People Operations Manager

We believe that the way people interact with their finances will drastically improve in the next few years. We’re dedicated to empowering this transformation by building the tools and experiences that thousands of developers use to create their own products. Plaid powers the tools millions of people rely on to live a healthier financial life. We work with thousands of companies like Venmo, SoFi, several of the Fortune 500, and many of the largest banks to make it easy for people to connect their financial accounts to the apps and services they want to use. Plaid’s network covers 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Seattle, Washington D.C., Raleigh, London, and Amsterdam. The People team’s goal is to make Plaid the highlight of every employee’s career. To do that, we’re rebuilding HR for an AI-first company. We want HR to be seamless, proactive, and personal at scale, so employees get support when they need it and the People team can spend its time on higher-value work. As People Operations Manager, you’ll lead the team that runs onboarding, employee lifecycle changes, HR case management, compliance, and immigration, and you’ll redesign those processes for AI and automation. You’ll manage a team of three Operations specialists, including an Immigration Specialist, and report to the Head of People Technology, AI and Operations. This is a hands-on role. You’ll map processes, configure workflows, and lead your team through change, working closely with People Systems, Finance, Tech Ops, and HR Business Partners. Responsibilities Redesign People Operations for an AI-first model - Define and own the multi-year People Operations strategy and roadmap, in line with our broader HR AI strategy. - Own the redesign of core processes (onboarding, job and pay changes, leave, offboarding, employment verification, and HR case handling) so AI and automation handle routine work and the team handles exceptions. - Partner with People Systems to expand what the AI assistant, ticketing, and knowledge management systems can resolve, and keep the knowledge base accurate. - Define and own team metrics, including self-service resolution rate, time to resolution, employee satisfaction, and HR capacity freed up. - Pilot new tools and workflows, and decide what to scale or stop. Lead and develop the team - Manage and develop three direct reports. - Shift the team’s work from transaction processing to process design, quality control, and exception handling. - Build the team’s AI skills through hands-on use. Run reliable, compliant operations - Own the accuracy and auditability of employee data and transactions in our HR systems. - Manage the Immigration Specialist who runs our U.S. immigration program, and provide high-level guidance on decisions, priorities, and compliance risk. - Support audits, policy administration, and regulatory requirements. Cross-functional partnership - Partner with Finance on payroll inputs, headcount changes, and reconciliations. - Partner with Tech Ops on access, equipment, and onboarding and offboarding handoffs. - Partner with HR Business Partners to turn recurring employee and manager issues into process fixes. - Represent the employee experience in decisions about HR tools and workflows. Qualifications - 7+ years in People Operations, including experience managing a People Operations team and setting People Operations strategy, ideally at a fast-paced tech company. - Experience implementing tools that improved People Operations efficiency, such as ticketing, a knowledge base, or workflow automation, with measurable results. - Ability to redesign processes from first principles for AI and automation, not just digitize existing steps. - Direct, hands-on experience with Workday and working familiarity with the wider People tech stack, including the ability to configure workflows, document processes, and work with data. - Track record of working with Finance, Tech Ops, People Technology, and HR Business Partners. - Clear communication, sound judgment on sensitive employee matters, and the ability to lead a team through change. - Hands-on experience using AI tools at work, with judgment on which ones deliver real efficiency gains, is a plus. - Experience building automations, AI agents, or no-code workflows is a plus. - Familiarity with ticketing and knowledge management platforms and AI-enabled HR tools is a plus. - Experience managing a specialist or working with outside counsel on U.S. immigration matters is a plus. - Experience partnering with People Analytics or data teams on reporting and data quality is a plus. Our mission at Plaid is to unlock financial freedom for everyone. To support that mission, we seek to build a diverse team of driven individuals who care deeply about making the financial ecosystem more equitable. We recognize that strong qualifications can come from both prior work experiences and lived experiences. We encourage you to apply to a role even if your experience doesn't fully match the job description. We are always looking for team members that will bring something unique to Plaid! Plaid is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and values diversity at our company. We do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, religion or religious belief, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, sexual stereotypes, age, military or veteran status, disability, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Plaid is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities in our recruiting process. If you need any assistance with your applicati