Chief People Office (People - Founding Pillar)

Role Overview

You’ll be the custodian of talent, culture, and trust at Vibecoderz. This role is not traditional HR — this is People Architecture.

From hiring and onboarding the founding team to shaping our global employer brand, from setting up compliance and benefits to building a culture of velocity and belonging, you’ll own the entire lifecycle of the Vibecoderz team.

You’ll act as a recruiter, negotiator, compliance leader, and culture architect — someone who understands what top engineers, designers, and marketers want in a product-first company, and can assess who will stay and thrive long-term.

Your impact will directly determine whether Vibecoderz attracts the best minds in AI and developer tooling, retains them, and scales from 7 to 200+ people without breaking culture.

Key Responsibilities

1. Talent Strategy & Recruiting

   • Build Vibecoderz’ foundational hiring machine: sourcing, assessments, negotiations, onboarding.

   • Personally recruit the first 20–30 hires (PMs, engineers, marketers, designers).

2. Culture & Employer Branding

   • Define Vibecoderz’ culture manifesto (velocity, obsession with UX, builder DNA).

   • Build Vibecoderz into a magnet for top-tier product talent (IITs, global engineers).

3. Performance & Development

   • Create clear role ladders, OKRs, and growth frameworks.

   • Set up 1:1 rituals, feedback cycles, and mentorship programs.

4. Compliance & Administration

   • Ensure all local/global labor law compliance (India, US, EU expansion).

   • Handle contracts, equity agreements (ESOPs), and policies.

   • Oversee payroll, legal filings, and HRMS integration (Keka, Deel, Rippling).

5. Well-being & Benefits

   • Own all employee benefits: healthcare, insurance, wellness programs.

   • Set up mental health and burnout prevention frameworks for high-velocity teams.

6. Conflict & Negotiation

   • Act as the neutral voice in conflicts.

   • Be a skilled negotiator for hiring offers, exits, and internal issues.

7. Diversity & Inclusion

   • Build a globally diverse, inclusive, and high-performing culture.

   • Implement unbiased hiring frameworks and equitable policies.

8. Exit-Readiness & Scalability

   • Architect people processes that scale toward funding rounds, M&A, or IPO.

   • Ensure due diligence readiness: contracts, compliance, org charts, ESOP pools.

9. Community & External Positioning

   • Represent Vibecoderz in external HR/leadership forums.

   • Build partnerships with universities, hackathons, and tech conferences.

10. Culture as Product

    • Treat culture as a core product feature: measurable, scalable, and defensible.

    • Continuously gather feedback (surveys, 1:1s, anonymous tools) and improve.

Success Metrics

90 Days (Probation):

• First 10 hires closed (all product company pedigree).

• Vibecoderz Culture Playbook published in Notion.

• Compliance + HRMS stack live (contracts, payroll, ESOP framework).

12 Months:

• Team scaled from 7 → 50 with >90% retention.

• Employer brand recognized in India + US dev ecosystems.

• ESOPs, benefits, and well-being programs institutionalized.

• Vibecoderz’ culture recognized as benchmark for AI-first startups.

Must-Haves

• 12–15+ years in People/HR leadership roles at product-first companies.

• Proven ability to scale from seed → growth stage → exit.

• Track record of hiring world-class engineers, designers, marketers.

• Strong negotiation skills for offers, exits, and contracts.

• Deep knowledge of compliance, labor law, and ESOP design.

• Passion for culture-building and talent retention.

Nice-to-Haves

• Prior founding CHRO/People Leader experience.

• Exit experience (M&A, IPO, or major acquisition).

• Exposure to global HR models (India + US/EU).

• Network within IIT/IIM/AI/DevTool ecosystems.

Tech & Ops Stack Visibility

• HRMS & Payroll: Keka, Deel, Rippling

• Compliance: Legal contracts, ESOP pools, HR policies

• Hiring & ATS: LinkedIn Recruiter, AngelList, Lever, Greenhouse

• Collaboration: Linear (execution), Notion (culture docs, OKRs), Slack/Discord

• Employer Branding: LinkedIn, Twitter, university partnerships, community events

• Well-being Tools: Healthcare provider integrations, mental health partners

Assessment

Objective: Validate ability to recruit, scale, and sustain Vibecoderz’ culture.

Challenge (Candidate PoC):

1. Hiring Strategy

   • Draft a 12-month hiring plan: 50 hires mapped by function (PM, FE, BE, AI, Growth).

   • Include sourcing channels, evaluation frameworks, and diversity targets.

2. Culture Manifesto

   • Write a 2–3 page Culture Playbook for Vibecoderz (values, rituals, velocity).

3. Employer Branding

   • Propose an employer branding campaign: how to position Vibecoderz as the #1 place for product talent.

4. Compliance & Benefits

   • Outline benefits, well-being, and ESOP structures attractive to product engineers.

Deliverables:

• Hiring Plan (doc/slide).

• Culture Manifesto (Notion-ready).

• Branding Campaign Concept.

• Optional Loom walkthrough.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Recruiting Strategy Depth (30%)

• Culture & Retention Philosophy (25%)

• Employer Branding Creativity (20%)

• Compliance & Benefits Rigor (15%)

• Communication & Storytelling (10%)