HR Manager - Northwood Space

About Northwood:

Northwood is a modern space infrastructure company focused on connecting space and Earth. The world runs on space. Space will run on Northwood. Our global ground network ensures that missions ranging from national security, to global connectivity, to disaster response can unlock their full potential and operate every day without fail.

Role:

We are hiring an HR Generalist to own and scale Northwood’s core people operations, with a focus on HRIS administration and employee benefits. This role will be a key partner to the People team and the broader organization, ensuring accurate systems, compliant processes, and a great employee experience as we grow.

You will serve as the day-to-day owner of our HR systems and benefits programs, including supporting our transition from Gusto to Rippling, and act as a trusted point of contact for employees and managers on people operations.

Responsibilities:

• Own day-to-day administration of Northwood’s HRIS, including employee lifecycle changes, data integrity, reporting, and audits (currently Gusto; transitioning to Rippling)

• Lead benefits administration across medical, dental, vision, FSA, and other programs, including open enrollment, renewals, and employee support

• Partner on the implementation, configuration, and ongoing optimization of Rippling during and after the HRIS transition

• Serve as a primary point of contact for employee questions related to benefits, payroll, policies, and HR systems

• Ensure HR processes and data are compliant with applicable federal, state, and local regulations

• Assist with the annual performance and compensation review process by coordinating review timelines, preparing manager and employee communications, maintaining tracking tools, and supporting managers and HR partners throughout the full review cycle.

• Support broader People initiatives such as onboarding/offboarding, policy updates, and process documentation as the company scales

Basic Qualifications:

• 5-7+ years of experience in an HR Generalist, People Operations, or similar role

• Hands-on experience administering an HRIS and employee benefits programs

• Experience working with HR platforms such as Gusto, Rippling, or similar systems

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience leading or supporting an HRIS implementation or system transition

• Strong working knowledge of benefits administration, including open enrollment and vendor management

• Familiarity with multi-state employment compliance and HR best practices

• Highly detail-oriented with strong systems thinking and process improvement skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a service-oriented mindset

• Experience supporting fast-growing or startup environments

Additional Information:

To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Northwood is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Northwood is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

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