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San Francisco, California, United States
Hybrid
Salient builds AI agents for regulated financial services. Our agents automate loan servicing, compliance, collections, recovery, insurance claims, and disputes for banks, captives, and specialty lenders.
We are:
Backed by a16z and Y Combinator, with $75M raised in Series A funding
Cash flow positive and profitable, with mid eight figure ARR achieved in under two years
Already serving more than 20% of the auto lending industry
Processing millions of real customer calls and transactions every day
Fully deployed in production with major financial institutions
Actively expanding into new financial services segments
Building together in person in San Francisco
We are deeply integrated with our customers, own the full technology stack, and move quickly to bring modern AI into regulated industries where precision, reliability, and performance matter.
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.
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.
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
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
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. Our team typically works around 60 hours per week, beginning at 8:00 AM, with four days spent collaborating in person at our San Francisco office.
We also offer a benefits package designed to support our full-time employees: medical, dental, and vision coverage, a generous 401(k), and catered lunches.
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