People Operations Lead

What to Expect

Heron Power is a startup building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and cost-effective hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything.

Our first goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large-scale renewables, storage, and loads to the grid. Heron’s leadership team is made up of seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power conversion products.

We believe no one person knows everything. We learn together, build together, and solve hard problems from first principles. You’ll work in a fast-moving, deeply technical environment where ownership and impact are real.

Job Overview

We are seeking a People Operations Lead to serve as Heron Power’s first dedicated HR hire. Reporting to the VP of Finance & Operations, you will help build the people operations foundation for a company scaling from R&D into manufacturing. You will own HR operations, payroll administration, benefits, compliance, employee relations, and manager support, while implementing the systems and policies needed to support a growing non-exempt and hourly workforce. This is a hands-on, high impact role that will influence Heron Power’s culture for years to come.

How You Will Contribute

Employee Lifecycle

Own employee onboarding, background checks, immigration with outside counsel, I-9 verification, and new hire orientation

Manage offboarding, including final pay coordination, exit interviews, systems deprovisioning, and documentation

Coordinate performance review cycles, promotions, job changes, and salary adjustments in partnership with Finance and leadership

Support contractor onboarding, renewals, and offboarding in partnership with Legal and Finance

Payroll, Benefits & Systems

Prepare payroll for salaried and hourly employees in partnership with Finance

Lead benefits evaluation, annual renewals, open enrollment, and day-to-day administration

Manage HR systems and lead necessary transitions and integrations in partnership with IT

Build scalable timekeeping, attendance, scheduling, and wage-and-hour processes ahead of manufacturing ramp

HR Business Partnership & Compliance

Serve as the first point of contact for employee relations, manager coaching, performance concerns, investigations, and HR cases

Maintain the employee handbook, HR policies, required trainings, employee records, and compliance calendar

Partner with Compliance/EHS on workers’ compensation, OSHA-related processes, safety training, and injury reporting

What You Will Bring

We have a short list of must-have requirements. We prioritize a strong grip on first principles, hands-on skills, and a sense of initiative. Domain-specific knowledge and experience will help determine the career level for each hire.

Must-Have Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

5+ years of progressive HR / people operations experience, including senior-level responsibility at a high-growth company

Hands-on experience running payroll, including non-exempt/hourly staff

Experience owning HRIS and payroll systems, including implementations and integrations with third-party tools

Exceptional discretion, judgment, and communication skills — employees at every level trust you with sensitive matters

Strong knowledge of federal and California employment law

Nice-to-Haves

Prior experience as the first or early HR hire at a Series A–C company

Experience supporting a scaling manufacturing, warehouse or hourly workforce

PHR, SPHR, or SHRM-CP/SCP certification

If you are passionate about technology and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, we would love to hear from you. Join us in accelerating the electrification of everything at Heron Power.

Heron Power provides competitive compensation (salary and equity) and benefits. The salary for this role ranges from $125,000 to $170,000 per year.