The posting
ABOUT THINKING MACHINES
The mission of Thinking Machines is to build AI that extends human will and judgment. We are training frontier models with Inkling, developing Tinker to let people make models their own, and crafting interfaces that broaden human-AI communication. We believe the future worth building is human, and we're hiring people who want to build it.
ABOUT THE ROLE
We’re looking for a People Operations Generalist who believes that great people systems create leverage and trust. They let our researchers, engineers, and builders stay in deep focus–without distraction or uncertainty. Compliance happens smoothly instead of creating friction. New hires arrive on day one and integrate quickly with the support they need.
This role is ideal for someone who treats people operations as a craft that spans compliance, program design, and organizational strategy. You'll support the early employee lifecycle, from offer acceptance to onboarding, while also building the programs and infrastructure that preserve what makes our culture distinctive as we grow. You’ll operate with significant autonomy, making judgment calls and building systems from first principles in an early-stage environment.
This role reports to the Head of Operations and will be foundational in shaping how we scale.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
- Own the early employee lifecycle. Own our onboarding experience end-to-end, from offer acceptance through completion of new hire training.
- Design compliance systems that are rigorous, reliable, and seamless. Manage I-9 verification, employee eligibility documentation, background checks, and compliance training. Monitor federal and state employment law obligations as headcount grows and build systems that make compliance straightforward for hiring managers and employees.
- Enable global talent access. Own immigration case management in coordination with outside counsel across a range of visa types (H-1B, O-1A, EB-1A, PERM, CPT/OPT, and others), including RFE response management and policy monitoring. Support international hiring and employer-of-record arrangements for employees outside the U.S.
- Build people programs that cultivate company culture. Help design and manage onboarding curricula, manager training, and executive/team coaching engagements, including sourcing coaches, coordinating workshops, and measuring impact. Build the playbooks and feedback loops that make these programs improve over time.
- Build infrastructure that works for us. Evaluate, implement, and maintain HRIS, payroll, and adjacent systems (e.g., leading migrations between platforms). Balance vendor capabilities, integration requirements, and flexibility as needs change.
- Support the benefits experience. Administer enrollment, answer employee questions, and coordinate with brokers and vendors during renewals. Help people understand and maximize their benefits (health, fertility, mental health, retirement, workers’ comp).
- Create clarity through documentation. Build playbooks, decision trees, and self-service resources that help employees find answers independently and help the team maintain consistency as we grow. Maintain dashboards and trackers across onboarding, immigration, and program health so leadership always has visibility.
- Partner across the organization. Work closely with finance, legal, IT, and hiring managers to ensure people operations supports company velocity while maintaining quality and compliance.
- Build for scale. We’re a fast growing organization - build the infrastructure, operations and a team that can help us scale.
SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
Minimum qualifications:
- Demonstrated experience in HR operations, people operations, or a related field
- Strong knowledge of employment compliance, including I-9 requirements, state and federal regulations, and recordkeeping best practices.
- Experience supporting immigration processes in coordination with outside counsel.
- Hands-on experience with HRIS platforms (e.g., Rippling, Workday, SequoiaOne) and comfort evaluating new tools.
- Meticulous attention to detail, paired with an instinct for designing systems that fail gracefully and surface issues early.
- Ability to operate with ambiguity and make principled tradeoffs in fast-moving environments.
- Clear, concise written communication skills. You can take complex policies and make them accessible.
- Exercise sound judgment and discretion when handling sensitive employee information and complex situations.
Preferred qualifications:
We encourage you to apply even if you don’t meet all preferred qualifications.
- Experience at a high-growth technology or AI company
- Background in benefits administration or total rewards
- Familiarity with leave management, workers' compensation, or other compliance-heavy HR domains
- Experience building onboarding programs or improving employee experience touchpoints.
- Experience with international employment (EOR, cross-border hiring).
LOGISTICS
- Location: This role is based in San Francisco, California.
- Compensation: Depending on background, skills and experience, the expected annual salary range for this position is $275,000 - $325,000 USD.
- Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the visa process together.
- Benefits: Thinking Machines offers generous health, dental, and vision benefits, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, and relocation support as needed.
- As set forth in Thinking Machines' Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.
