Head of People
About The Position
Ai2 is looking for an experienced, operationally-minded Head of People to lead our People Operations function. This role requires someone who brings rigor and follow-through, and knows how to build scalable systems. The ideal candidate is comfortable with details and strategic direction, and credible with technical audiences. This position reports to the Head of Operations & Finance and supports the entire company. People Operations leads the strategy, systems, and programs that support Ai2’s team and shape how we work together, with ownership across total rewards, recruiting, HR business partnership, and people operations management. The role supports research and engineering teams, and will be instrumental in navigating new compliance requirements, processes, and a leadership transition in 2026.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree and 15+ years of progressive HR experience.
- 5+ years managing managers or senior individual contributors (3+ direct reports).
- Experience working closely with technical teams.
- Functional depth across compensation and benefits, recruiting, and HR business partnership.
- Experience with employee relations, performance management, and organizational design.
- Experience building and documenting HR processes and systems.
- Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to work across Legal, Finance, and executive leadership.
- Experience leading a team through organizational change.
Nice To Haves
- Experience partnering with AI research teams.
- Experience at a research institute, nonprofit, or grant-funded organization.
- Experience applying AI tools to HR workflows.
- SHRM/SPHR or PHR certification.
- Experience at a company scaling through a leadership transition.
Responsibilities
- Lead and develop a People Operations team of seven, spanning total rewards, recruiting, and HR business partnership, setting priorities and building their capacity to own their functions independently.
- Set annual strategy and goals for People Operations, and track progress against them.
- Partner with research and engineering leadership to make sure People programs fit how technical teams actually work.
- Own org-wide people programs, including performance management, employee relations, and engagement.
- Partner with leadership on organizational design and workforce planning.
- Ensure compliance with employment law and manage risk across the employee lifecycle.
- Identify where People processes are undocumented or inconsistent, and build the systems to fix that.
- Own budget and resourcing decisions for the People function.
- Partner with Finance and Legal on compliance and infrastructure needs as Ai2's funding model evolves.
- Support executive transitions, including search processes and onboarding planning.
- Own Ai2's hiring execution, from defining open roles to onboarding new team members.
- Look for opportunities to bring automation and AI tools into People workflows where they'll meaningfully reduce manual work.
Benefits
- Medical insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Health savings account plan
- Healthcare reimbursement arrangement plan
- Health care flexible spending account plans
- Dependent care flexible spending account plans
- 401k plan
- Commuting or internet expenses stipend ($125/month)
- Fitness and wellbeing expenses stipend ($200/month)
- Sick days (up to ten per year)
- Personal days (up to seven per year)
- Vacation days (up to 20 per year)
- Paid holidays (twelve per year)
- Annual bonuses
- Long-term incentive plan
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Manager
