People Operations Partner

Our Story and Purpose

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 of Second 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 a People 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

Payroll & Benefits

• 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 People team’s culture, and raise the bar for what great People Ops looks like.
• A strong sense of ownership and follow-through, with the drive to tackle challenges head-on, learn quickly, and consistently deliver high-quality work at pace—even in high-volume or ambiguous environments.
  
  

If you don’t meet every requirement listed for this role, we still encourage you to apply. Too often, the confidence gap or imposter syndrome keeps exceptional candidates from taking the leap—and we don’t want that to hold you back. If you believe in our mission and in your ability to make an impact, we want to hear from you!

The Fine Print

Pay Transparency Notice

Linden Lab’s Total Rewards philosophy is rooted in fairness, equity, and an unbiased approach to compensation, paired with competitive benefits across all locations where we operate.

For this San Francisco Bay Area-based role, the salary range is $102,000 - $138,000, with a midpoint of $120,000. New hires start between the minimum and midpoint of the applicable geo-defined range, with final base pay determined by several factors, including experience, skills, competencies, internal equity, and market data calibration.

In addition to base pay, this role is eligible for awards under our Equity Incentive Plan (EIP) and a generous benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) plans. Our talent partners will provide more details during the hiring process.

Essential Role Functions & Work Environment

The details below outline the core functions and work environment required for this role. Linden Lab is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to support individuals with disabilities in performing these essential duties.

• Perform focused, computer-based tasks and collaborate effectively with coworkers in a dynamic, in-office environment. While some remote collaboration may occur, in-office presence is an essential requirement of this role to foster creativity, teamwork, and spontaneous problem-solving.
• Communicate clearly and effectively through typing, using hands and fingers for keyboard tasks.
• Maintain the ability to sit, stand, or remain stationary for extended periods (up to eight hours) during calls, meetings, or collaborative sessions, with ergonomic workstations and tools provided.
• Sustain prolonged attention on a computer monitor to perform tasks requiring visual focus and attention to detail.
• Operate office equipment and handle materials as needed for presentations, discussions, or team activities.
• Move freely around the office to attend meetings, participate in team activities, and contribute to shared responsibilities, supporting a collaborative and engaging workplace culture.
• Travel may be required for business meetings, team summits, or company events, where in-person participation is an essential part of the role to foster collaboration, alignment, and engagement.

Our Commitment to Equal Opportunity

At Linden Lab, we know that great work can't happen without a diverse team and an inclusive environment. That’s why we intentionally seek out individuals with a wide range of strengths, backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. We believe this diversity gives us a competitive advantage, helping us better serve our residents, support one another, and grow both as Lindens and as individuals.

We celebrate and value diversity in all its forms, including differences in thought, race, national origin, culture, age, experience, religion, economic and social status, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, and disability. Fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging empowers us to create and share meaningful experiences, both within our team and across the virtual communities we serve. We invite candidates from all backgrounds to apply and help shape the future of virtual experiences.

Global Data Privacy Notice

Your privacy is important to us. Depending on your location, laws such as the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) may govern how we handle and process the personal data of job applicants. To learn more, please review our full notice detailing how applicant data is collected, used, and protected in applicable regions.

By submitting your application, you consent to the processing of your data in accordance with applicable laws and our privacy practices.