Director, People Operations

What you'll do

Strategic Leadership & Team Management

• Define and execute a unified People Operations vision, operating model, and multi-year roadmap spanning candidate interviewing, hiring, employee onboarding and employee lifecycle operations.
• Lead day-to-day operations, ensuring consistent, high-quality service delivery across the employee lifecycle.
• Lead and scale a rapidly growing People Operations function through direct leadership, with full accountability for team performance, service quality, and outcomes across the candidate and employee lifecycle.
• Establish team structure, capacity planning, KPIs, and operating rhythms to support hiring velocity, onboarding effectiveness, and ongoing operational excellence.
• Serve as a strategic advisor to executives on workforce operations, hiring experience, service delivery, and AI enablement.

Service Delivery & AI Enablement

• Transform People Operations into a self-service-first, AI-enabled support model.
• Design and implement service delivery architecture, including automation, case management, and digital support channels to support rapid company scaling and global expansion.
• Lead enterprise knowledge management to enable self-service and improve consistency and AI effectiveness.
• Own and drive service performance, including SLAs, response times, quality, and employee satisfaction.
• Establish governance for AI-enabled execution and support, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and appropriate escalation.
• Continuously improve services through analytics, feedback, and process optimization.
• Select and manage external vendors and platforms specific to People Operations.

Operational Excellence & Process Design

• Own end-to-end workforce lifecycle processes, from interview coordination and candidate logistics through onboarding, employee changes, and offboarding.
• Ensure seamless handoffs between recruiting and employee operations to deliver a cohesive, high-quality experience.
• Lead process redesign initiatives to improve hiring efficiency, onboarding speed, service quality, and risk reduction.
• Establish policies, documentation, controls, and service standards.
• Drive automation strategies to reduce manual effort and improve quality.
• Ensure operational continuity and audit readiness.
• Lead change management and adoption for new processes, tools and capabilities.

Data Governance & Compliance

• Ensure accuracy, security, and integrity of employee data and workforce transactions.
• Establish governance, audit, and validation practices to reduce risk.
• Partner with HRIS, Payroll, Legal, and Finance to maintain compliance and alignment with internal controls.
• Drive enterprise accountability for data quality across People systems.

Technology & Enablement

• Partner with HRIS, IT, Talent Acquisition, and Digital teams to define and execute the People Operations technology roadmap.
• Support adoption and optimization of platforms such as UKG, Jira Service Management, Ashby, and automation tools.
• Translate business needs across the People Operations function into scalable systems and workflows.

Analytics & Continuous Improvement

• Establish related service metrics, dashboards, and reporting frameworks.
• Monitor SLAs, KPIs, and operational health indicators.
• Use data to identify trends, inefficiencies, and opportunities for automation.
• Drive continuous improvement and data-informed decision-making.
• Measure service effectiveness, employee experience, and AI performance.
• Evaluate emerging technologies, industry trends, and evolving best practices to continuously modernize and scale People Operations.

Required qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive HR or People Operations experience in complex or high-growth environments.
• 7+ years leading People Operations or HR Shared Services teams.
• Experience designing and scaling shared services and service delivery models.
• Proven track record of operational transformation, including automation and AI-enabled solutions.
• Strong expertise in employee lifecycle operations, compliance, and data governance.
• Experience partnering with HRIS and enterprise technology teams.
• Demonstrated success with KPIs, SLAs, and operational reporting.
• Strong leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.

Preferred qualifications

• Master’s degree or MBA in a related field.
• Experience in technology, aerospace, defense, or high-growth industries.
• Experience building AI-enabled service models and knowledge management systems.
• Experience with UKG, Ashby and Jira.
• Background in service management, digital transformation, or operational excellence.
• Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, Agile, or ITIL methodologies.
• Experience supporting multi-state or global workforce operations.
• Relevant certifications (e.g., SHRM-SCP, SPHR, PMP, Lean Six Sigma, ITIL).