People & Talent Jobs at Startups
There are 866 open people and talent roles at 540 early-stage startups, 34% of them remote. Where pay is stated it is typically USD 110k to 180k, with a median of USD 150k.
Working in people & talent at a startup
In an early-stage startup, People & Talent professionals build the team and the systems that support it. You might spend your days sourcing candidates for hard-to-fill technical roles, then switch to designing an onboarding program or coaching a manager on difficult feedback. The work is hands-on and broad, often covering recruiting, people ops, culture, and workplace logistics before specialized teams exist.
What people and talent work involves at an early-stage startup
You recruit, then you build the hiring process you just used. The same week can include sourcing engineers, writing an onboarding plan and coaching a first-time manager. Large companies split those into separate teams that rarely speak.
Day to day
- Source, screen, and manage candidates through the full recruitment lifecycle
- Build and maintain talent pipelines for current and future hiring needs
- Coordinate interviews and communicate with candidates and hiring managers
- Develop and implement onboarding, training, and employee engagement programs
- Act as a trusted point of contact for employee relations and HR questions
- Create and update people policies, compensation benchmarks, and performance review processes
Skills and tools
- Full-cycle recruiting and sourcing (LinkedIn, Boolean search, referrals)
- Familiarity with applicant tracking systems like Greenhouse, Lever, or Ashby
- Written and verbal communication across all levels of an organization
- Empathy and conflict resolution for sensitive employee matters
- Organizational skills to manage multiple open roles and competing priorities
- Basic HR compliance knowledge (employment law, offer letters, equity basics)
How to get into people & talent at a startup
Background
People & Talent roles often require a bachelor's degree in HR, business, psychology, or a related field, but many practitioners come from liberal arts, communications, or even nontraditional backgrounds - direct startup experience and people skills often matter just as much as formal education.
Career path
This role typically progresses into senior people leadership positions such as Head of People, VP of People, or Chief People Officer, and can also branch into broader startup operations or founder roles.
Who is hiring people and talent roles
Open roles by startup. Select a startup to see its jobs.
- 866open roles
- 540startups hiring
- 34%remote
Pay and the market
Industries
Hr and recruiting (97), AI and machine learning (96) and healthcare (79) startups have most of the openings.
Pay figures come from the 326 postings on this page that state a salary.
Salary
34% of people & talent postings are remote. Remote people & talent jobs →
Where people & talent roles are open
Open roles by place. Every row is a link.
Industries hiring people & talent
Open roles by what the startup builds. Every row is a link.
Experience level
Open roles by the experience the posting asks for.
Employment type
Open roles by full-time, contract, internship and the rest.
People & Talent jobs
Questions people ask
How much do people and talent jobs pay?
Typically USD 110k to 180k a year, with a median of USD 150k, where the posting states a salary.
Which startups are hiring people and talent roles?
Talentful.ai (40 roles), TakeTwo (13) and Joko (9) have the most; 540 startups are hiring in total.
Can I work remotely?
34% of these roles are remote.
Do I need to be senior?
Most roles are senior (50% of those that state a level), and 13% are junior or intern.
Are new roles coming in?
75 were posted this week.