HR Manager, North America

About Fact Base

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Fact Base was founded on the vision of "building the order-and-procurement platform where machine shops take center stage", to help Japanese and global manufacturing lead the world again. Our flagship product ZUMEN is a drawing-centric manufacturing SaaS that lets small and mid-sized manufacturers manage drawings and production information in one cloud workspace.
Founded in 2022, we have grown to approximately 285 employees (June 2026) and raised JPY 900 million (Jan 2024), a JPY 1.45 billion Series B (Feb 2025) and a JPY 4.4 billion Series C (Nov 2025). We have subsidiaries in North America, Europe and Asia, and our leadership comes from Keyence, Accenture, Johnson & Johnson, Sapporo Breweries and SMBC Nikko Securities, among others.
Why we are hiring
Fact Base's North America region today consists of FACTBASE USA INC. (Chicago). Our U.S. office is in Illinois today, and we will open locations across the United States; a Mexican entity is being established, and Canada and the wider Americas are planned next. The regional sales and customer success organization is expected to exceed 100 people within a few years. HR operations and payroll are currently run remotely from Japan with local providers. We are establishing a regional HR function and are looking for the person who will own it: hands-on payroll and policy build-out first, growing into an HR business partner to the Country Manager.
ResponsibilitiesEmployee lifecycle: onboarding and offboarding, employment agreements, HRIS and employee records, for each North American entityTime and attendance: design and operate working-time, leave and attendance managementPayroll: build and continuously improve the payroll process with outsourced providers; ensure accuracy and compliance with federal, state and local requirements, including payroll registrations as we open locations in new statesPolicies and legal compliance: build the employee handbook and HR policies, and keep them current with federal law and the employment law of each state we operate in (FLSA classification, leave laws, pay transparency, required training and postings); adapt them as new entities are addedEmployee relations and disputes: first point of contact for employee relations; manage investigations, disciplinary matters, terminations and, with outside counsel, employment claims and litigationHR business partner: as the region grows, partner with the Country Manager on organization design, workforce planning, performance management, compensation structure and people strategy; bring HR data and a point of view to management decisionsImmigration and mobility: coordinate visa and relocation matters for Japanese expatriates and cross-border hires with outside counselCompensation and benefits: administer benefits and incentive plans with headquarters and the Finance Manager; support the hiring process (offers, contracts, onboarding) run by the Talent Acquisition teamTeam: hire, develop and lead regional HR staff (one position to start)Scope of change: duties as determined by the company.
What makes this role attractiveBuild a regional people function from 0 to 1 and be its accountable owner as the region grows past 100 people and expands into new states and countriesA role that grows with the region: start hands-on with payroll and policies, and become the Country Manager's HR business partner on organization and people strategyShape the culture and people practices of a North American organization inside a Japanese company expanding globally at startup speedOrganization and reporting structure
Direct report: North America Country Manager, who sets your day-to-day priorities and owns your performance evaluation and compensation decisions.
Dotted line: Head of HR & Labor Affairs at Tokyo headquarters. Headquarters provides standard processes and policies, professional guidance and approval of key external contracts, and expects regular reporting and consultation on HR and payroll matters. People decisions stay with the North America Country Manager.
Founding member: you will be one of the first members of the North America region back office. You are expected to build your own function and team (one staff member to start) from the ground up, and to be the accountable owner of the function for the whole region — not a coordinator of headquarters.
Build path: you start on top of local outsourced providers (accounting, tax, payroll) and hands-on support from headquarters; over time you build a function that stands on its own, with headquarters moving to a governance and support role. xzbcwsv As an early-stage back-office leader, you will also step outside your specialty — general affairs, office setup, compliance and ad-hoc projects are part of the job in the first year.
Requirements
Must-haveAble to act as the accountable HR owner for the region: end-to-end HR operations, building and improving payroll and attendance processes, keeping policies compliant with changing law, and handling employee relations, disputes and litigation with counselWorking knowledge of federal and multi-state employment law; hands-on experience with U.S. payroll and benefits administrationExperience partnering with business leaders on organization, performance or compensation matters (HRBP or generalist experience)Experience in a startup, a fast-growing company or a subsidiary of a foreign parentAdvanced business-level English or above, with clear written communication for non-native speakersNice-to-haveJapanese language abilitySHRM-CP/SCP or PHR/SPHRExperience with Mexican or Canadian employment frameworks, or with a Japanese parent companyHRIS implementation; PEO or payroll-provider transitions; immigration cases (L-1, E-2, H-1B)Experience building a team or function from scratchWho we are looking forEnjoys building processes from zero rather than operating ones that already existMakes progress without a complete playbook and takes ownership of outcomes, not just tasksHands-on by default: does the work as well as manages it during the build phaseCommunicates proactively across time zones and cultures, including with a Japanese headquartersToolsSlack, Google WorkspaceHRIS and payroll: to be selected locally with headquarters (headquarters uses Jobcan)Position detailsPosition: HR Manager, North AmericaEmployer: FACTBASE USA INC.Employment type: Full-time, permanentCompensation:Base salary: USD 115,000–135,000 per year, depending on experienceAnnual bonus: Eligible (target percentage to be confirmed)Equity: Stock option eligibility to be confirmedLocation: Chicago, Illinois, USAWork style:Hybrid work arrangement (specific office attendance requirements to be confirmed)Regular coordination with Tokyo headquarters across time zonesBenefits:Medical, dental, and vision insurance (details to be confirmed)401(k) retirement plan and employer match (details to be confirmed)Paid time off and public holidays (details to be confirmed)Company laptop and equipmentTravel: Occasional travel within North America and to Tokyo headquartersStart date: As soon as possibleCompany informationCompany: Fact Base, Inc. (株式会社Fact Base), parent companyFounded: September 1, 2022Capital: JPY 2,511.18 million (including capital reserve)CEO: Masataka TakeuchiEmployees: 285 employees group-wide (as of June 1, 2026)Headquarters: Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Central Tower 20F, 7-15-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032, JapanLocal entities: FACTBASE USA INC. (Delaware corporation, based in Chicago, Illinois); Mexican entity in establishment