Senior Program Manager, People Operations & Systems

About the Company

We are a renewable energy and ocean technology company committed to rapidly developing and deploying technologies that will ensure a sustainable future for Earth by unlocking the vast energy potential of its oceans. Our focus is on capturing civilizational levels of ultra-low-cost renewable energy for applications including computing and affordable renewable fuels delivered to shore.

The company is a public benefit corporation headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and backed by leading venture capitalists, philanthropic investors, university endowments, and private investment offices. We operate as an idea meritocracy in which the best ideas change the company’s direction on a regular basis.

About the Job

We are developing a core technology that will operate in the worst conditions the world’s oceans have to offer for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention. As Senior Program Manager, People Operations & Systems, you will build and own the operational infrastructure behind our total rewards programs. This is a senior individual contributor role responsible for designing, strengthening, and scaling the systems, workflows, and controls that support payroll, benefits, leave administration, compliance operations, reporting, and related employee transactions.

This role is for someone who has built and run these systems before and knows what excellent looks like. You are comfortable stepping into a fast-growing environment, identifying what needs to be built or tightened, and putting practical, durable processes in place without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

You have likely been the operational backbone of a People function before, whether as an HR department of one or as the senior operator behind total rewards, payroll, systems, compliance, and reporting. You know how to build processes that work now and scale as a company grows from a few hundred employees to several thousand.

Payroll is a critical part of this role, but it is only one part. This role sits at the intersection of accuracy, compliance, and scale. As the company grows, the quality of these systems directly impacts employee trust, financial accuracy, and our ability to operate without disruption

Responsibilities

Total Rewards Systems Ownership

• Build and own the systems, workflows, controls, and documentation that support total rewards operations
• Design and improve scalable processes across payroll, benefits, leave, reporting, and related employee transactions
• Identify process gaps and implement practical improvements that strengthen accuracy, efficiency, and scale
• Serve as a senior thought partner on how total rewards operations should evolve as the company grows

Payroll Administration

• Own end-to-end payroll administration and ensure timely, accurate processing
• Partner with Finance on payroll review, reconciliations, reporting, and year-end activities
• Maintain payroll records, deductions, earnings, tax setup, and related controls

Benefits and Leave Administration

• Own benefits administration operations, including enrollments, qualifying life events, deductions, audits, and reconciliations
• Administer leave programs, internal tracking, documentation, payroll coordination, and related operational support
• Oversee company-specific paid leave programs and ensure appropriate controls and documentation are in place

Systems, Compliance, and Reporting

• Serve as primary administrator for HRIS, ATS, and related people systems
• Own workflows, permissions, data integrity, integrations, and system maintenance
• Prepare recurring and ad hoc reporting, reconciliations, and audits for leadership, Finance, and external partners
• Build controls that improve quality, consistency, and risk management across people operations

Required Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in payroll, total rewards operations, HR operations, people systems, or related roles
• Proven experience building, improving, and running systems and processes across payroll, benefits, leave, and related operations
• Deep experience with HRIS, payroll, and people systems administration, including building workflows, maintaining data integrity, and improving operational scale
• Strong experience in Rippling or a comparable HRIS/payroll platform, with a clear preference for candidates who have built and operated workflows in Rippling
• Experience in a high-growth startup or scaling organization
• Strong knowledge of payroll, benefits, and leave administration
• Strong systems thinking and the ability to quickly learn new tools, understand downstream impacts, and build scalable, well-controlled processes
• Strong attention to detail, judgment, and discretion with sensitive information
• Comfort operating in environments where systems are evolving and not all inputs are fully defined, with the ability to bring structure without over-engineering
• Ability to operate as a senior individual contributor and thought partner in a fast-growing environment

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Greenhouse or a comparable applicant tracking system
• Experience improving integrations and workflows across HRIS, ATS, payroll, benefits, and reporting tools
• Experience serving as an HR department of one or as a senior operational owner across payroll, systems, compliance, and reporting
• Experience in a high-growth startup or scaling organization
• Experience supporting multi-state payroll and employment administration
• Familiarity with compliance requirements across payroll, leave, benefits, workers’ compensation, and personnel records
• PHR, SHRM-CP, CPP, or related certification
• Experience implementing or optimizing HRIS, ATS, payroll, or benefits systems

The above qualifications are desired, not required. We encourage you to apply if you are a strong candidate with only some of the desired skills and experience listed.

Compensation & Benefits

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

• Cash compensation of $140,000 – $175,000
• Equity in the company. We’re all owners, and if we’re successful, this equity should be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:
  
  
• Flexible paid time off
• Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold level PPO plan for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Dental insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees and 100% for their partners and dependents)
• Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full-time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long-term financial support if you become disabled)
• Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA
• Relocation assistance to facilitate your move to Portland (if required).

Location

This is an on-site position. Our offices, lab, and shop are located in Portland, Oregon.