Head of PeopleThis is for exceptional candidates only. You will be the first HR hire at a ~50-person defense tech company, joining a People team of one (our Founding Recruiter). You will build HR at Icarus from zero: the systems, the policies, the compliance, and the culture that let engineers build and fly.
What you'll own- HR infrastructure: select and run the HRIS, payroll, and benefits stack; own open enrollment and broker/PEO relationships.
- Compliance: California and federal employment law, multi-state compliance as we hire outside CA, I-9/E-Verify, and wage-and-hour (exempt vs. non-exempt, overtime, meal and rest breaks for factory and field teams).
- Defense requirements: partner with security and legal on ITAR/export-control hiring checks, security clearance processes, and government contract labor requirements.
- Onboarding and offboarding: a fast, repeatable process from signed offer to first flight.
- Employee relations: be the trusted, discreet point of contact for concerns, investigations, and hard conversations.
- Compensation and equity: build leveling, salary bands, and an equity grant framework with the CEO & Recruiter.
- Performance and growth: lightweight review cycles and feedback that engineers actually value.
- Policy: a lean handbook, leave, PTO, travel, and safety policies that hold up legally and fit how we work.
- Scale: partner with our Founding Recruiter to grow from ~50 to 200+ people without losing the culture.
What we're looking for- 6+ years of HR experience, including at least 2 years as the first or sole HR leader at a startup.
- Deep working knowledge of California employment law and wage-and-hour rules.
- Experience supporting hourly manufacturing, technician, or field teams alongside salaried employees.
- Experience at a hardware, aerospace, or defense company. Familiarity with ITAR, export controls, or security clearance processes.
- Sound judgment and discretion handling sensitive employee relations issues and investigations.
- Hands-on and operational. You will run payroll and fix the spreadsheet yourself.
- Comfortable working directly with a CEO and moving at startup speed.
- Able to work on-site in El Segundo, 5 days a week.
- Must be a U.S. person as defined by ITAR.
Bonus- Built HR from scratch before: HRIS, payroll, benefits, handbook, and core processeses
- Experience scaling a company from ~50 to 200+ people
- Experience with government contracts, FAR/DFARS labor requirements, or affirmative action plans
Why Icarus- A lot of equity
- Top market salary and bonuses
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Factory in El Segundo
- Real ownership, real hardware, real flight
- Small team, massive responsibility (but growing very fast)
- High signal (engineering) to noise (management) culture
- Dream desk setup
- Daily lunch
- Unlimited Celsius
This is not a normal HR job- We are pioneers, not corporate managers. HR here exists to help engineers build, test, and fly. Not to add process and politics.
- You will work side by side with the CEO and our Founding Recruiter. You own HR end to end, from strategy to the paperwork.
- We expect full extreme ownership. There is no HR team behind you. You are the team, and you will build it.
- You will cover the full stack: compliance, payroll and benefits, onboarding, employee relations, performance, compensation, and policy.
- We want builders. No hand-holding. No fluff. No 40-page handbooks nobody reads. Lightweight systems that work at 50 people and scale to 200+.
- You must thrive under pressure, learn fast, and make sound calls with incomplete information.
- You will be a core operator of the company, taking People operations from concept to reality and iterating fast as we scale.
No tourists. No bystanders. Only builders.
Hiring process- Interview with our Founding Recruiter
- One-on-one with CEO
- Meet the team in-person
US salary range$175,000 - $250,000 USD
The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Icarus' total compensation package.
