HR Leader

Description:

The Opportunity:

Build client's people and culture infrastructure as we scale from ~20 to 50+ employees. You will own hiring, onboarding, retention, policy framework, and culture - ensuring merit-driven decision-making, high agency, and low attrition as we grow.

The Challenge:

We are building an AI-native, flat-hierarchy, high-agency culture in a rapidly growing company. This is hard because:

• Hiring for culture fit + raw talent: Not every smart person thrives in high-agency, decentralized teams
• Scaling without bureaucracy: As we grow, how do we maintain merit-based decision-making?
• Competitive war for talent: We're competing with FAANG, startups, and government tech for top engineers and product folks
• Retention in mission-driven culture: How do we attract nation-builders, not just mercenaries?

Key Responsibilities:

Talent Acquisition & Hiring (50%):

• Own end-to-end hiring: Define JDs, source candidates, interview strategy, negotiations
• Build talent pipelines across engineering, product, operations, and analytics
• Target metric: Fill senior roles in <6 weeks (aggressive but achievable with systems)
• Partner with hiring managers on competency frameworks (merit-driven assessments)
• Manage campus hiring and intern program (nation-building pipeline)
• Track hiring KPIs: Time-to-fill, offer acceptance rate, new hire quality metrics

People & Culture (30%):

• Design and implement people policies: compensation, equity, learning & development, time-off
• Own onboarding program (first-week to first-90-days experience)
• Drive engagement and retention initiatives (target <10% attrition)
• Facilitate culture building: team events, off-sites, internal communication
• Manage pulse surveys and culture feedback loops
• Ensure psychological safety and high-agency empowerment

People Operations & Compliance (15%):

• Manage HR systems, payroll, compliance (PF, ESI, gratuity, DPDP, etc.)
• Drive ISO certifications, data protection compliance, HR best practices
• Create robust documentation: offer letters, employment contracts, policies, SoPs
• Manage employment-related audits and statutory requirements

Strategic People Planning (5%):

• Partner with CEO on succession planning and leadership development
• Forecast hiring needs based on product roadmap and revenue growth
• Identify high-potential ICs and create growth pathways
• Contribute to annual culture and people strategy

What We're Looking For:

Core Competencies:

• 7+ years in HR/talent operations; 3+ years as HRBP or TA lead
• Hands-on hiring expertise: You personally source, interview, and close candidates
• Startup experience: You've scaled a team from 1050+ employees in a high-growth environment
• Culture design: You can articulate what culture is and deliberately build it
• Systems mindset: You design scalable HR processes and tools
• Compliance knowledge: You understand India's labor laws, PF, tax implications, data protection
• High agency: You own outcomes, make decisions independently

Proven Track Record:

• Successfully scaled hiring in a fast-growth startup (minimum 50% growth year-over-year)
• Track record of retention (meaningful reduction in attrition)
• Built strong employer brand (candidates wanting to work with you)
• Experience in tech/product companies (you understand engineering culture)

Culture Fit:

• Mission-aligned: You care about building teams for a purpose, not just hitting hiring numbers
• Transparent communicator: You're honest about compensation, trade-offs, and company challenges
• Inclusive: You build diverse teams and remove bias from hiring
• Learning mindset: You stay current on HR best practices, tools, and trends
• Scrappy: You'll not build from zero but you make things happen

What Success Looks Like (12 Months):

• <10% attrition rate (demonstrates retention and culture)
• Diverse team: 40%+ women in tech and leadership roles
• Campus hiring pipeline: 10+ strong interns, 2-3 conversions to full-time
• Robust policies in place: Offer letters, NDAs, handbooks, compensation policy
• Employee net promoter score >50 (internal engagement)