S

STUDS

Direct-to-consumer ear piercing and jewelry

HR Business Partner

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
$100k - $125k+ Stock options
Mid, Senior
New York, NY, USA
HybridHybrid: onsite three days per week and work from home two days per week.
People & HRCompensation & Benefits, HR Generalist & Employee Relations

About the job

Requirements
  • Four to six years of human resources experience with direct ownership of employee relations and leave and accommodation administration.
  • Hands-on experience running the interactive process and managing leave cases end to end.
  • Strong systems fluency, including HRIS administration and case or ticket management platforms.
  • Experience with ADP is strongly preferred, along with the ability to own configuration within a defined scope.
  • Multi-state experience, including familiarity with state leave programs.
  • Working knowledge of benefits administration, including benefits continuation and COBRA.
  • Exceptional documentation discipline and follow-through on cases that span weeks or months.
  • Ability to handle sensitive medical and personal information with discretion.
  • Comfort supporting complex matters led by someone else rather than owning every decision.
  • Based in New York City and able to work onsite three days per week.
Responsibilities
  • Own leave-of-absence administration end to end, including eligibility, notices, tracking, and return to work.
  • Run the interactive process for accommodation requests and document each step as it happens.
  • Coordinate work and scheduling restrictions with Regional and Studio Managers so coverage plans reflect them.
  • Serve as the employee point of contact throughout leave and accommodation cases while maintaining confidentiality of medical information.
  • Escalate accommodation and leave questions with legal exposure to the SVP, People and outside counsel.
  • Own the employee-relations case system, including intake, routing, status, ownership, and closure.
  • Manage the People Service Center ticket queue against defined response and resolution standards.
  • Maintain complete documentation on every case and flag files that are not ready for a decision.
  • Track corrective action across regions and surface situations that are being handled inconsistently.
  • Report case volume, type, severity, and trends to the SVP, People on a set cadence.
  • Prepare investigation and termination materials for the SVP, People, including timelines and document sets.
  • Schedule and coordinate meetings, notifications, and follow-up actions on active matters.
  • Execute system and record changes following decisions, including separations in ADP.
  • Maintain the employee-relations playbook and escalation criteria as they are updated.
  • Serve as the day-to-day contact with the benefits broker on employee questions and issues.
  • Support enrollment, qualifying life events, and open-enrollment execution.
  • Coordinate benefits continuation and COBRA for employees on leave or separating.
  • Reconcile benefits deductions with Payroll before each cycle closes.
  • Own a defined lane of ADP changes, including leave status, restrictions, and separation records.
  • Serve as trained backup for core People Operations processing during absences or peak volume.
  • Keep data consistent between the case system, the ticket queue, and ADP.
  • Contribute to process improvements where administration is slow, manual, or error-prone.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience with ADP.

About the company

Studs.com is a direct-to-consumer retailer that specializes in ear piercing and earring stacking. It sells its own designs and offers piercing services online, pairing fashion with care guidance. Customers can choose from styles like Captive Bead Rings, Fixed Bead Rings, 14k gold flatbacks, and CZ flower ends, and receive aftercare advice and educational content to support healing. The company differentiates itself by focusing on a niche that blends art and science to help piercings heal faster and better, offering personalized care, a variety of designs, and items such as Mystery Packs. Its goal is to help customers express their personal style through customized ear-piercing experiences while ensuring safe, healthy healing and longevity of their piercings.

Company Size

201-500

Company Stage

Series B

Total Funding

$23M

Headquarters

New York City, New York

Founded

2019

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • Mall of America announced Studs' Minnesota debut for summer 2026, signaling continued expansion.
  • Studs is adding Denver in Q4 2026, showing landlords still want the brand.
  • Studs.com listed 26 studios on March 11, 2026, proving multi-unit scale momentum.

What critics are saying

  • Studs depends on mall traffic and rent; Cherry Creek and Mall of America demand execution.
  • A narrow piercing category caps repeat frequency, forcing constant new-store growth to sustain revenue.
  • Claire's, Banter, and local piercing shops pressure pricing; one bad expansion cycle destroys returns.

What makes STUDS unique

  • Anna Harman and Lisa Bubbers built a needle-only piercing brand for Gen Z.
  • Studs operates 26 studios nationwide, including a 40th studio opening at Mall of America.
  • The company owns earscaping, combining consultation, piercing, and curated earring stacking.

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Benefits

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Mental Health Support
  • Health Savings Account/Flexible Spending Account
  • Flexible Work Hours
  • Paid Vacation
  • Paid Sick Leave
  • Paid Holidays
  • Parental Leave
  • Sabbatical Leave
  • Professional Development Budget

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-2%

1 year growth

-2%

2 year growth

-1%
The Badger Herald
Oct 17th, 2024
Shopbop pop-up brings trendy, unique clothing to Madison

Shopbop has also partnered with Studs, offering an in-store Wisconsin Badger earring that comes with a $10 discount at Studs for ear piercing services.

Retail Dive
Mar 4th, 2024
Studs plots 10 store openings this year

Continuing its push into physical retail, Studs on Friday opened a store at New York's Rockefeller Center, marking the brand's sixth store in the city, per company officials.

TechCrunch
Nov 21st, 2023
Owning The Earscape Market With Lisa Bubbers And Anna Harman From Studs

Owning the earscape market with Lisa Bubbers and Anna Harman from StudscameraImage Credits: TechCrunchWelcome back to Found, where we get to the stories behind the startups.This week Becca and Dom are joined by Lisa Bubbers and Anna Harman, the co-founders of the ear piercing company Studs. The duo spoke to us about:What fundraising for a brick-and-mortar company was like.How they build a new market, tapping consumers who are too old for Claire’s but might not want to go into a tattoo shop.The ways in which their leadership styles complement each other.Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each week.Connect with us:On Twitter.On Instagram.Via email: [email protected] back to Found, where we get to the stories behind the startups. This week Becca and Dom are joined by Lisa Bubbers and Anna Harman, the co-founders of the ear piercing company Studs. The du...Though no one knows precisely what happened, a common theory is that Altman’s for-profit efforts became at odds with the mission-driven nonprofit board. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, and welcome back to Equity, the podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines

Chain Store Age
Nov 10th, 2023
Next-gen ear-piercing concept Studs expands to Chicago

Next-gen ear-piercing concept Studs expands to Chicago.

Chicago Sun-Times
Nov 6th, 2023
Ear-piercing studio Studs to open first Chicago site in Gold Coast

Studs, a New York-based studio, will open its first Chicago location in the Gold Coast Wednesday, marking its 20th location nationwide.