People Lead

Mecka • New York, NY

19h • $140,000 - $175,000

About The Position

Mecka AI is building the data infrastructure layer for robotics and embodied AI. We partner with leading AI labs and robotics companies to deliver high-quality, real-world datasets used to train, evaluate, and deploy robotic systems. Our work sits directly between research, data, and real-world execution — where model performance is dictated by data quality.

Robotics will become the largest industry in human history — larger than anything that has come before it. As intelligent machines move into the physical world, they will dramatically expand global GDP, raise the material standard of living for everyone, and ultimately help make humanity a multiplanetary civilization. None of that happens without one thing: enormous amounts of high-quality, real-world data.

Mecka AI builds that foundation. We are the data infrastructure layer for robotics and embodied AI — the substrate that teaches machines to perceive, reason, and act in reality. Get this right, and we accelerate the most important technological transition of our time.

Excellence as the baseline. We hold an extremely high bar and expect the best work of your career. Mediocrity isn't interesting to us.
Highly technical. We reason from first principles, not by analogy. The best argument wins — regardless of title or tenure.
Truth-seeking. We are relentlessly honest with ourselves and each other. We chase reality — measured, not assumed — and kill our own bad ideas fast.
Maniacal urgency. The work matters and the clock is real. We move fast, ship, measure, and iterate.
Extreme ownership. You own outcomes end-to-end — no hand-offs, no excuses, no waiting for permission.
Hardcore. This is a high-intensity environment for people who want to do the defining work of their lives.

We're hiring a People Lead (VP People for the right candidate) to build the recruiting and people function that takes Mecka from 50 to 100+ in the next 18 months. This is not a generalist HR seat — it is a builder seat. You'll own the entire talent system: senior hiring, technician and field hiring, cross-geo comp and equity, immigration and entity infrastructure, and the people operations that hold a multi-site company together.
You'll report to leadership and partner directly with the executive team on every senior hire. You will be in the room for every meaningful talent decision the company makes for the next two years.

Requirements

• 8+ years in talent, recruiting, or people leadership, with at least one tour as the senior-most talent leader at a high-growth company.
• Direct experience scaling a company through the 50 → 150+ band — you've personally owned the hiring engine across that inflection.
• Demonstrated ability to close senior hires (VP, Director, GM level) — not just manage recruiters who close them.
• Working fluency with cross-geo comp/equity design — you've calibrated bands across at least two of: US, Canada, China, EU.
• Comfortable operating without an HRIS implementation team, a comp consultant, or a Chief People Officer above you. You are the function.

Nice To Haves

• Built or rebuilt a talent function at a Series A → B venture-backed company, ideally hardware-adjacent, robotics, AI infrastructure, or technical operations.
• Existing rolodex of senior technical, robotics, or enterprise GTM operators you can reach personally.
• Hands-on experience with US immigration filings (H-1B, O-1, L-1) and one of: Canadian work permits, China employment, or EOR structures.
• Worked closely with founders or CEOs on org design — you've sat in the seat where headcount decisions are made.
• Background in field operations, technician hiring, or blue-collar/technical workforce recruiting is a real plus given Mecka's deployment side.
• A builder, not an administrator. You write the playbook the first time and improve it the third.
• Calm under hiring pressure. Mecka's pace is real — you'll get five senior reqs at once and a closing fire on a Friday night, and you'll handle both.
• Comfortable saying no to a bad hire, even when the hiring manager wants them. Your standard is the company's standard.
• Direct, low-ceremony, no spin. You manage up by being right, not by being polished.
• Genuinely interested in the work the company does — you ask candidates good questions about robotics, datasets, and deployments because you actually care.

Responsibilities

• Build Mecka's recruiting machine from the ground up — sourcing, interviewing, closing, and pipeline analytics across Hardware, Software, and Operations.
• Own the senior search slate yourself: VP Engineering, VP Deployments, Head of Data Quality, finance leadership, and other senior hires.
• Hire and lead the recruiting team — in-house recruiters, sourcers, and coordinators across NY, Toronto, and Shenzhen.
• Stand up the search-firm relationships, contract bands, and exclusivity terms that get top-of-market candidates moving on Mecka's terms.
• Design and maintain Mecka's leveling framework across engineering, hardware, software, robotics, operations, and field teams.
• Own comp bands and equity bands across three geographies — NY, Toronto, Shenzhen — with currency, market, and tax-aware structures.
• Run refresh cycles, promotion calibrations, and equity top-ups as the company scales.
• Partner with finance and legal on equity pool planning, 409A cadence, and the comp implications of the next round.
• Own visa and immigration strategy: H-1B, O-1, L-1, TN, Canadian work permits, and Shenzhen-side employment compliance.
• Build the employment-entity, EOR, and contractor infrastructure that lets Mecka hire the best person regardless of geography.
• Manage outside immigration counsel, employment counsel, and benefits brokers across all three regions.
• Stand up the people-ops backbone: onboarding, performance, feedback cycles, manager training, and the systems that hold a fast-scaling company together.
• Own employee experience end-to-end — from offer letter to ramp to retention.
• Define Mecka's culture, in writing and in practice, as we 2x in size. Protect what works. Change what doesn't.
• Partner with leaders to grow first-time managers into great ones.
• Be the executive team's partner on org design, headcount planning, and the question of "who do we need to hire next, and at what level."
• Bring market intelligence on talent — who's hiring, who's leaving, who's available, and what they cost.
• Own the talent narrative externally: candidate experience, employer brand, and the way Mecka shows up to senior candidates.

Benefits

• Build Mecka's people function from a real foundation, with the autonomy to design it your way.
• Sit in the executive room, own the senior hiring system, and hire the team that defines what Mecka becomes across robotics, data, deployments, and the field.
• Own the comp, equity, and immigration architecture that will define the company through the next round and beyond, while working across three continents on a company building the data and the robots for the next decade of physical AI.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed