Lauren Peterson

Senior People Operations Partner at Inflection AI with a focus on the full employee lifecycle, manager coaching, and organizational strategy. I partner closely with leaders to design and scale teams, strengthen leadership capability, and align people strategy with business priorities. My work includes workforce planning, performance and talent management, and employee development, with a strong emphasis on coaching managers through growth and change. I’m motivated by building cultures where clarity, trust, and accountability enable people and organizations to perform at their best.

Supporting the head of People with organizational strategy, total rewards and operational efficiencies

Providing guidance across all aspects of the employee lifecycle, serving as a trusted advisor to the executive team while ensuring the company has the right people strategy in place to support growth. Overseeing talent acquisition and onboarding, strengthening culture and employee engagement, guiding performance and development practices, managing compensation, benefits, and compliance, and ensuring scalable people processes.

Director of People Operations from June 2023 - June 2024 Promoted Sr. Director of People Operations and Talent from June 2024 - August 2025 Transformed the end-to-end employee lifecycle by designing equitable, scalable systems and integrating AI-powered tools across onboarding, recognition, performance, and development. These enhancements increased program adoption, boosted internal trust scores, and strengthened employee engagement across the organization. Launched and operationalized the company’s first integrated performance and compensation philosophy, aligning career paths, leveling, and total rewards across 120 employees and 9 departments. This provided clarity on expectations and advancement, increasing fairness and transparency. Led the company’s first organization-wide compensation review, introducing structured calibration and pay equity analysis. The initiative improved manager confidence in pay decisions and contributed to more equitable outcomes across teams. Built critical infrastructure to support headcount planning, equity allocation, and manager enablement, reducing planning cycles and improving cross-functional decision-making. Led global mobility, relocation, and LOA programs, cutting processing time by 60% while improving compliance and employee satisfaction. Enabled stronger executive decision-making through AI-enhanced People analytics dashboards. Delivered dynamic insights into attrition, performance, and organizational health, reducing ad-hoc requests and increasing leadership’s ability to act on real-time trends Partnered closely with executive leadership on Board reporting, talent tracking, and org design. Strengthened alignment between People strategy and business goals, particularly during high-growth and restructuring phases.

Delivered comprehensive HR solutions to more than 50 venture-backed technology companies, supporting rapid scaling from early-stage to pre-IPO. Held embedded senior-level roles with multi-year engagements, serving as a strategic advisor to executive teams during critical inflection points. Developed and implemented foundational HR infrastructure, including onboarding programs, performance management cycles, total rewards strategies, compensation frameworks, global benefits, employee handbooks, and manager development. Designed and launched equitable rewards and recognition programs aligned with company values, contributing to improved culture, engagement, and retention. Partnered cross-functionally with legal and finance teams to design compliant and cost-effective HR operations aligned with employment law, budgetary goals, and investor expectations. Advised founders on organizational design, workforce planning, and leadership development to enhance management capability and team effectiveness. Led transitions from fractional to in-house People teams by recruiting, onboarding, and mentoring internal HR leadership. Managed complex global People matters, including immigration, international relocation, employee relations, investigations, and performance-based exits, ensuring compliance while maintaining employee trust. Clients: • Earnin (1 yr)  • Otter.ai (2 yrs)  • 3T Biosciences (10 mos)  • Synapse (11 mos) • Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (6 mos)  • Forensic Logic (2 yrs)  • Lambda School (6 mos) • NerdWallet (7 mos)  • InSite Applications (2 yrs)  • BrightEdge (2.5 yrs)  • Quri (2 yrs) • Additional clients include Lever, Culture Amp, Rigetti, RealtyShares, Nomadic, Robinhood, Brandcast, Honor, and Uber Roles: • Director, People Ops • HRBP • Total Rewards & Compensation • VP People

Built and scaled People operations to support 75 internal employees and 300+ contractors across 15 states. Implemented core HR systems, payroll, onboarding, and state-specific compliance infrastructure, enabling rapid headcount growth while minimizing legal and operational risk Designed and launched company-wide employee programs, including benefits, performance management, engagement surveys, and recognition initiatives. These programs contributed to a 20% increase in employee satisfaction scores and improved manager feedback around People team support. Partnered directly with enterprise clients to meet stringent compliance and workforce management standards, reducing risk exposure and playing a key role in renewing and expanding multimillion-dollar contracts with Fortune 500 customers. Oversaw multi-location field operations and led a cross-functional team of five across People, Ops, and Admin. Managed a $3M capital expense budget in partnership with Finance, aligning spend with strategic growth priorities and improving forecasting accuracy.

Scaled company operations from 3 to 45 employees, building foundational infrastructure across fulfillment, accounting, and customer service. Established core processes and systems that enabled sustainable growth during rapid scale-up phases. Led the successful implementation of NetSuite ERP across U.S. and EU operations, streamlining fulfillment workflows, improving inventory accuracy, and reducing order processing time by 40%. Enabled real-time visibility into supply chain and finance data. Managed end-to-end logistics for trade shows and events, supported sales operations, and oversaw customer service strategy. These efforts directly contributed to brand visibility and revenue growth during critical launch and expansion years. Enabled the founder and early executive team to focus on product development and market entry by proactively taking ownership of operational execution. Laid the groundwork for future departmental leadership through documentation and scalable processes.