Head of Talent & People

Location: Based in the Bay Area with the ability to work from the Berkeley office at least 2 days every week; hybrid role.

Salary: $250,000–$300,000 per year, plus equity and bonus opportunities.

Company

Sardine provides an agentic risk platform that helps organizations fight financial crime, prevent fraud and AI-driven attacks, and automate fraud and AML operations.

What you will do

• Lead and manage Recruiters and People Operations/HR professionals, including team leads.
• Set goals, capacity plans, operating rhythms, and headcount plans across Talent and People functions.
• Build and improve hiring processes, interview loops, scorecards, calibration, candidate experience, sourcing channels, and employer branding.
• Partner with the CEO and executive team on leadership hiring and personally manage full-cycle recruiting for key roles.
• Oversee onboarding, offboarding, HRIS, benefits administration, compliance, performance reviews, compensation bands, leveling, and promotion cycles.
• Advise managers and executives on organization design, performance management, employee relations, and leadership development.

Requirements

• 12+ years of experience in talent, recruiting, and people roles, with significant depth in Talent.
• Experience running a People function at a fast-paced, high-growth technology startup.
• Proven experience managing teams spanning Recruitment and People Operations/HR.
• Generalist expertise across recruiting, offer negotiations, compensation bands, employee relations, and performance management.
• Player-coach mindset, sound judgment, discretion, and strong operating instincts.
• Must be based in the Bay Area and able to work from the Berkeley office at least 2 days per week.

Culture & Benefits

• Remote-first culture with hubs in the Bay Area, New York City, Austin, Toronto, and São Paulo.
• Flexible working culture focused on performance rather than hours worked.
• Equity, early exercise for options, and flexible paid time off with a year-end break.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance for employees and dependents.
• Home-office, meal, social meet-up, health and wellness, and learning stipends.
• US- and Canada-specific benefits include 4% 401(k)/RRSP matching and a MacBook Pro.