Head of People Technology

Aurora•Mountain View, CA

97d•$216,000 - $280,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Aurora is seeking a Director, Head of People Technology, a builder-first leader responsible for transforming our HR technology ecosystem into a secure, scalable, and AI-integrated backbone. This role requires balancing strategic vision with deep, hands-on execution to eliminate operational fragmentation across People systems and optimize them for Aurora's growth. The ideal candidate will architect long-term platform strategies, dive into backend configurations, design data flows, and deploy cutting-edge internal AI automation to reduce manual work and enhance the employee experience.

Requirements

14+ years of experience leading People / HR business technology, including 6+ years of experience in leadership and management track in high-growth technology environments.
Proven, hands-on configuration mastery of core enterprise HRIS platforms (Workday, Greenhouse, Ashby). Thorough understanding of backend logic, system limitations, and how these platforms integrate with downstream systems.
A proven track record of designing and deploying workflows with advanced automation to drastically improve business efficiency.
Exceptional ability to design scalable data architectures, manage integrations, and map out complex technical ecosystems.
Experience operating in a public-company environment, with a strong understanding of compliance, security controls, and audit expectations.
Demonstrated success influencing C-level executives and managing strategic, complex technology vendor relationships to ensure platforms deliver to high standards of reliability and innovation.

Nice To Haves

Experience in designing, building, or deploying Agentic AI automation.
Experience in master data management (MDM) in the HR domain.

Responsibilities

Drive Platform Strategy & Architecture: Set the long-term technical vision, architecture, and strategy for all People platforms (HRIS, ATS, Total Rewards, and Performance systems), evolving them from legacy setups into a coherent, scalable ecosystem.
Lead Technical Design & Data Integration: Serve as the hands-on principal architect for internal people systems. Define the employee data management strategy, build complex system crosswalks, and establish automated integration frameworks to eliminate operational fragmentation between HR, Finance and Commercial Operations systems.
Deploy AI & Automation: Identify opportunities to replace manual HR workflows with AI-powered agents. Build and manage "internal agents" to automate employee self-service, reporting, and routine data auditing.
Establish Strong Governance: Mature core People systems by establishing disciplined change management, strict data governance, and control frameworks to support auditability, global data privacy (GDPR/CCPA), and public-company readiness.
Collaborate Cross-Functionally: Serve as the primary senior technology partner to executive leadership across People, Finance, and Security IT, translating complex technical needs, platform risks, and roadmap milestones into clear business outcomes.
Lead and Upskill: Build and mentor a high-impact platform team, fostering a culture of domain depth and AI fluency, speed, and proactive system ownership rather than reactive support.