Founding People Operations Partner

Percepta’s mission is to transform critical institutions with applied AI. We care that industries that power the world (e.g. healthcare, manufacturing, energy) benefit from frontier technology.

To make that happen, we embed with industry-leading customers to drive AI transformation. We bring together:

• Forward-deployed expertise in engineering, product, and research

• Mosaic, our in-house toolkit for rapidly deploying agentic workflows

• Strategic partnerships with Anthropic, McKinsey, AWS, companies within the General Catalyst portfolio, and more

Our team is a quickly growing group of Applied AI Engineers, Embedded Product Managers and Researchers motivated by diffusing the promise of AI into improvements we can feel in our day to day lives.

Percepta is a direct partnership with General Catalyst, a global transformation and investment company.

Percepta is seeking our Founding People Operations Partner to help build our company from the inside out. Working in tandem with the Head of People, you’ll both influence strategy and be the driving force that turns planning into reality.

This role is about building the systems and processes that let Percepta take great care of its people accurately, reliably, and at scale.

You will be a hands-on builder of the operational engine that drives how Percepta onboards, pays, and supports our expanding team. Most of these systems don’t exist yet, and you’ll get to be the visionary that designs and builds processes while also running them seamlessly.

We’re looking for someone who believes that "invisible" operational work is some of the most important work at any company. You genuinely enjoy working with internal Perceptrons, listening well, taking feedback to heart, and turning what you hear into real change. Building systems and documentation isn't a chore for you, it's a fun and exciting part of your day.

You have a "wherever I'm needed" mindset, and you're not precious about doing the unglamorous parts of the job. You're a builder who gets energized by turning ambiguity into order, and you're willing to experiment to find what works. You've built people systems before, but you also know there's no copy-paste playbook, and every company needs something a little different. You also understand that what serves us today will likely need updates in the near term, and are excited by the prospect of scaling a company.

At the end of the day, this role lives and breathes people. Behind every system, spreadsheet, and process you build, you know this powers real humans working hard toward big goals. You always maintain a personal touch, and know why this work matters: supporting the people who make the transformational work at Percepta possible.

Systems, Workflows, & Integrations

• Build and maintain the integrations between People, Finance, Legal, and IT so employee data is entered once and stays accurate everywhere it lives

• Own the day-to-day administration and data integrity of our HRIS and the People systems connected to it, including configuration, permissions, fields, workflows, and reporting

• Design, document, and run the core People workflows: onboarding, visa transfers, role and compensation changes, performance management, leaves, and offboarding

• Be the go-to person for system issues, vendor support, and access requests

Employee Lifecycle

• Own every tactical piece of onboarding, from background checks, immigration support, I-9 verification and work authorization, to equipment, access provisioning, and everything in between

• Administer payroll and benefits through our PEO

• Keep employee records accurate and maintain a clean audit trail behind every change

• Handle offboarding with the same care and attention as onboarding

Data, Reporting, & Compliance

• Keep us compliant as we hire into new states and jurisdictions, paying attention to postings, notices, filings, policy updates, the works

• Spot risk before it becomes a problem: data gaps, missed deadlines, process breakdowns or other potential issues

• Build reporting systems that give leadership real insight into headcount, hiring, and where the people function needs attention

General Operations and Support

• Act as the operational partner to our Head of People

• Be the initial point of contact for employee questions on policy, benefits, systems, and process, escalating what needs judgment and resolving the rest yourself

• Coordinate across internal and external stakeholders to get things over the line

• Keep our People Ops knowledge base and internal documentation current, clear, and actually useful

• At least 5-7+ years in People Operations or HR Operations in a high-growth environment.

• Previous experience procuring, implementing, and maintaining an HRIS or adjacent People systems.

• Working knowledge and experience in the administration of US employment practices, payroll and benefits, and broader compliance obligations.

  • It’s a huge bonus if you’ve worked with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) before, or have been through the process of transitioning from using a PEO to bringing things in house.

• Exceptional attention to detail and follow-through. Things you own simply don't fall through the cracks!

• Strong data instincts, with comfort in spreadsheets, confidence building a clean report, and an allergy to inconsistent records.

• Clear communicator with employees at every level, paired with sound judgment about what stays confidential.

• A genuine bias toward automation, always looking for the repeatable pattern and removing the manual work.

  • It’s a big plus if you have experience using or are excited to learn more about AI tooling and lightweight automation!

• Real comfort with ambiguity and unbuilt process. You'd rather write the first version of something than wait for one to come around.

• Excited about building and contributing to our in-office culture in NYC!

We’re working against an incredibly ambitious mission. It won’t be easy, but it will likely be the most fulfilling work of your career. If this excites you, let's chat, even if you don't meet all of the qualifications above.

Dream bigger: We have the unique privilege of taking on the most ambitious problems and we should chase them with optimism, responsibility, and genuine belief that we can make it happen. We have to embrace the hard things when no one else will.
Heart in the game: What we're doing matters and we have to give a shit. Internally, that means fixing badness when you find it. Externally, it means honoring the trust our customers place in us with their most important problems. This isn’t a 9-5, nor is it a job we’re ever going to monitor your hours. We promise to put work in front of you that matters and in return, we ask you to promise to care.
Win for the customer: Everyone is an engineer and the job of an engineer is to deliver outcomes, not outputs. Everything we do—the products we build, the partnerships we launch, the strategy we set—exists to make our customers successful. Delivery is the strategy.
Make the call: Organizations are only as strong as the pace at which they make decisions. Everyone at Percepta should feel empowered to commit and shape the ambiguity in front of them. But "make the call" cuts both ways: make the decision and make the phone call. High-agency decision-making only works with high-bandwidth communication and we commit to never operate in silos.
Intensity with kindness: We believe in excellence in execution, candor in feedback, ruthlessness in prioritization, and survivalist urgency. We also believe you don't need to be an asshole to deliver on any of this. The trust built through shared kindness and vulnerability is what makes the intensity sustainable.