People Operations Partner (San Francisco)

There are many opportunities to join the innovative, collaborative, and enthusiastic team of people at Linden Lab.

Life at Linden Lab

We are a company of creators, including engineers, artists, musicians, writers, game players and makers. All of us are united in our dedication to creating the future of virtual experiences. We do things that no one else does, and we aren't afraid to take on complex challenges and create unique solutions.

Linden Lab develops platforms that empower people to create, connect, and thrive through transformative virtual experiences. Since our founding in 1999, we’ve been at the forefront of the creator economy, building platforms that inspire limitless imagination and innovation.

In 2003, we revolutionized the virtual world with the launch ofSecond Life —a vibrant, user-driven community where creativity knows no bounds. With nearly two billion user creations and a flourishing $650 million economy, Second Life continues to be a global hub for collaboration, self-expression, and entrepreneurship.

We believe our strength lies in diversity of perspectives, experiences, and ideas. Our values are rooted in organizational health, strengths-based leadership, and the belief that collaborative teams are stronger than individuals.

At Linden Lab, you’ll be at the cutting edge of virtual worlds, shaping the future of immersive experiences. Whether you’re building innovative tools or fostering a welcoming community, you’ll find a place to belong, thrive, and be unapologetically yourself. We invite you to come as you are.

Your Mission

We’re looking for aPeople Operations Partner to own and evolve the critical systems that power how we take care of our team—from the accuracy of every paycheck to the clarity of every leave, and the confidence that comes with great benefits. You’ll bring a strategic mindset and a service-oriented heart to the moments that matter most in the employee experience. This is a role with real autonomy, visibility, and impact, where your judgment will be trusted and your expertise respected.

This is an independent contributor role reporting to the Director, People & Culture. You’ll own payroll and benefits from end to end, navigate complex compliance landscapes with confidence, and continuously sharpen the tools, policies, and processes that underpin a great employee experience. You’ll also be a calm, clear presence for employees navigating questions around pay, healthcare, or time away—guiding them through with empathy and clarity.

You’ll work on-site in our San Francisco office Monday through Thursday, where spontaneous collaboration, hallway conversations, and real-time problem-solving are part of the magic. Your presence in the office helps you stay closely connected to the team, spot opportunities to improve the employee experience, and offer timely, hands-on support when it’s needed most. You’ll be an integral part of that rhythm, with the flexibility to work from home on Fridays.

How You’ll Grow With Us

At the Lab, you’ll experience the best of both worlds: the stability of an established company with over 20 years of expertise, and the momentum of a startup fueled by continuous progress. You’ll have the opportunity to build meaningful relationships, design impactful systems, and shape strategies that influence the future of virtual experiences.

You’ll partner with a high-performing team that values direct communication, mentorship, and your growth. This team doesn’t just talk about development—they deeply invest in it. You’ll gain visibility into leadership decisions, understand the “why” behind business priorities, and play a key role in executing strategies that move the company forward.

Our vibrant San Francisco office is designed to spark creativity, collaboration, and ingenuity. With spaces built for brainstorming, team-building, and spontaneous connection, you’ll find endless opportunities to engage and grow. We believe in the power of in-person collaboration to cultivate community and inclusion—ensuring your ideas are heard, your contributions celebrated, and your impact deeply felt every day.

The Impact You’ll Drive

• Take full ownership of U.S. payroll and benefits administration, including compliance reporting, open enrollment, audits, and state payroll tax setup, with a focus on process accuracy, operational efficiency, and data-informed decision-making.
• Proactively maintain deep knowledge of federal, state, and local employment laws—including FLSA, FMLA, COBRA, EEO, ADA, ACA, and California-specific regulations—and apply that expertise to identify risks, ensure compliance, and guide payroll, benefits, and leave administration with confidence and accuracy.
• Deliver a compassionate, high-touch employee experience by responding to pay and benefits questions with empathy, clarity, and urgency.
• Take proactive ownership of issue resolution by identifying root causes, pushing vendors assertively yet diplomatically to advocate for employees, and driving long-term process improvements.
• Serve as the primary owner and administrator of HRIS, ensuring data integrity by maintaining meticulous, legally compliant records and routinely auditing system data and files to ensure alignment across payroll and benefits.
• Own benefits compliance tasks and filings, including non-discrimination testing, ACA reporting, and preparation and validation of 5500 data.
• Own vendor file audits and reconciliation processes to maintain accurate benefits data and prevent issues with coverage, billing, or payroll deductions.
• Prepare and manage precise payroll change documentation, including spreadsheets and review summaries that clearly explain updates with relevant context and rationale.
• Develop and continuously improve clear, scalable SOPs and knowledge base content to ensure consistency, transparency, and self-service enablement across internal People processes.
• Configure and continuously optimize People platforms to support compliance, streamline workflows, automate recurring tasks, and meet evolving team needs.
• Drive employee understanding and engagement with benefit and wellness offerings by partnering with vendors on education initiatives and creating targeted internal communications and related assets.
  

Leaves & Workers Compensation

• Manage all aspects of employee leaves of absence, ensuring compliance with laws and company policies, accurate pay and benefits handling, and up-to-date, thorough internal policy documentation for audit trails.
• Guide employees through the leave process with clarity and compassion, maintaining regular communication and setting expectations throughout.
• Partner with disability and leave vendors to manage claims, resolve issues, and keep internal policies and documentation up to date with current regulations and practices.
• Support employees with workers’ compensation claims by coordinating with insurance providers, tracking cases, and facilitating return-to-work planning in alignment with medical guidance and business needs.

How You’ll Shape Our Future

At Linden, we celebrate all the dimensions of diversity, including diversity of experience. We recognize that candidates applying for this role will be most successful if they bring the following with them:

• 5+ years of progressive People Operations experience, with hands-on ownership of payroll, benefits, compliance, HR systems, and employee communications—underpinned by deep knowledge of payroll and benefit law—ideally in a startup or growth-stage environment.
• Deep expertise in payroll law and benefits administration, including experience navigating multi-state payroll, open enrollment, and vendor partnerships with accuracy and care.
• Demonstrated success integrating AI and automation into People workflows to increase efficiency, reduce errors, and enable better data-driven decisions.
• Hands-on experience managing HRIS platforms (preferably Paylocity), including implementation, migration, and optimization across multi-location orgs with complex tax requirements.
• Strong compliance and risk management experience, with the ability to interpret federal, state, and local labor laws (especially California) and proactively mitigate exposure.
• Proven ability to research nuanced People challenges, apply inclusive practices, and design equitable solutions that balance employee needs with business goals.
• Exceptional tactical execution and organizational skills, with the precision and reliability to earn autonomy quickly.
• Clear, confident business communication skills, including service-oriented writing, data-backed storytelling, and spreadsheet fluency to build compelling business cases.
• High emotional intelligence, especially when navigating sensitive topics like healthcare, pay, or leave. You prioritize supporting employees with empathy, respect, and professionalism.
• A proactive, analytical mindset and natural curiosity for how things work—paired with the follow-through to design, document, and deliver process improvements from end to end.
• Strong project management skills, including the ability to balance shifting priorities and drive initiatives to completion in a fast-paced environment.
• Commitment to high transparency and stakeholder alignment, with a bias toward proactive updates and shared visibility throughout your work.
• Discretion and maturity when handling confidential information and partnering across all levels of the organization.
• Excitement to be a thoughtful teammate, contribute positively to the