People Strategy & Operations

For companies building financial technology and transforming the financial services space, the biggest bottleneck to their growth and innovation is often the underlying banks and infrastructure stack they rely on. We have spent our careers founding and scaling companies like Plaid, Square, Meta, Blend, and Affirm, and have seen this problem firsthand — builders and developers needing to partner with traditional banks, and creating API and abstraction layers over the patchwork that is the bank, its core, and many other vendors. All of this results in a complex (and often expensive) banking supply chain involving a user, fintech, BaaS middleware provider, bank, core and the Federal Reserve.

At Column, we set out to simplify and fix this. We are a bank and a software company built from the ground up, offering builders and developers technology-forward banking solutions that cut out the hundreds of vendors, middleware providers, and abstraction layers. This means a safer, more transparent, and less costly banking supply chain. Come build with us!

Column is looking for someone with a strategic and operational background to help build our People function from the ground up. This isn’t a “traditional HR role” - rather, we want someone with a sharp, analytical mind who can design people programs that work in the real world and drive business results.

Column is on a path to building the next generational financial institution - this is deeply complex, technical, and challenging work that requires exceptional people. Your job will be to help us find, grow, and retain those people.

We value substance over style. This means getting your hands dirty, diving into the details, and building people systems and programs that actually work - not just look good on paper. This is an ideal role for someone who is looking to get exposed to what it takes to build and run a People function at a fast-growing startup, or someone who is looking to transition out of consulting and is passionate about getting exposed to the people-side of running a business.

This position will report directly to the Head of People, and the individual in the role must be willing to work in person in our Presidio-based office in San Francisco (3-4 days/week).

• Design and implement scalable systems and processes across the full employee lifecycle, including onboarding, performance management, compensation reviews, and offboarding.

• Partner with cross-functional teams to build people programs that enable and incentivize high performance.

• Own and operationalize our employee feedback loop — design surveys, analyze results, and drive action plans based on what we learn.

• Stand up and own key compliance infrastructure (e.g., policy reviews, required training, external audits).

• Serve as a trusted partner to the Head of People on strategic planning, headcount forecasting, and people metrics reporting.

• Create and maintain clear documentation in our People ops tooling (e.g., Notion, Rippling) to enable self-service and scale.

• 5–7 years of experience in a high-performance, analytical environment — e.g., top-tier management consulting, People/HR ops at a high-growth startup, BizOps, or Chief of Staff roles.

• Strong first-principles thinker with the ability to design systems and programs from scratch — not just operate existing ones.

• Demonstrated ability to drive complex, cross-functional projects from idea through execution.

• Exceptional attention to detail and operational rigor — you catch what others miss.

• Ability to handle sensitive employee matters with discretion, maturity, and sound judgment.

• High EQ and strong interpersonal communication skills; you can influence stakeholders and build trust across levels.

• 🏥 Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans, including options that are 100% covered by Column for you and 100% covered for your dependents!

• 🐣 Comprehensive family planning and fertility benefits via partnership with Carrot, including reimbursement of up to $20,000 in qualified expenses

• 🏡 Up to $2,000 (post-tax) monthly rent subsidy for employees living within 2 miles of Column’s office

• 💳 FSA and HSA account options to enable use of pre-tax money for medical and dependent care expenses

• 📈 401k plan, including self-directed brokerage options

• 🌴 Flexible time-off policy - take the time off that you want and need to relax and recharge

• 👶 100% paid parental leave, including 16 weeks for birth mothers, 12 weeks for primary caregivers, and 8 weeks for secondary caregivers

• 😇 Up to $4,500 in annual reimbursements for backup childcare

• 🍽️ Catered lunches and dinners for SF employees

• 🚆 Commuter benefits, including paid transportation to-and-from the office

• 🎉 Regular team building events, including annual offsite

Compensation packages at Column include base salary, equity, and benefits. New hire offers are made based on a candidate's experience, expertise, geographic location, and internal pay equity relative to peers.

The annual US base salary range for this role is $165,000 - $200,000 + equity.

Column is committed to working with the best and brightest people from the broadest talent pool possible. We value bringing together a team with different perspectives, educational backgrounds, and life experiences, and believe a diversity of ideas is what allows us to develop the best solutions. All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply.

If you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application and recruiting process, please reach out to [email protected].

We participate in the E-Verify program in certain locations as required by law. Learn more about the E-Verify program here.