Senior People Operations Partner

Sofar Ocean is a ocean intelligence company that operates the largest privately-owned ocean sensor network in the world, delivering real-time data and analytics to maritime, government, defense, and research customers. Their two core platforms are Spotter, a global network of solar-powered buoys and sensing devices that measure waves, wind, weather, sound, currents, temperature, water quality, and water level, and Wayfinder, a voyage optimization software that helps shipping operators reduce fuel consumption and emissions by recommending optimal routes, speeds, and schedules based on live maritime weather data and vessel performance models. The company generates over 1.5 million real-time ocean observations per day from more than 2,500 deployed Spotters worldwide, providing ground-truth data trusted by NOAA, the U.S. Navy, and major commercial shipping fleets. Sofar Ocean's mission is centered on building a comprehensive data layer for the ocean to improve safety, efficiency, and environmental stewardship across maritime industries. Their Wayfinder platform delivers an average fuel reduction of 4 to 8 percent per voyage, directly translating into lower greenhouse gas emissions for commercial shipping, one of the world's largest industrial carbon emitters. By combining proprietary sensor infrastructure with advanced weather modeling, Sofar claims forecasts that are 50 percent more accurate than traditional models, enabling better preparation for extreme weather events and protection of maritime assets. What distinguishes Sofar Ocean is its vertically integrated approach: the company owns and operates its own sensor network, runs its own intelligence models, and delivers end-to-end solutions from raw ocean data collection to actionable voyage guidance. This positions them uniquely at the intersection of climate resilience, maritime efficiency, and ocean science, serving a diverse customer base that includes shipping companies, governments, coral reef researchers, and defense agencies seeking live, hyperlocal ocean intelligence at a global scale.

About the Role

Sofar Ocean builds the sensors and software that map and forecast ocean conditions, from our Spotter buoy network to Wayfinder voyage optimization and SpotCast. We're a lean, high-ownership team of about 100 people, which means the person behind our HR infrastructure has an outsized effect on how it feels to work here.

We're looking for a Senior People Operations Manager who can own that infrastructure end to end: build (some of) it, run it, and improve it without needing to be told what's broken. This is a highly autonomous role. You'll be trusted to identify gaps, prioritize what matters, and execute with minimal oversight. It also demands real attention to detail: payroll, compliance, and employee data don't tolerate sloppiness, and small errors here erode trust fast. And it requires a sense of urgency: when someone's leave, pay, or onboarding is on the line, "eventually" isn't good enough!

Every process you build touches a real person's experience of working at Sofar. This role is as much about protecting the culture and wellness of every Sofarer as it is about operational excellence.

Key Responsibilities

• HR Infrastructure & Technology: Own and optimize our HR systems (Rippling, Ashby, Slack, and related tools), ensuring data integrity, building automation where manual work creates friction, and producing People analytics leadership can actually use.

• Compliance & Risk Management: Maintain rigorous compliance with federal, California, and San Francisco labor law (FMLA/CFRA, SF HCSO, FLSA). Lead audit readiness, including SOC 2 or SOX documentation as needed.

• Total Rewards & Payroll: Partner with finance and external vendors on payroll processing, benefits administration, and open enrollment, catching discrepancies before they become problems.

• Employee Lifecycle & Operations: Run onboarding, internal mobility, leaves of absence, and off-boarding cleanly and consistently. Support the ongoing transition of our international team members to direct-hire employment as we stand up new entities abroad.

• Process Optimization: Continuously look for administrative friction and remove it. Draft clear SOPs and keep the employee handbook current, treating documentation as a way to make the People function more autonomous, not less.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 6+ years of progressive HR experience, with at least 3 years focused specifically on People Operations, ideally in a fast-growing startup environment.

• Location: Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, able to be onsite at Pier 28 4 days/week.

• Technical Skills: Advanced administrator experience with modern HR platforms (Rippling, Ashby, Slack, or similar) and strong Excel/Google Sheets skills for data analysis.

• Legal Knowledge: Deep working knowledge of California employment law, wage-and-hour rules, and leave administration.

• Education/Certifications: Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business, or a related field. SHRM-SCP or SPHR is a plus, not a requirement.

• What we need most: someone who takes ownership without hand-holding, sweats the details that others miss, moves with urgency, and genuinely cares about the day-to-day experience of the people around them.

What We Offer

• Competitive base salary ($130,000–$155,000) + equity

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance

• Learning and development stipend

• Flexible PTO, plus one company-wide office closure week

• Catered onsite lunches

• Flexible working hours (in some cases, lets chat!)