Director of Human Resources

Director of Human Resources

Oakland, California 

People / Full Time / Hybrid

About Us

Dutch Vet is transforming veterinary care by making expert treatment accessible anytime, anywhere. Our mission is simple: help every pet live their happiest, healthiest life by connecting pet parents with licensed veterinarians through seamless virtual visits.

We’re the only veterinary telemedicine service that can diagnose, prescribe, and ship medications directly to customers in most states. For less than $100 per year, Dutch offers real relief and convenience for pets and their families.

As one customer put it: “Dutch was the only site that would diagnose and prescribe meds as well as ship the meds.”

Here’s what other customers have said about Dutch Vet:

“The easiest vet visit you'll ever have.”

“More thorough than my in-person vet.”

“No nonsense, quick, easy and friendly veterinarian. Much cheaper than our regular local vet that couldn’t get us in. So glad I found Dutch!”

Backed by world-class investors including Forerunner Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, and Bling Capital, our team is made up of successful startup founders from companies including Hims, PlushCare, and Nasty Gal, with experience scaling businesses such as Tripadvisor, Walmart, and BARK. Featured in TechCrunch, Forbes, Wired, and Axios, Dutch is setting the standard for quality, accessibility, and compassion in pet care.

The Role

We’re looking for a Director of Human Resources to build the people infrastructure, management practices, and employee experience required to support Dutch through its next stage of growth.

Reporting to the CEO, you will serve as a trusted advisor to Dutch’s executive team and managers while remaining close to the day-to-day needs of our employees. You will own the full employee lifecycle, including workforce planning, recruiting, onboarding, performance management, compensation, benefits, employee relations, compliance, organizational development, and offboarding.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can think strategically while also executing the work. You should be equally comfortable advising the CEO on organizational design, coaching a first-time manager, resolving a sensitive employee issue, analyzing compensation data, and improving an HR process yourself.

The right candidate will help Dutch preserve the speed, accountability, and entrepreneurial energy of a startup while building increasingly sophisticated and scalable people practices. You will create an environment in which high-performing employees understand what is expected of them, receive direct feedback, are rewarded for results, and can do the best work of their careers.

WHAT YOU’LL DO:

• Own Dutch’s people strategy and HR operations across the entire employee lifecycle

• Serve as a strategic advisor to the CEO, executive team, and people managers on organizational design, workforce planning, performance, compensation, employee relations, and leadership development

• Develop compensation philosophies, salary bands, leveling frameworks, promotion criteria, equity practices, and incentive programs that are competitive, equitable, and aligned with company performance

• Design and lead Dutch’s performance-management process, including goal setting, employee feedback, performance reviews, promotions, development plans, and performance improvement

• Manage employee benefits, payroll partnerships, HR systems, policies, employment documentation, and other core people operations

• Partner with legal counsel when necessary on investigations, accommodations, leaves, terminations, policy decisions, and other employment matters

• Strengthen internal communication, employee recognition, team connection, and engagement across a distributed workforce

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

• 8+ years of progressive experience in human resources, people operations, or organizational leadership

• 3+ years leading the HR or People function, ideally within a venture-backed, high-growth, or rapidly changing company

• Experience supporting a distributed, multistate workforce

• Demonstrated ability to operate as both a strategic executive partner and a hands-on HR leader

• Excellent judgment, discretion, emotional intelligence, and the ability to maintain confidentiality

• Direct and compassionate communication style, including the ability to deliver difficult messages clearly

• Strong analytical orientation and comfort using data to evaluate organizational performance and make decisions

• Ability to balance employee experience with the needs, standards, and financial realities of the business

• Strong project-management skills and the ability to manage several complex priorities simultaneously

• Willingness to challenge assumptions, surface difficult issues, and recommend decisive action

• Comfort working in an entrepreneurial environment in which priorities evolve and leaders are expected to build rather than inherit mature systems

• Genuine enthusiasm for Dutch’s mission and the opportunity to improve access to veterinary care

NICE TO HAVES:

• Experience in consumer healthcare, telehealth, pharmacy, veterinary care, subscription commerce, technology, or another regulated industry

• Experience selecting and administering HRIS, payroll, benefits, applicant-tracking, performance-management, and employee-engagement platforms

WHY THIS ROLE IS EXCITING:

• You’ll have the opportunity to build the people function for one of the fastest-growing companies in pet healthcare

• You’ll work directly with the CEO, executive team, and managers on decisions that shape the future of the company

• You’ll create the organizational foundation that allows Dutch to scale from a successful startup into an enduring public company

• You’ll have meaningful ownership over culture, talent, performance, compensation, employee experience, and organizational effectiveness

• You’ll be empowered to solve problems and implement improvements rather than simply administer existing processes

• You’ll help build a high-performance culture in which talented people can do meaningful work and see the impact of their contributions

• You’ll join Dutch at a pivotal stage as the company expands beyond telemedicine into a broader pet health platform

WHY WORK FOR DUTCH?

• Competitive base compensation of $150,000–$180,000, plus equity and performance-based incentives. Actual compensation will depend on experience, qualifications, and location.

• Health, dental, and vision insurance

• Flexible PTO

• Remote-first culture

• The chance to make a meaningful impact on pets and the people who love them

• The opportunity to help build one of the most important consumer healthcare companies in pet care

DUTCH’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

Pets First – Business and medical decisions are always guided by the pet’s best interest.

Agile Like a Cat – We move quickly with thoughtfulness and precision.

Creativity Is Our Catnip – We push boundaries and make complex topics easier to understand.

Be the Human Your Dog Thinks You Are – Lead with kindness, clarity, and care.

We may use artificial intelligence tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, assessing responses, or identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials. These tools assist our recruiting team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. Please contact us for additional information about how applicant data is processed.