Manager, People Operations

Muon Space•San Jose, CA

2d•$193,000 - $214,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Muon is seeking a People Operations Manager to join their rapidly growing People Operations team. The ideal candidate will be a highly empathetic, high-integrity leader who will serve as the operational bedrock of the employee experience. Reporting to the VP of People Operations, this role will lead a dedicated team delivering operational excellence across the employee experience, balancing strategic scaling and compliance with a human-centric approach. This position is hybrid and requires working on-site in the San Jose, CA office three days per week, with potential flexibility for remote work for exceptional candidates located in the West Coast timezone who can travel to the Bay Area quarterly.

Requirements

8–12+ years of progressive experience in People Operations or Human Resources, with at least 4+ years of direct people management experience.
Proven track record of building, scaling, and managing People Operations functions through rapid hyper-growth phases.
Proven ability to translate broad business goals into actionable project roadmaps and execute independently with minimal direction.
Strategic expertise in Total Rewards and benefits design, vendor negotiations, and overseeing end-to-end Open Enrollment strategy.
Demonstrated mastery in handling complex employee relations, internal investigations, and sensitive organizational challenges with exceptional emotional intelligence, discretion, and high integrity.
Strong executive presence with proven success advising and partnering with stakeholders across our growing organization on people strategies.
Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with a natural approachability and warmth.
Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week.
Hands-on experience architecting and managing modern HR systems (Rippling, Lattice) and building out accessible and clear documentation (Google Workspace, Confluence).
This position requires access to export controlled information. To conform to U.S. Government export regulations applicable to that information, applicant must either be (A) a U.S. person, defined as a (i) U.S. citizen or national, (ii) U.S. lawful, permanent resident (green card holder), (iii) refugee under 8 U.S.C. § 1157, or (iv) asylee under 8 U.S.C. § 1158, (B) eligible to access the export controlled information without a required export authorization, or (C) eligible and reasonably likely to obtain the required export authorization from the applicable U.S. government agency. The Company may, for legitimate business reasons, decline to pursue any export licensing process.

Nice To Haves

Deep knowledge of multi-state federal, state, and local employment laws, compliance frameworks, and complex HR governance.
Familiarity with ITAR/EAR regulatory compliance and security clearances and its implications on talent acquisition, onboarding, and export control workflows.

Responsibilities

Directly partnering with the VP of People Operations to design and execute scalable HR strategies, programs, and infrastructure built for rapid headcount growth to support the company.
Ensure seamless execution across the employee lifecycle from onboarding, benefits administration, payroll processing, internal employee support and offboarding.
Foster an inclusive, supportive, and kind workplace culture grounded in integrity, psychological safety, and clear communication.
Design, launch, and analyze regular pulse surveys to measure employee engagement, gather actionable feedback, and drive continuous improvement in workplace culture.
Maintain full compliance with federal, state, and local labor laws (including FLSA, FMLA, ADA, and aerospace-specific regulations like ITAR/EAR), and continuously update company policies as needed.
Lead annual Open Enrollment, vendor management, and benefits strategy to ensure competitive and compassionate total rewards packages.
Oversee accuracy and compliance in payroll workflows, HRIS management, and time-tracking systems.
Lead and empower your team and be a role model for the company of management capability.
Serve as a trusted, approachable point of contact for employees, handling complex personal or professional inquiries with total confidentiality.
Manage sensitive employee relations and conflict resolution with fairness, discretion, and deep emotional intelligence.