People Operations Lead at Granola, an AI notepad startup. Own end-to-end people ops (hiring, onboarding, payroll, compliance) across London and San Francisco offices. Build scalable processes and automation for a fast-growing team.
We’re building an AI notepad that helps teams get to the point faster. We’ve grown from a handful of people to 60 in under a year, we’ve just opened our first US office in San Francisco, and we’re not slowing down.
We’re looking for a People Ops Lead to be our first dedicated people hire. You’ll own everything from how we onboard new joiners to how we help people grow and do the best work of their careers.
This is a function that doesn’t exist yet atGranola, currently owned by ops, you’ll be improving it at a company that moves fast, ships constantly, and cares deeply about the quality of the team.
We believe in working in person. We don’t do process for process’s sake. If something adds friction without adding value, we cut it. The person we’re looking for understands that instinctively, and knows how to build infrastructure that feels invisible to the people using it.
Own people operations end to end - contracts, visas, payroll, HR systems, onboarding, benefits, compliance, engagement, and everything in between
Design simple, scalable processes that work for a 60-person company today and a 120-person company tomorrow - across London and San Francisco
Build and automate the operational backbone so the right things happen at the right time without anyone having to chase them
Create an onboarding experience that gets every new joiner - in London or SF - productive, confident and connected from day one
Build systems that help people do great work - feedback loops, career growth, manager support and the rituals that make teams strong
Partner closely with founders and managers to make good decisions quicklyon hiring, pay, team structure and the hard conversations that come with scaling
Use data and good judgment to spot problems early and continuously improve how Granola hires, supports and grows its team
Support the team with the broader operational needs that come up in a fast- growing company - stepping in wherever needed to help Granola run smoothly
You have 6-10 years of experience in people ops, CIPD qualification a plus
You’ve worked in a fast-growing startup or scaleup environment and understand how companies change as they grow
You have built or scaled people processes before - hiring systems, onboarding, performance cycles or people programs
You are an operator first. You are comfortable doing the admin, writing the contract, setting up the tool, and sending the comms - not just designing the strategy
You know how to use automation and tooling to make processes run without constant manual effort - and you name the tools, not just the concept
You have managed the full people ops stack: onboarding, performance, compensation, benefits, compliance, employee relations
You have experience operating across multiple geographies - UK and US experience is a strong plus
You have worked closely with founders and senior leadership and know how to get decisions made, not just discussed
You understand what great startup cultures look like and how to help them scale without becoming corporate
Are a builder, not a maintainer. You are energised by zero to one work and figuring out the playbook as you go
Take full ownership. If something isn’t working, you fix it - you don’t wait to be asked
Have strong judgment about when to add process and when to stay out of the way
Are pragmatic about data - you track the right things, use them to improve, and don’t measure for the sake of measuring
Are warm and direct. You can have hard conversations with care and clarity
Are excited about AI-native products and curious about how AI tools can make your work faster and better
Genuinely believe Granola is building something special - and want to be part of it
If this sounds like you, we would love to meet you.
We are living in the most exciting time for tool builders since Engelbart's demo in 1968 and we want to assemble the best crew to build this future together.
Our compensation philosophy is to hire the best people in the market and pay them accordingly with salary, variable, and equity.
Lastly, we think amazing talent comes from all kinds of life journeys and experiences. If what is written above speaks to you, whether you look like a fit on paper or not, please reach out.