Human Resources Manager

Human Resources Manager

About Gorilla Circuits

Gorilla Circuits is a leading manufacturer of printed circuit boards (PCB) and printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA), serving customers in the aerospace, defense, medical, industrial, and commercial industries. As an ITAR-registered manufacturer certified to AS9100 and ISO 9001 standards, we are committed to quality, innovation, and continuous improvement.

About the Role

We're looking for a strategic, hands-on Human Resources Manager to continue building, enhance, and lead our HR function. This is not a role for someone looking to run an existing playbook — you'll be the top HR leader in the organization, responsible for enhancing the systems, policies, and processes, while also staying close enough to the work to execute alongside your team.

You'll have a generalist and admin support reporting to you, but this role is fundamentally an individual builder role: you're expected to shape the department's direction, not just manage its day-to-day.

You'll serve as a trusted partner and advisor to leadership, translating business priorities into HR strategy, and standing up the infrastructure — from compliance frameworks to performance systems to employee relations protocols — that lets the company scale.

What You'll Do

Strategic HR Leadership

• Own HR strategy end-to-end: assess current-state gaps and build the processes, policies, and infrastructure needed to support a growing manufacturing workforce
• Partner directly with executive leadership as the primary HR advisor on workforce planning, organizational design, and business-critical people decisions
• Lead HR initiatives from concept to implementation — you're expected to identify what's missing and build it, not wait for direction

Department Leadership

• Serve as the senior HR presence in the organization; direct and develop a generalist and admin support role to execute day-to-day transactional work
• Enhance existing and establish new scalable, repeatable processes across the employee lifecycle (recruiting, onboarding, performance, offboarding)
• Set the standard for HR operations, compliance rigor, and employee experience going forward
• Delegate effectively — determine what should be owned at the generalist/admin level versus what requires your direct involvement, and build your team's capability to take on more over time
• Mentor and coach direct reports, investing in their growth so the department has bench strength, not just task coverage
• Build a high-performing, well-trained HR team capable of executing at a high level with appropriate autonomy

Employee Relations & Compliance

• Manage complex employee relations matters, develop your HR team to lead best-in-class workplace investigations, and coach managers through performance and corrective action processes
• Ensure compliance with federal, state (especially California), and local employment law; build and maintain HR policies proactively rather than reactively
• Support audits and regulatory requirements as the ITAR/AS9100 environment demands

HR Operations

• Oversee benefits administration, leave management, HRIS maintenance, and payroll coordination, ensuring accuracy and confidentiality
• Build reporting and metrics that give leadership visibility into workforce trends

Talent & Culture

• Drive recruiting strategy, employee development programs, and performance review processes to build a high-performing workforce
• Champion a strong workplace culture through engagement, communication, and recognition initiatives aligned to company values

This Role Is For You If...

• You've built HR functions or processes from scratch before — not just administered ones that already existed
• You think within a systems framework and want to design how things should work, not just keep things running
• You're comfortable being the most senior HR voice in the room, while still being hands-on enough to do the work yourself when needed
• You enjoy developing people — training, mentoring, and coaching a team to become excellent, not just delegating tasks and hoping for the best
• You want ownership over the direction of a department, not just a seat within one

What You'll Bring

• 10+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, including direct experience building or significantly overhauling HR functions, policies, or processes
• Demonstrated experience leading HR as the senior-most function owner, ideally with a small team reporting to you
• Strong knowledge of California employment law and HR best practices
• Experience within an organization consisting of 500 employees or more
• Experience supporting a manufacturing, engineering, or industrial environment strongly preferred
• Experience with HRIS and payroll systems (Paylocity preferred)
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills, with the judgment to operate autonomously
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field, or equivalent work experience
• PHR, SPHR, SHRM-CP, or SHRM-SCP certification is a plus

Compensation

Salary Range

$140,000 – $175,000 annually