Senior Program Manager, R&D Onboarding

Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system.

Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third-party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds.

Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.2B from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes.

We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from @Rippling.com addresses.

About the role

We are looking for a Senior Program Manager to create, manage, and run a comprehensive onboarding program for all of Rippling’s Research & Development (R&D) teams, including engineering, product, and design. You will fully own this program, ensuring that new hires across R&D have a seamless, effective, and engaging onboarding experience, enabling them to hit the ground running and contribute quickly to Rippling’s product innovation.

As a Senior Program Manager, you will collaborate closely with R&D executives, many cross functional stakeholders (HR, Recruiting, Ops, Product) and team leadership to design and implement a structured onboarding framework that aligns with Rippling’s goals and culture. You will independently analyze the program’s success and continuously iterate to ensure it scales with Rippling’s rapid growth.

What you will do

1. Design and run a best-in-class onboarding program for all R&D hires, creating a smooth transition into Rippling’s teams and culture. The program will ensure they can add value from Day 1.
2. Run end-to-end onboarding processes for R&D globally, including pre-boarding, training, and integration into day-to-day workstreams.
3. Collaborate with leadership and team managers across engineering, product, and design to align onboarding content with Rippling’s business priorities and technical needs.
4. Create feedback loops with new hires and managers to continually improve the onboarding experience, ensuring high engagement and satisfaction.
5. Monitor program success and iterate through key metrics such as ramp-up time, retention rates, and employee feedback, making data-driven adjustments to optimize impact.
6. Facilitate cross-functional collaboration with HR, IT, and other departments to ensure that the onboarding program is seamlessly integrated into Rippling’s broader employee lifecycle management.
7. Scale onboarding processes to support rapid hiring growth while maintaining a high-quality experience for all new team members.

What you will need

1. 8+ years of experience in building a highly scalable enablement program for engineering and/or R&D teams at a technology company.
2. Deep experience in HR programs, ideally having executed onboarding programs or learning and development initiatives.
3. Proven ability to design and implement scalable programs.
4. Excellent communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively with stakeholders at all levels.
5. Strong organizational skills with a high attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple programs simultaneously.
6. Demonstrated ability to use data and feedback to iterate and improve programs.
7. True ownership: you care deeply about every part of your program’s success, follow up to ensure initiatives get done, and do whatever it takes to make it successful.
8. Familiarity with R&D functions (engineering, product, and design) in a tech company.
9. Familiarity with technical programs and the ability to gut check the quality of your stakeholders’ content or contributions to your program.

Why Join Us

At Rippling, you’ll have the opportunity to create and scale an impactful onboarding program for a high-performing R&D organization. You’ll work cross-functionally and have ownership over a critical part of the employee lifecycle, helping us continue to drive product innovation and growth. We value ownership, communication, and leadership, and encourage our employees to take initiative and make a difference.

Additional Information

Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics. Rippling is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email accommodations@rippling.com.

Rippling highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office-based employees (employees who live within a 40 mile radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role.

This role will receive a competitive salary + benefits + equity. The salary for US-based employees will be aligned with one of the ranges below based on location; see which tier applies to your location here.

A variety of factors are considered when determining someone’s compensation–including a candidate’s professional background, experience, and location. Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed above.

The pay range for this role is:

123,000 - 215,250 USD per year (US Tier 1)