People Operations Lead

ABOUT MANIFEST Manifest OS is the leading AI-native company on a mission to replace the billable hour and make legal services more accessible for American businesses and consumers. We power the next generation of AI-native law firms with one unified global brand, a proprietary technology platform, and a centralized back office, enabling lawyers to eliminate the administrative burden and focus on delivering exceptional outcomes for their clients. Manifest OS has raised a $60M Series A from Menlo Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, First Round, and Quiet Capital. ABOUT THE TEAM You'll be the first People Operations hire at Manifest, which means you're not joining a team, you're building the team that will drive People strategy and culture across the organization. We can't deliver exceptional outcomes for clients without first building an exceptional place to work. Reporting directly to the Chief People Officer, you'll have both the freedom and the accountability that comes with being first. ABOUT THE ROLE We're hiring our first People Operations Lead to build the operating backbone that lets Manifest scale without things breaking. This role is primarily about systems, data, and programs: the infrastructure and frameworks that make Manifest's promise as an employer real and scalable. You'll partner closely with our Employee Experience Manager, who owns the people-facing, culture, and belonging side of the employee journey. The accuracy of our people data, the rigor of our performance and compensation cycles, and the systems that keep us audit-ready are squarely yours. You'll own the full People Ops function from day one, which means you'll have both the freedom and the accountability that comes with that. WHAT YOU’LL DO - People systems. Own and administer our people systems of record (HRIS, payroll platform, travel platform): manage integrations, permissions, and vendor relationships across both Manifest OS and Manifest Law. - People data. Maintain data integrity in Rippling and other systems, so headcount, compensation, reporting lines, and employment changes are always accurate and audit-ready. - Global mobility. Build and maintain the frameworks that support international movement: relocation guidelines, cost-of-living adjustments, and the comp implications that come with them. - Benefits. Own our benefits strategy end-to-end: source vendors, run the initial rollout, and continuously optimise for both Manifest OS and Manifest Law populations. - Team surveys. Design and run our global survey program (annual, pulse, and function-specific) and turn results into action, not just a report. - Performance & compensation. Lead the design and cadence of our performance program (calibration, promotion guidelines, peer feedback) and the compensation cycles tied to it; own benchmarking against target percentiles. - People Lead enablement. Build the systems, frameworks, and resources that help people leads do their jobs well; coaching guides, feedback tools, leadership development. - Security & compliance. Own the people side of our compliance program (access management, audit-readiness) and partner with IT/Security as requirements evolve. (Flag: anything touching Manifest Law licensure/bar compliance should route through legal review, not be decided here.) WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - 4–6+ years in People Operations, HR systems, or business/program operations, with real ownership of people data, performance, compensation, or benefits infrastructure, not just culture and events. - Hands-on HRIS experience: you've configured it, maintained it, and trust it as the system of record. - A track record of building compensation, performance, or benefits programs from scratch, ideally across multiple locations or entities. - Comfortable being the connective tissue between People, Finance, and IT/Security on compliance, benefits budgets, and data integrity. - Someone who operates like an owner: you spot the gap before someone points it out, and close it without waiting to be asked. - (Nice to have) AI-native: you default to automation over manual work. THIS IS FOR YOU IF.... - You light up when someone says "we've never had a real onboarding program" or "we've never done a company offsite," because you see exactly what's possible - You believe culture is built in the details: the welcome note, the first team lunch, the way someone's work anniversary is acknowledged - You want your fingerprints on how a company gets built, and you're motivated by the idea that the experience you create now will shape how people talk about Manifest for years - You can hold both things at once: the big-picture culture vision and the operational rigor to make it real THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF.... - You need a fully resourced team or established infrastructure to feel effective; right now, it's largely you, and that's the point. - You are looking for a remote role: this position is in-office in NYC, five days a week.