Headline

HR Leader | People Strategy & Talent | HR Transformation | AI & Automation | Building Scalable People Systems

About

10+years in HR. Entirely in startups. I started my career in 2016 when HR wasn't just about HR. Like most startup roles, it meant wearing multiple hats, solving problems, and doing whatever was needed to help the business grow. I began with a team of around 15 people, where there were no ready-made processes, no large HR teams, and no corporate playbook to follow. I had the opportunity to build many of the people practices and processes from the ground up. Today, that company has grown to 100+ employees, and many of the people who joined during the early days are still part of the journey. Over the years, I've worked across Talent Acquisition, Campus Hiring, Learning & Development, Employee Engagement, Performance Management, HR Operations, Compliance, and Culture Building. I've partnered closely with founders and business leaders to hire great talent, improve employee experiences, and build scalable people processes that support growth. Campus hiring is something I'm particularly passionate about. I enjoy connecting with colleges, identifying high-potential talent early, and helping young professionals start meaningful careers. In recent years, I've developed a strong interest in AI and automation. I regularly use tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Google Apps Script to improve hiring, onboarding, learning initiatives, and HR operations. My view on AI is simple: -AI won't replace jobs. -People who know how to use AI effectively will have an advantage over those who don't. -The future isn't Human vs AI. It's Human + AI. I believe the best HR teams will combine human understanding with technology to create better experiences for both employees and businesses. I'm always happy to connect with founders, CEOs, HR leaders, recruiters, and professionals who are passionate about people, startups, AI, and the future of work. I enjoy learning from different perspectives and exchanging ideas that help organizations and people grow. Whether you're building a team, scaling a business, exploring AI in HR, or simply looking to connect, I'd be happy to hear from you. 📩 rajenpatwari1234@gmail.com

Location

Bengaluru

Work experience

Human Resources Manager at Grull.Space, Nov 2025 - Present · 11 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, What I’m Building Building the People & HR function from day zero at a very early-stage startup. This means wearing many hats and focusing on what actually matters at this stage: • Creating hiring frameworks that support early growth • Setting up HR systems, documentation, and compliance from scratch • Managing payroll, benefits, and core people operations • Designing simple performance goals and feedback loops • Acting as a trusted point of contact for employee concerns • Supporting founders on people and culture decisions • Laying the foundation for culture, values, and engagement The focus isn’t scale yet it’s doing things right early so growth doesn’t break people or culture later.

Human Resources Manager at One Paper, Feb 2021 - Present · 5 yrs 8 mos, Bengaluru Area, India, Built the HR function basically from ground zero as the company scaled from 15 people to 100+. What I actually did: - Handled all recruitment (500+ hires total, mostly campus hiring) - Built and implemented our HRIS system - Created our performance management and feedback process - Managed payroll, benefits, compliance, all the operational stuff - Built our culture initiatives and kept engagement strong during the chaos of rapid growth - Did grievance management and maintained clean compliance record - Started implementing AI tools for recruitment screening and analytics The numbers that matter: - Scaled from 15 → 100+ employees - Maintained 95%+ offer acceptance rate - Reduced hiring cycle from 60 days → 20 days - Improved employee engagement score from 35 → 72 - Zero escalated grievances - 22% reduction in attrition during scaling The real win: We grew 6-7x and didn't lose our culture or values. Most startups can't say that. Skills used: Startup HR, Talent Acquisition, HRIS, Performance Management, Compliance, Organizational Design, Culture Building, some basic AI/automation tools

HR Manager at DreamGains Financials India Private Limited, Mar 2016 - Jan 2021 · 4 yrs 11 mos, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, Started my HR career here as a Junior HR professional and grew into the HR Manager role over 4+ years. What I learned and built: - Started in junior role, quickly took on more responsibility - Managed campus recruitment and talent acquisition - Handled payroll, benefits, compliance for growing finance company - Built employee relations and grievance management processes - Learned compliance and governance in regulated (financial services) environment - Managed org structure changes and workforce planning Why this matters: This is where I learned HR fundamentals. Built a solid foundation in compliance, recruitment, and employee relations. Moved up from junior role to manager, which taught me how to grow and adapt. Then moved on to build HR from scratch at my current organization with all this experience behind me.

Education

Bachelor's degree, CCS (Chaudhary Charan Singh)University