Sr. People Operations Manager

The Company

Location

Remote - United States

About TurbineOne

TurbineOne is building Mission-AI for the Frontlines. Our Frontline Perception System (FPS) helps military and national security operators detect threats, accelerate decision-making, and unlock the power of AI at the tactical edge. We partner directly with frontline users to deliver mission-ready capabilities that work in real-world environments where speed, trust, and reliability matter most.

Our team is composed of experienced technologists, veterans, and operators committed to advancing national security through responsible innovation.

Job Title

Sr. People Operations Manager

Reports To

VP of Operations & Compliance

The Role

TurbineOne is hiring a hands-on, highly trusted Sr. People Operations Manager to own and improve the day-to-day employee experience across a remote, multi-state, high-growth team.

This role will serve as TurbineOne’s internal owner for core People Operations, partnering closely with our CPEO while ensuring employees and managers receive responsive, thoughtful, and compliant HR support. You will own new hire onboarding experience, employee lifecycle administration, CPEO coordination, leave administration, HR compliance tracking, employee relations intake, investigations support, reporting, and remote culture programs.

This is a builder-operator role. You should be comfortable working in a fast-moving startup environment where some processes are still being created, while also maintaining strong judgment, confidentiality, and follow-through. The right person will bring structure to People Operations without adding unnecessary bureaucracy, and will know when to handle matters independently versus when to escalate to leadership, the CPEO, legal counsel, or other external experts.

Primary Responsibilities

People Operations & Employee Lifecycle

Own and continuously improve day-to-day People Operations processes across the employee lifecycle.

Manage core employee lifecycle workflows, including onboarding, employee changes, leave coordination, and offboarding.

Maintain accurate employee records, HR trackers, workflows, checklists, templates, SOPs, and employee-facing resources.

Partner with managers and leadership to support consistent, scalable employee processes across a remote, multi-state team.

Identify process gaps and implement practical improvements as the company grows.

Onboarding & Employee Support

Own the new hire onboarding experience from offer acceptance onward, creating a welcoming, organized, and mission-driven experience for remote employees.

Lead onboarding calls and help new hires understand company policies, benefits resources, CPEO systems, and internal processes.

Partner with hiring managers to ensure each new hire has a clear onboarding plan, role expectations, and first-week support.

Serve as a primary point of contact for routine employee HR questions related to benefits, payroll, policies, leave, onboarding, and CPEO resources.

Identify recurring questions and improve FAQs, templates, communications, and internal documentation.

Maintain confidentiality and sound judgment when handling employee information.

CPEO, Benefits & Payroll Coordination

Serve as TurbineOne’s day-to-day liaison with the CPEO.

Submit, track, and follow up on CPEO requests to ensure timely resolution.

Coordinate with the CPEO on employment documents, benefits administration, payroll-related questions, employee changes, required notices, and compliance items.

Translate CPEO guidance and requirements into clear internal processes for employees and managers.

Maintain visibility into open HR and CPEO issues and proactively communicate status updates.

Partner with Finance, Operations, Recruiting, and leadership on HR data, employee changes, and reporting needs.

HR Compliance & Documentation

Own first-line HR compliance coordination for a remote, multi-state workforce.

Maintain employee files, acknowledgments, required notices, policy documentation, leave records, and compliance documentation.

Coordinate required employee trainings and track completion.

Support handbook updates, policy rollouts, and employee communications in partnership with leadership, the CPEO, and legal counsel.

Monitor compliance tasks and escalate risks, gaps, or sensitive issues appropriately.

Support consistent application of company policies and employment practices.

Security Clearance & Employment Verification Support

Support employment verification requests, including documentation coordination, response tracking, and appropriate approvals.

Assist with security clearance-related HR processes, including employment history verification, employee information collection, documentation coordination, and status tracking.

Coordinate with employees, managers, leadership, the CPEO, and external stakeholders as needed for verification or clearance-related requests.

Maintain accurate, confidential records related to employment verification and clearance-related processes.

Track request status, follow up on outstanding items, and escalate delays, inconsistencies, or sensitive issues appropriately.

Ensure sensitive employee, verification, and clearance-related information is handled accurately, confidentially, and in accordance with company procedures.

Leave Administration & Accommodations Support

Coordinate employee leave requests in partnership with the CPEO and leadership.

Support administration of medical, parental, state-specific, military, and other protected leaves.

Track leave status, documentation, key dates, manager communications, and return-to-work steps.

Help employees understand the leave process while maintaining appropriate confidentiality.

Support reasonable accommodation workflows in partnership with leadership, the CPEO, and counsel as appropriate.

Escalate complex leave, accommodation, protected-status, or legal-risk issues quickly and appropriately.

Employee Relations & Manager Support

Serve as an intake and coordination point for employee relations concerns.

Support documentation, fact-gathering, and follow-up for employee relations matters.

Assist with investigations as directed by leadership.

Maintain accurate, confidential records related to employee relations and investigation matters.

Support managers with routine employee relations questions while escalating sensitive matters involving legal risk, protected activity, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, leave, accommodation, or performance concerns.

Help ensure employee concerns are handled consistently, professionally, and in alignment with company policies.

Remote Culture & Employee Experience

Support and improve employee experience programs for a remote, multi-state team.

Help coordinate remote culture initiatives, employee recognition, internal communications, and surveys.

Support planning for company meetings, offsites, anniversaries, milestones, and other employee recognition.

Partner with leadership to improve engagement, manager communications, and employee touchpoints.

Help reinforce a high-performance, accountable, mission-driven culture.

Identify opportunities to make the remote employee experience more consistent, connected, and scalable.

Qualifications

Required

6+ years of experience in People Operations, HR, employee lifecycle administration, or HR operations

Experience owning or managing day-to-day People Operations processes

Experience supporting a remote and/or multi-state workforce

Experience working with a PEO, CPEO, payroll provider, or benefits administrator

Strong understanding of U.S. employment compliance fundamentals

Experience coordinating employee leave processes

Experience supporting employee relations documentation, investigations, or sensitive employee matters

Comfortable operating in a fast-paced, high-growth startup environment

Ability to manage multiple sensitive workflows at once

Practical, solutions-oriented mindset with strong follow-through

Ability to know when to act independently and when to escalate

Preferred

7–10+ years of progressive HR or People Operations experience

Experience in a venture-backed startup, DefenseTech company, government contractor, or regulated environment

Experience supporting distributed teams across multiple U.S. states

Experience with leave administration, accommodations, and employee relations best practices

Experience partnering with legal counsel, finance, operations, recruiting, and executive leadership

Experience with HRIS/CPEO, payroll, benefits, performance management, and documentation systems

Experience building People Operations processes from an early or scaling stage

SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification