About the RoleAtomic Machines is scaling past 250 employees. We're looking for a builder to join as our Director of People and design and lead the People function. This opportunity owns People end to end: the systems, infrastructure, programs, and compliance that let a hardware company grow fast without breaking. You'll lead a team across the operational lifecycle from onboarding through offboarding, total rewards, and the People systems and data foundation the company runs on. You'll also own our move off a PEO to in-house benefits and payroll, stand up the multi-state footprint that comes with our first out-of-state site, drive organizational development and learning, and lead our HR Business Partner function.
You will report to the VP of People & IT and partner regularly with senior leadership, including the CEO, alongside our Head of Strategic Growth, IT, and Finance, representing our operational and organizational core HR functions. This is a role for someone who loves to build and build teams. To be successful, you'll need to evaluate technology, modernize processes, implement systems, and design programs serving a workforce that spans engineering, R&D, manufacturing, operations, and corporate functions.
We're a hardware company, and hardware moves differently than software. We need someone who has (or is excited to) build People in a hardware, manufacturing, or deep-tech environment and understands why that context changes what good support looks like.
This role is based in our Emeryville office.
What You'll DoPeople Operations
- Own the operational employee lifecycle: onboarding, transfers, leaves, offboarding, and the process, documentation, and governance underneath each
- Lead the transition of benefits and payroll from our PEO to in-house administration
- Own payroll operations, including multi-state payroll as we expand beyond California
- Design scalable processes and internal documentation that hold up as headcount grows
Total Rewards & Benefits
- Own benefits strategy, design, annual renewals, and broker relationships
- Run compensation administration, including cycles, band maintenance, and the operational side of merit and equity refresh
- Manage leave administration, workers' compensation, and 401(k) administration
Compliance, Risk & Immigration
- Own employment compliance in California and every state we operate in, and stand up compliance infrastructure for our first out-of-state location
- Manage immigration in partnership with outside counsel
- Own I-9, records retention, employee data privacy, required filings, and audit readiness
- Partner with EHS and Operations on workplace safety programs across office and manufacturing environments
People Programs & Business Partnering
- Lead our HR Business Partner function, setting the standard for how People supports the business
- Build and improve the operating machinery behind performance management, employee development, and organizational effectiveness
- Partner with the Head of Strategic Growth so People programs align to business priorities and organizational growth
Organizational Development & Learning
- Build the organizational development practice: org design support, capability planning, and the frameworks leaders use to structure and grow their teams
- Design and run learning and development programs, from manager enablement to functional skill building across engineering, manufacturing, and corporate teams
- Treat onboarding as a development experience, not just a process, so new Atomizers reach productivity quickly in a deeply technical environment
People Systems & Data
- Evaluate, implement, and optimize HRIS and People technology that enables scale
- Own People data integrity, reporting, and the headcount analytics Finance and leadership rely on
- Apply sound judgment about when AI tools genuinely improve People work and when they don't, weighing accuracy, confidentiality, and employee trust before adopting new tools or workflows
Leadership & Team
- Lead, coach, and develop the People team, including People Operations and business partnering
- Establish priorities, operating rhythms, quality standards, and scalable process across the function
- Own the People budget and vendor portfolio
- Build cross-functional partnerships with Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, R&D, IT, Finance, and executive leadership
What You'll Need- First principles thinking with high judgment. You start from "what does Atomic Machines actually need and why," not from what worked at your last company. This matters more than anything else on this list
- 10+ years of progressive People leadership, ideally scaling a startup or high-growth technology company
- Direct experience building People Operations in a hardware, manufacturing, or deep-tech company. Hardware startups run on different constraints and timelines than software startups, and this role needs someone who has already lived that difference
- Experience building People infrastructure, programs, and systems from the ground up
- Depth in benefits, payroll, compliance, HRIS implementation, and operational process design
- Experience leading business partners, plus organizational development and learning programs
- Experience moving a company from a PEO to in-house administration, or standing up People Operations in a new state, is a significant plus
- Strong knowledge of California employment law, plus multi-state experience
- Working knowledge of AI tools relevant to People work, including a clear point of view on their limits and when a human judgment call should override automation
- A track record of building trust with executives by delivering, not just advising. You're the person leadership comes to because you've already built the thing, not because you describe well what should be built
- Ability to work primarily onsite in Emeryville, with regular presence at both offices
- Bachelor's degree required
The compensation for this position also includes equity and benefits.
Salary Range
$215,000-$280,000 USD
