Head of People

ABOUT US We’re building the AI infrastructure powering the future of financial operations - starting with automating the most painful and complex workflows in loan servicing. - Backed by a16z and Y Combinator, with $65M raised in Series A funding. - 8-figure ARR < 2 years already serving > 20% of the auto lending industry, and processing millions of real customer calls and transactions daily. - Fully deployed with major financial institutions - not just PoCs. - We are expanding into new financial services segments! - In-person office culture in San Francisco, CA. We're fully integrated with our customers, own the full stack, and are moving fast to bring modern AI into regulated industries where precision, reliability, and performance matter most. WHY WE'RE HIRING We're scaling from 50 to 100+ employees over the next year and need a people leader to take our people function to the next level. We have the basics in place (Rippling, benefits), but we need someone who can build strategic HR infrastructure, shape our culture, and partner with leadership on talent decisions. THE ROLE You'll be our first dedicated people leader, evolving our people function from foundational to strategic. You'll own everything from performance management to compensation frameworks, employee relations to culture initiatives. You report to the CEO and partner closely with leadership on all people decisions. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Build and own our people strategy - performance management, compensation, employee development, and culture - Partner with leadership on organizational design, headcount planning, and talent decisions - Evolve HR infrastructure - refine policies, ensure compliance, optimize benefits programs - Design and implement performance management frameworks - goal-setting, reviews, promotion cycles, career development - Lead compensation strategy - maintain equitable pay bands, manage equity grants, conduct market benchmarking - Drive culture and engagement initiatives - team events, values definition, employee feedback loops, DEI programs - Manage employee relations - coach managers on difficult conversations, resolve conflicts, handle sensitive situations - Build manager enablement programs - training on feedback, performance management, hiring decisions - Ensure compliance with employment laws and regulations across all locations - Partner with recruiting lead on hiring strategy and process improvements WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR Must-Haves: - 5-8+ years in People/HR roles at high-growth startups, with at least 2 years in leadership - Experience scaling people functions at early-stage companies (50-200 employees) - Track record designing and implementing people processes (performance management, compensation, onboarding, career frameworks) - Business partner mentality - you advise leadership on strategic decisions, not just execute HR tasks - Strong coaching skills - you develop managers and help them navigate people challenges - Comfort with ambiguity - you build infrastructure without waiting for perfect clarity - Excellent judgment on sensitive employee matters Nice to Have: - Experience in fintech, lending, or regulated industries - Background in AI/ML or technical product companies - Previous experience scaling a company through hyper-growth (50→200+ employees) - Knowledge of multi-state employment compliance WHAT MAKES THIS ROLE INTERESTING - Take the people function from foundational to strategic as our first people leader - Direct partnership with CEO and leadership team on all people decisions - Shape company culture during critical growth phase - High impact - your work directly affects every employee and shapes our trajectory At Salient, we’re building at the edge of AI - fast, focused, and with real ownership. Sprints and major launches move quickly, and we look for people who are energized by that pace and ready to collaborate in person 4 days a week in our San Francisco office with a start time of 8:00 AM. We also offer a benefit