Head of People

About this role

Persons in these roles are expected to work from our offices in Seattle. On-site requirements vary based on position and team. If you have questions about on-site work arrangements for this role, please ask your recruiter.

Our base salary range is $172,080 - $258,120, and in addition we have generous bonus plans to provide a competitive compensation package.

Who You Are:

Ai2 is looking for an experienced, operationally-minded Head of People to lead our People Operations function. You bring rigor and follow-through to everything you own, and you know how to build systems that hold up as an organization scales. You're as comfortable in the details as you are in setting direction for your team, and you're credible with technical audiences.

Here's what you'll bring to Ai2:

• HR Expertise: Deep, functional knowledge across the full scope of People work, including total rewards, recruiting, and HR business partnership.

• Technical Fluency: Experience working with engineering and/or research organizations, and an understanding of what it takes to support technical and research-driven teams well.

• Operational Rigor: A track record of building and documenting processes that reduce ambiguity and hold up under scrutiny.

• People Leadership: Experience developing managers and senior individual contributors, and giving them the context to make good decisions without you in the room.

• Clear, Direct Communication: You communicate plainly and welcome direct feedback in return.

• Cross-Functional Partnership: Ability to work closely with Finance, Legal, and executive leadership to align People programs with broader company needs.

• Data-Informed Judgment: You use data to check your assumptions and make the case for your recommendations.

Who We Are:

Ai2 is a Seattle-based nonprofit AI research institute known for open, high-impact research and engineering. This role sits within Ai2's Operations team reporting to the Head of Operations & Finance and supports the entire company. People Operations leads the strategy, systems, and programs that support Ai2’s team and shape how we work together, with ownership across total rewards, recruiting, HR business partnership, and people operations management. Our stakeholders span the whole org, and our research and engineering teams in particular depend on us to understand their world and move at their pace. 2026 is a year of real change for the team: new compliance requirements, new processes, and a leadership transition we're helping the org navigate. It's a good time to join if you want to build things that last rather than just keep the lights on.

Your Next Challenge:

You'll lead a People Operations team of seven, spanning total rewards, recruiting, and HR business partnership. You'll set the strategic direction for the team while staying close enough to the work to catch what needs fixing. You'll partner closely with stakeholders across the company, especially research and engineering, to make sure People programs actually work for how they operate, not just how HR is used to operating. In partnership with Finance and Legal, you'll help mature how Ai2 manages its People programs as the organization takes on new operational and compliance demands, and you'll be a steady hand for the team through an active leadership transition.

Here's what you'll do:

• Lead and develop a team of seven across total rewards, recruiting, and HR business partnership, setting priorities and building their capacity to own their functions independently.

• Set annual strategy and goals for People Operations, and track progress against them.

• Partner with research and engineering leadership to make sure People programs fit how technical teams actually work.

• Own org-wide people programs, including performance management, employee relations, and engagement.

• Partner with leadership on organizational design and workforce planning.

• Ensure compliance with employment law and manage risk across the employee lifecycle.

• Identify where People processes are undocumented or inconsistent, and build the systems to fix that.

• Own budget and resourcing decisions for the People function.

• Partner with Finance and Legal on compliance and infrastructure needs as Ai2's funding model evolves.

• Support executive transitions, including search processes and onboarding planning.

• Own Ai2's hiring execution, from defining open roles to onboarding new team members.

• Look for opportunities to bring automation and AI tools into People workflows where they'll meaningfully reduce manual work.

What You’ll Need:

Required:

• Bachelor's degree and 15+ years of progressive HR experience.

• 5+ years managing managers or senior individual contributors (3+ direct reports).

• Experience working closely with technical teams.

• Functional depth across compensation and benefits, recruiting, and HR business partnership.

• Experience with employee relations, performance management, and organizational design.

• Experience building and documenting HR processes and systems.

• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to work across Legal, Finance, and executive leadership.

• Experience leading a team through organizational change.

Preferred:

• Experience partnering with AI research teams.

• Experience at a research institute, nonprofit, or grant-funded organization.

• Experience applying AI tools to HR workflows.

• SHRM/SPHR or PHR certification.

• Experience at a company scaling through a leadership transition.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by a team member to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.

• Must be able to remain in a stationary position for long periods of time.

• The ability to communicate information and ideas so others will un

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