Head of People

Role Summary Pantomath is hiring its Head of People to own and scale the People function as we enter our next phase of growth post-Series B. Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, you will be the most senior People leader in the company, responsible for the full employee lifecycle, talent acquisition, organizational design, compensation, and culture; while serving as a strategic partner to the executive team. This role starts as a senior individual contributor, supported by our current PEO/HRIS, external employment counsel, and a dedicated operations partner on the engineering side for executive and recruiting logistics and culture. Team expansion is encouraged when warranted — and this role owns the business case for it, partnering with the CEO and COO to scope, justify, and sequence hires as the company grows. The right candidate will see the starting setup as a feature rather than a gap: autonomy, executive access, and the opportunity to build People infrastructure from a clean foundation before scaling the team. You will succeed here if you treat People work as a craft: documentation is meticulous, strategic work is quantitative and defensible, attention to detail is reflexive, and recruiting is a favorite part of the job, not a delegated one. Key Responsibilities Strategic People Partnership Serve as the senior People advisor to the COO, CEO, and executive team on organizational design, workforce planning, performance management, and change management. Partner with the VP of Engineering and other functional leaders on long-term org strategy as Pantomath scales across our U.S. footprint and international contractor base. Own Pantomath's compensation philosophy, salary bands, and leveling framework; benchmark against peer data (e.g., Option Impact, Radford, Compensia); run the annual merit cycle and off-cycle adjustments. Advise on equity strategy and coordinate option grants in partnership with the CEO, Finance, and Board — including administration under the 2022 Stock Option Plan. Evaluate Pantomath's HR infrastructure stack on an ongoing basis, including the PEO/HRIS model, and lead any initiative to transition from PEO to direct employment when scale, cost, or operational flexibility warrants. This is a meaningful strategic lever; the right moment to execute it is a judgment call the Head of People is expected to own. Talent Acquisition (Full Lifecycle) Run full-cycle recruiting personally for senior engineering, go-to-market, and executive roles; with particular focus on the San Francisco Bay Area, where we are actively scaling technical talent. Partner with hiring managers to write high-quality job descriptions, define calibrated interview scorecards, and structure rigorous interview loops. Own Pantomath's ATS, employer brand, and candidate experience end-to-end. The candidate's first impression of Pantomath is always yours. Build and maintain active and passive talent pipelines; cultivate sourcing channels, alumni networks, and referral programs. Track and report on recruiting funnel health, time-to-fill, pass-through rates, offer acceptance, source-of-hire, with the same rigor as any other business function. People Operations & HR Infrastructure Own the full employee lifecycle: onboarding, performance reviews, progressive discipline, promotions, transfers, separations, and offboarding. Administer Pantomath's HRIS and ensure data integrity at all times, including accurate employee records, PTO balances, benefits enrollments, and compensation history. Maintain an organized, audit-ready People Operations shared drive with a clear folder taxonomy, consistent file-naming conventions, enforced version control, and complete records. When an executive requests a document, you can locate it in under a minute. Draft, review, and administer employment agreements, offer letters, amendments, Performance Improvement Plans, separation and release agreements, and related documentation with absolute accuracy. Run a regular documentation review cadence to ensure templates remain current with federal, state, and local legal developments — in coordination with external employment counsel. Employment Law & Compliance Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws including FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, OSHA, state-specific wage and hour laws, and applicable anti-discrimination statutes. Maintain state-specific compliance across Pantomath's hiring footprint, with particular depth on the more-complex regimes (California, Washington, Illinois) — including wage statement, pay transparency, meal and rest break, and leave entitlement requirements where applicable. Own Pantoma