Head of People

About the role

As Albedo continues to scale, we're looking for a Head of People to build the systems, processes, and leadership capability that allow the company to grow without losing what makes it special. You’ll own the people function end-to-end, partnering closely with founders and leadership to develop a high-performance culture, support employees and managers, and ensure our people infrastructure scales ahead of company growth.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end employee experience, including onboarding, offboarding, benefits administration, payroll coordination, HRIS administration, and employee support
• Serve as a trusted advisor to employees, managers, and leadership on people-related matters, providing coaching, guidance, and support through both everyday challenges and complex situations
• Partner with managers and leadership to strengthen management capability across the organization and drive a high-performance culture
• Lead performance management, compensation philosophy, salary banding, benchmarking, and total rewards programs
• Own employee relations matters, including investigations, conflict resolution, performance concerns, and disciplinary processes
• Plan and execute company events, offsites, and employee experience programs that strengthen culture and reinforce company values
• Track and report key people metrics, identify organizational risks and opportunities, and use data to inform leadership decisions
• Support recruiting on an as-needed basis for critical roles, while partnering with the recruiting team that owns hiring execution day-to-day

Requirements

• 7+ years of progressive HR/People experience, including prior ownership of a broad people function; prior Head of People or equivalent title at a company of similar scale strongly preferred
• Experience building and scaling people infrastructure at a startup, ideally between 50–200 employees, where you had to create structure without losing speed
• Deep knowledge of HR compliance, employment law, and best practices — including leave administration, worker classification, multi-state compliance, and employee relations — with the judgment to navigate gray areas
• Hands-on experience with HRIS platforms (Rippling preferred), payroll administration, and benefits management
• Experience designing and running performance management cycles, compensation benchmarking, and engagement and culture initiatives
• Strong track record partnering directly with founders and senior leadership — comfortable influencing up and pushing back with data when needed
• Exceptional written and verbal communication — you set the tone for how Albedo communicates with its people
• Startup experience at the 50–200 person stage; comfort operating with ambiguity, wearing multiple hats, and building process where none exists
• Prior experience in aerospace, defense, hard tech, or another technical environment is a plus
• Comfort leveraging modern AI-assisted tools to create leverage and operate efficiently

Qualifications

• In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.
• All persons hired will be required to be a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., or protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
• Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled: Albedo is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Skills and Experience

• 7+ years of progressive HR/People experience, including prior ownership of a broad people function; prior Head of People or equivalent title at a company of similar scale strongly preferred
• Experience building and scaling people infrastructure at a startup, ideally between 50–200 employees, where you had to create structure without losing speed
• Deep knowledge of HR compliance, employment law, and best practices — including leave administration, worker classification, multi-state compliance, and employee relations — with the judgment to navigate gray areas
• Hands-on experience with HRIS platforms (Rippling preferred), payroll administration, and benefits management
• Experience designing and running performance management cycles, compensation benchmarking, and engagement and culture initiatives
• Strong track record partnering directly with founders and senior leadership — comfortable influencing up and pushing back with data when needed
• Exceptional written and verbal communication — you set the tone for how Albedo communicates with its people
• Startup experience at the 50–200 person stage; comfort operating with ambiguity, wearing multiple hats, and building process where none exists
• Prior experience in aerospace, defense, hard tech, or another technical environment is a plus
• Comfort leveraging modern AI-assisted tools to create leverage and operate efficiently