Senior HR Generalist - US Benefits/Leave of Absence

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users. From utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios and beyond.

The Role

We are seeking a Senior HR Generalist who brings deep expertise in U.S. and global benefits strategy and administration, leave of absence (LOA) and accommodations, and compliance across multiple jurisdictions. This role is a strategic partner and operational leader who will play a pivotal role in harmonizing our employee programs globally and supporting our diverse workforce—including our office staff and factory team members.

This position is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments and has a passion for building scalable, equitable, and compliant people programs.

Location

• Minimum 3 days a week out of our HQ in San Mateo, CA 94402 as well as occasional travel to our Manufacturing Facility in Hayward, CA.

Key Responsibilities

Global Benefits Strategy, Administration & Compliance

• Manage and optimize U.S. health & welfare benefits, and wellness programs, with an eye on scalability and cost-effectiveness.
• Analyze current benefits and broker partners and create a long term strategy to implement over time that will achieve global harmonization and optimization.  Own the implementation of the multi-year global strategy.
• Design and implement supplementary and harmonized global benefits programs across existing and future expansion entities.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for brokers and vendors, ensuring accountability, effective service delivery, and regular benchmarking.
• Time & Attendance maintenance and compliance.
• Run Open Enrollment and annual compliance activities.
• Employee Onboarding and other HR Generalist knowledge and duties.

Leave of Absence & Accommodations

• Oversee LOA processes for U.S. and international employees, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local leave laws (including CFRA, FMLA, and ADA).
• Oversee and manage all accommodation requests and interactive process in compliance with ADA.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to ensure seamless integration of leave, accommodations and benefits continuation.
• Coordinate with worker’s compensation, disability, state paid leave benefits and third-party leave administrators and develop playbooks for consistency and employee support.

Training, Compliance & Reporting

• Ensure compliance and complete required reporting for all U.S. and international labor and benefits laws, including, but not limited to, I-9/E-verify, Meal & Rest Break compliance, Worker’s Compensation/OSHA, ACA, EEO-1, VETS-4212, COBRA, Non-Discrimination Testing,  mandatory trainings, and OFCCP obligations as a federal contractor.
• Ownership of audits, policy development, and employee handbook updates for global compliance.
• Using Learning & Development best practices, principals and models, build employee and manager enablement training for non-standard content and ownership of administration and training planning within our training platform.
• Maintain required notices and filings (ERISA, 5500, ACA, etc.) and act as a subject matter expert for employment and benefits law changes.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Embrace a collaborative and team-oriented environment by participating in cross-training and flexing across HR functions such as onboarding, terminations, immigration, etc. as needed to support team goals and ensure seamless employee experiences.
• Partner with People Operations teammates to ensure comprehensive HR support and shared backup responsibilities across functions including People Partners, Workplace Experience, Facilities and Recruiting.
• Partner with EHS teams to manage workplace injuries, worker’s compensation and OSHA reporting.
• Adept at creating and maintaining business processes and workflows; recognizing gaps and changes as the business scales.  Partner with People Systems teams for complex system implementations to automate