People Operations Director

About the Position

People Operations Director

San Francisco, CA

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Atoms is building the machines that power the next era of progress. We are transforming the physical world by developing Physical AI-real-world robots for industries like food, mining, and transport. Our systems are designed to understand, predict, and control the real world with precision, making physical operations more reliable, scalable, and productive.

We are roboticists, engineers, operators, and builders. We believe the next great technology companies will transform not only information but also the physical systems that shape everyday life.

If you want to work on hard problems with real-world impact, join us.

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Responsibilities

• Own the employee lifecycle: Manage the processes every employee moves through-from pre-onboarding and onboarding through employee changes, promotions, data management, and offboarding-end to end.
• Lead two teams: Lead a People Operations Center of Excellence responsible for process design, governance, compliance, and communications, alongside a shared services team delivering high-volume employee support against clear SLA and CSAT targets.
• Drive process and compliance excellence: Design, improve, and govern critical processes spanning I-9, background checks, benefits service delivery, workforce compliance, and audits.
• Partner on payroll: Work closely with Payroll as it integrates into the People organization, with the potential to expand the role’s direct ownership over time.
• Modernize systems and automation: Deepen our HRIS capabilities, particularly in Workday, and build automation and efficiency across the employee lifecycle.
• Break, rebuild, and polish: Redesign processes built for a smaller company so they can support a doubling of headcount. Establish an operating rhythm grounded in metrics, efficiency, and continuous improvement.

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Requirements

• 8+ years of People Operations experience, including leadership of core People Operations and a shared services or HR operations delivery team.
• Experience operating in a complex organization supporting frontline, corporate, and executive populations across multiple locations, entities, or countries.
• Experience in both scaled, mature operations within a large organization and scrappy, high-growth environments where processes are still being built.
• Depth in HRIS-Workday preferred-automation, and building efficient, metrics-driven operations.
• Experience leading offshore or shared services delivery teams. Experience with captive offshore teams and payroll operations are strong pluses.
• Comfortable staying hands-on while leading and developing a team, and thrive in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.

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We Offer

At Atoms, you’ll work on one of the defining challenges of our time-bringing automation into the physical world to drive real, lasting impact. We exist to uncover valuable unknown truths and turn them into progress, which means constantly pushing beyond what’s known and building what doesn’t yet exist. The work is ambitious and often challenging, but it’s grounded in a shared sense of purpose and a team committed to seeing it through together. Our work only matters if it serves others, and we know that meaningful progress depends on the trust of the people we serve and the strength of our team, so we invest in both, creating an environment where you can do your best work and grow.

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Benefits Summary (USA Full-Time Exempt Employees)

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (multiple plans, incl. HSA options).
• Company-paid life and disability insurance (short- and long-term).
• Voluntary insurance: accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity.
• Optional supplemental life insurance for self, spouse, and children.
• Pet insurance discount.
• 401(k).
• Health Savings Account (HSA).
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare, Dependent Care, Commuter).
• Time Off policies: discretionary vacation days, 8 paid holidays per year, paid sick time, paid bereavement leave, and paid parental leave.

Benefits are subject to change at the company’s discretion.

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About the Company

The base salary range for this role is $185,000 – $230,000 per year. Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, qualifications, and work location. Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package. You may also be eligible for equity awards and an annual performance-based bonus.

This role can be based in our San Francisco office locations. As a company driven by innovation and continuous change, close collaboration is essential. We’re constantly reimagining our industry, creating new products, and refining our processes, and we do our best work together. That’s why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.

Atoms accepts applications on an ongoing basis.

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