generalist experience.
• Strong HRIS experience, ideally with Rippling.
• Proficiency in California labor laws, including wage and hour compliance, leave administration, and multi-state considerations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to connect across all organizational levels.
• Strong data-driven decision-making skills with the ability to interpret metrics and apply business insight.
• Proven understanding of HR trends, legal requirements, and best-practice compliance frameworks.
• Strong problem-solving, critical thinking, and prioritization skills in a fast-paced environment.
• High emotional intelligence, active listening, empathy, and relationship-building skills.
• Commitment to professionalism, discretion, and strict confidentiality.

Preferred

• HR certification such as PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP.
• Experience supporting multi-site or multi-shift operations.
• Bilingual in Spanish/English preferred.

 

The anticipated base pay range for this role is $100,000 - $140,000 per year for our Aptos location.  The pay offered to a selected candidate will be determined based on factors such as (but not limited to) the level of the individual who fills the role, the final scope and responsibilities of the position, the qualifications of the selected candidate, budget availability, internal equity, geographic location and external market pay for comparable jobs.

About Ohalo: 

Ohalo™ aims to accelerate evolution to unlock nature's potential. Founded in 2019, Ohalo develops novel breeding systems and improved plant varieties that help farmers grow more food with fewer natural resources, increasing the yield, resiliency, and genetic diversity of crops to sustainably feed our population. Ohalo's breakthrough technology, Boosted Breeding™, will usher in a new era of improved productivity to radically transform global agriculture. For more information, visit www.ohalo.com.

Notes: If you previously applied for a job at Ohalo Genetics, we encourage you to restate your interest in the position by submitting your application.

No visa sponsorship is available for this position at this time. 

No recruiter submissions, please.