Director, People Operations & Total Rewards

Formation Bio•Boston, MA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Formation Bio is looking for a Director of People Operations & Total Rewards to own the strategy and execution of our people infrastructure. Reporting to the SVP, Head of People, you'll drive outcomes that advance company priorities by building compensation expertise in-house, designing scalable people programs, and ensuring operational excellence across our systems and processes. This is a high-impact role for someone who can make independent, complex decisions with a company-wide perspective by evaluating tradeoffs in compensation strategy, benefits design, and program implementation while anticipating long-term implications for our unique business model. We're looking for someone who brings genuine enthusiasm for AI innovation and automation. Someone who believes people operations can be deeply human while leveraging AI to drive efficiency and scale. You'll be instrumental in building an AI-native people function that reflects Formation's broader mission and culture.

Requirements

8+ years of experience in people operations, total rewards, and/or HR leadership roles
Deep compensation expertise - you've designed frameworks, led market analysis, structured equity programs, and can think strategically about total rewards in complex or unique business models
Proven track record implementing AI and automation - you have concrete results in people operations, not just enthusiasm, and a strong vision for where an AI-native function can go
Strong operational background - you've owned people systems, benefits, compliance, and built scalable people operations infrastructure
Experience designing and scaling talent management programs - you know how to balance quality with operational efficiency
Ability to make independent, complex decisions - you evaluate tradeoffs with a company-wide perspective and anticipate long-term implications
Strong ownership mentality and high accountability - you take full responsibility for outcomes and drive work to completion
People management experience - you've developed and elevated individuals and teams, and care deeply about career development
Strong cross-functional partnership skills - you build excellent relationships with internal teams and external vendors
Comfortable working in fast-paced, high-growth environments - you can be both strategic and hands-on

Nice To Haves

Experience in biotech, pharma, or other technical/regulated industries is a plus but not required

Responsibilities

Drive AI-native operations across the people function - identifying opportunities to leverage technology while maintaining the human elements of our work
Ensure compliance and evolve our people processes to ensure they are fit for purpose as the business scales
Lead cross-functional processes and partner with internal stakeholders including Legal, Finance, Tech Ops, and Quality Assurance
Serve as escalation point for complex operational issues, benefits decisions, and compensation situations
Manage external vendor relationships and consultant partnerships
Own compensation strategy and execution for Formation's unique business model, including framework design, market positioning, and equity programs
Lead benefits strategy, vendor selection, and plan design; ensuring our total rewards package is competitive and supports our culture and business needs
Own cyclical compensation reviews end-to-end
Partner on complex offer negotiations and provide market intelligence and competitive positioning recommendations
Elevate and own our annual performance, promotion and compensation review process to ensure quality, consistency, and scalability as we grow
Partner with Director, People Business Partner on program execution and continuous improvement
Anticipate program needs based on business growth and evolution