Director of People Operations

Aarki; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading AI company is seeking a strategic and hands-on Head of People Operations based at their San Francisco headquarters. This pivotal role involves overseeing HR strategy, driving talent acquisition and employee engagement while partnering with the executive team. Ideal candidates will have extensive experience in HR, particularly in fast-paced environments, and a commitment to maintaining an effective and engaging employee experience.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in Human Resources, with at least 2 years in a Director or Head of People role.
• Prior experience in the ad tech industry or a fast-paced tech startup is preferred.
• High level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential information.

Responsibilities

• Lead the global People Operations function and set strategy for talent acquisition and employee engagement.
• Champion company culture across all employee experience touchpoints.
• Manage and evolve HR infrastructure for a distributed team.

Skills

Strong experience with international HR operations

Strategic operator

Excellent communication skills

Proficiency with HRIS and ATS platforms

Education

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources

Master’s degree or HR certification

Tools

BambooHR

Lattice

Greenhouse

BreezyHR

Job description

About Us

Aarki is an AI company that builds advertising solutions to drive mobile revenue growth. We use AI to find audiences in a privacy-first world using trillions of contextual bidding signals coupled with proprietary behavioral models. Our audience engagement platform includes a full-service agency team and a Unified Creative Strategy that delivers ad creative ideation and execution. We have worked with hundreds of advertisers over 14 years and see 5M mobile ad requests per second from over 10B devices, driving performance for publishers and brands. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, CA, with offices in the United States, EMEA, and APAC.

Role Overview

We are seeking a highly strategic and hands-on Head of People Operations to lead our global People function. This role will oversee all HR strategy and execution across regions - including talent acquisition, employee engagement, performance development, international compliance, and total rewards. This is a key leadership position reporting to the COO, with close partnership to the executive team. This is an in-office role based at our San Francisco, CA headquarters.

Role & Responsibilities

• Lead the global People Operations function, setting strategy and building systems to support a distributed team across the US, EMEA, and APAC.
• Champion Aarki’s culture and values across every touchpoint of the employee experience—recruiting, onboarding, development, engagement, and offboarding.
• Partner with the executive team to align people initiatives with company goals, ensuring talent and culture support strategic growth.
• Own and evolve HR infrastructure, including tools (HRIS, ATS, Lattice), onboarding/offboarding processes, and people analytics.
• Manage employee engagement programs (pulse surveys, DEI, internal comms, recognition, events) to improve morale and retention.
  Oversee global compliance and risk management, including policy creation, labor law adherence, and visa/mobility processes.
• Design and manage total rewards programs in partnership with Finance, ensuring compensation and benefits are competitive and equitable across regions.
• Oversee global performance and development processes—career pathing, OKRs, 360s, and manager enablement.
  Act as a trusted advisor to leadership on HR matters including organizational design, workforce planning, employee relations, and succession planning.
• Lead and mentor a small but mighty HR team and manage third-party HR partners as needed.
  

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive experience in Human Resources, with at least 2 years in a Director or Head of People role.
• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or related field (Master’s degree or HR certification a plus).
• Prior experience in the ad tech industry or a fast-paced tech startup environment is preferred.
• Strong experience with international HR operations, employment laws, and compliance.
• Proven ability to scale PeopleOps systems and processes in high-growth, fast-paced environments.
• Strategic operator who can build from scratch and also execute tactically.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence and engage C-level executives.
• Proficiency with HRIS and ATS platforms (e.g., BambooHR, Lattice, Greenhouse, BreezyHR).
• Experience in the technology, advertising, or mobile performance marketing industry preferred.
• High level of integrity and discretion in handling confidential information.