Sr. People Operations Business PartnerDepartment: People Operations
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Hawthorne, California
Compensation: $125,000 - $145,000 / year
DescriptionThis position combines strategic partnership with hands-on execution. The ideal candidate is comfortable in ambiguity, managing complex employee relations matters, improving processes, coaching leaders, and helping build a high-accountability, high-performance culture during a critical stage of company growth.
The Sr. People Operations Business Partner plays a key role in supporting the full employee lifecycle while helping leaders scale teams' responsibility, compliantly and efficiently.
What you'll do:Strategic Partnership & Manager Support- Serve as a trusted People Operations partner to managers and employees across technical and operational organizations
- Coach managers on performance management, employee development, organizational effectiveness, communication, accountability, and team dynamics
- Partner with leaders to support organizational scaling, workforce planning, team structure and succession readiness
- Help leaders navigate challenging people matters with sound judgment, confidentiality, and compliance awareness
- Provide practical, business-focused People Operations guidance in a fast-moving engineering and manufacturing environment
Employee Relations & Workplace Culture - Manage employee relations matters promptly, fairly, and professionally, including investigations, conflict resolution, corrective actions, and performance concerns
- Identify workplace risks proactively and recommend solutions before issues escalate
- Support the development of a respectful, inclusive, high-performance culture aligned with Astrolab's mission and operational goals
- Build credibility and trust with employees at all levels of the organization
- Partner cross-functionally to improve employee engagement, retention, communication, and workplace effectiveness
Compliance & Policy Administration - Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws, with strong emphasis on California labor law compliance
- Support compliance efforts related to wage and hour practices, leave administration, accommodations, investigations, employee documentation, and policy implementation
- Assist in developing, improving, and scaling People Operations policies, SOPs, and internal processes
- Maintain accurate and compliant employee records and HR documentation practices
- Partner with payroll, benefits, recruiting, EH&S, and leadership teams to ensure operational alignment
Employee Lifecycle Management - Support and improve onboarding, offboarding, internal transfers, promotions, and employee development processes
- Partner with Recruiting and hiring managers to ensure a strong new hire experience and effective organizational integration
- Drive performance management processes including calibration discussions, employee feedback cycles, and development planning
- Support workforce changes, organizational restructuring, and scaling initiatives as the company grows
Operations & Projects - Lead and contribute to cross-functional People Operations initiatives and special projects
- Help build scalable infrastructure, programs, and workflows that support company growth
- Analyze trends and provide recommendations related to retention, engagement, turnover, and organizational health
- Utilize HR systems and reporting tools to improve efficiency and decision-making
- Support implementation and optimization of HRIS, performance management, and employee engagement platforms
What you'll bring:Basic Qualifications- 6+ years of HR or People Operations experience, including experience supporting technical, engineering, manufacturing, or operational teams
- Experience in high-growth, fast-scaling startup or aerospace/technology environments
- Experience and knowledge in California employment law and HR compliance practices
- Experience managing complex employee relations matters and workplace investigations
- Experience coaching managers through difficult conversations, performance management, and organizational challenges
- Experience supporting both exempt and non-exempt employee populations
- Experience using HRIS and performance management systems such as Lattice, Rippling, ADP Workforce Now, Insperity, BambooHR, or similar platforms
Preferred Qualifications- Experience supporting aerospace, advanced manufacturing, hardware engineering, robotics, automotive, defense, or other highly technical industries
- Experience supporting rapid headcount growth and organizational scaling
- SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification
- Experience partnering with engineering leadership, program management, production teams, and executive leadership
- Experience with government contracting environments or compliance-driven organizations is a plus
Benefits and Perks- Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
- Equity ownership in the company
- Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Flexible PTO and parental leave
- Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
- Once a month social hour on-site with food and drinks
