People Operations Lead

Title: People Operations Lead Location: New York ABOUT EDRA Edra is solving one of the hardest problems in enterprise AI: AI models are generic but company processes are specific. We build AI agents that learn how processes actually run, and then run their operations. We're a Series A startup, backed by Sequoia and other leading VC firms, led by Co-Founders who created and led Forward Deployed AI Engineering at Palantir, and we're growing our team in New York and London. We're a deeply technical team of engineers, AI researchers, and strategists with a high bar for talent and a shared belief that exceptional people are the foundation of everything great we'll build. THE ROLE Edra is 30+ people across New York and London, with aggressive hiring plans in both offices. Every one of those people runs through an offer, payroll in one of two countries, equity in one of two tax regimes, benefits, and the compliance layer underneath it all. We've laid the foundation; now we want someone to own it, and to build the version that gets us to 60, 100, and beyond. You'll own the employee lifecycle end to end in both countries: US and UK payroll, benefits in both regimes, onboarding, and people compliance across two jurisdictions. At most companies, people ops is carved into slices; here you own the whole stack, with real autonomy to determine how it runs. You'll own these systems internally, working directly with our payroll providers, benefits brokers, accountants, and employment counsel where specialist expertise is needed. That's the exciting part, so we'll be specific about it: this is a builder and operator role. You'll inherit working processes and be expected to replace each one as we outgrow it: automating what's manual, rebuilding for scale, and designing the systems a much larger Edra will still be running down the line. And because we're an AI company, we expect you to build like one. Edra's platform is available to you as a tool for your own function, and we want you using it (along with everything else in a modern AI startup stack) to build and run a people operation that's leaner, faster, and more precise than a traditional people operation. If you've ever looked at a payroll reconciliation or an onboarding checklist and thought “a system should be doing this!” this is the place to prove it. One thing to be upfront about: comp philosophy, equity strategy, and performance management remain Founder-owned. You'll make those programs operationally excellent: the data, tooling, process, communication, and execution behind them. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Be the first point of contact for operational people questions (payroll, benefits, leave, equity administration, and employment logistics) and resolve them quickly and clearly. - Own US and UK payroll end to end: run it, reconcile it, handle joiners and leavers, catch problems before they reach a paycheck, and fix the ones that do fast. - Design and build our onboarding program from first principles, so new hires are set up to take ownership and have impact from day one, in either office. - Automate onboarding and offboarding processes across both entities: equipment and access provisioning, benefits enrollment, compliance training, and more. - Administer benefits in both countries: US healthcare and 401(k), including open enrollment and renewals; UK pension and benefits. - Own the operational compliance calendar across both countries, including required payroll, benefits, employment, and personnel processes and filings. - Keep Rippling accurate as the source of record for headcount, comp, and org data, and extend it wherever it can take work off a human - Build automations and internal tooling for repetitive people workflows, using Edra’s own platform and other AI tools wherever they can improve speed, accuracy, or employee experience. WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR - You've owned significant parts of people operations at a startup through a growth phase. You've personally processed payroll, fixed benefits enrollment errors, and onboarded new team members, not just managed vendors who did. - You've worked across US and UK employment infrastructure, or have international people ops experience and can close the gap quickly. - You default to systems. When something breaks twice, you fix the process, and when a task is repetitive, you automate it rather than staffing it. - You're curious about what AI tooling can do for an operations function, and you'd rather experiment and find out than wait for a vendor to tell you. - You're detail-oriented at the level this work requires. Errors in payroll and benefits are visible to everyone—you make sure they don’t happen. - You write clearly, especially when explaining equity, benefits, and policy to people who aren't specialists. - You handle confidential comp and performance information with discretion. BONUS POINTS - UK payroll and pensions depth - Experience standing up new benefits programs in the US and UK - Fluency with Rippling - Track record of building automation or tooling inside an ops function LEARN MORE ABOUT EDRA - Watch our Series A announcement video - Read our blog post from our launch - Learn more about what we're building COMPENSATION & BENEFITS Edra offers generous compensation and benefits in both New York & London: - Competitive base salary & meaningful equity - Top tier health, dental, & vision plans: - Top plans with 100% premium coverage in the US (and a One Medical membership) - Private medical & dental coverage in the UK - Flexible paid time off - Lunch provided in office most days, snacks & drinks too - A stipend to set up your workspace A FEW DETAILS We work together in person five days a week from our offices in the West Village (New York) and Holborn (London). Edra is an equal opportunity employer and we encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds. Edra does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristic.