Head of People

At Dakota, we're building the next-generation global banking platform. Our mission is to empower businesses to operate globally by combining the best of crypto and traditional finance. Founded in 2024, Dakota already serves hundreds of customers and processes billions in annualized transaction volume.

From day one, Dakota has been a fully remote company. Our lean but experienced team is distributed across North America and Europe, united by a deep sense of ownership, a relentless focus on our customers, and a commitment to expanding economic freedom worldwide.

Please note: Dakota is a remote-only, equal-opportunity employer. At this time, we are able to hire candidates within the U.S.

We’re hiring a Head of People to help us scale from a high-functioning early team to a world-class company. This is a foundational leadership role responsible for building the systems, culture, and talent strategy that will support Dakota’s next phase of growth.

You’ll report directly to the CEO and serve as a strategic thought partner across hiring, org design, performance, and company-building. This role is for someone who loves building from zero-to-one, cares deeply about people and execution, and wants a true seat at the table.

1. Build a Scalable People Infrastructure

• Design and implement foundational systems: employee onboarding, compensation, and reviews

• Stand up our HR tech stack (HRIS, ATS, L&D tools)

• Define internal policies that reflect a high-trust, high-accountability culture (remote-first, benefits, etc.)

• Establish clear frameworks for setting goals, evaluating performance, and rewarding impact

2. Attract, Hire, and Retain Top Talent

• Own end-to-end hiring strategy across functions and levels (eng, GTM, compliance, ops)

• Define Dakota’s value proposition and a strategy for communicating this to candidates

• Develop structured interview processes, scorecards, and candidate experience systems

• Partner with founders and team leads to define roles, write job descriptions, and close top candidates

• Drive retention through growth plans, feedback systems, and career development frameworks

3. Champion a Culture of Performance and Ownership

• Continuously refine and scale our company values and cultural practices as the team grows

• Create opportunities for cross-team connection that foster collaboration and alignment

• Partner with leadership to inspire and motivate the team, while navigating any people challenges with empathy and integrity

• Serve as a trusted advisor on organizational design, team dynamics, and people strategy

• Drive initiatives that promote a diverse workforce and inclusive culture aligned with company values

• Provide hands-on coaching to team leads to strengthen communication, collaboration, and team cohesion

• Have led people or talent at a high-growth startup, ideally from Series A through scaling

• Energized by early-stage work and excited to bring systems that empowers, not slows, great teams

• Understand how to operate in a regulated or fintech-adjacent environment (bonus, not required)

• Are a strong communicator, low-ego collaborator, and systems thinker

• Care deeply about building teams where people do the best work of their careers

• Engaging problems that increase economic freedom globally

• Competitive salary and equity

• Employee-friendly equity terms (extended exercise)

• Remote work, no commuting to the office

• Paid co-working space/desk at an office

• Health, dental, and vision insurance

• Regular team events and off-sites