Head of People

Eka; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 290,000; Full time

Job summary

Eka Robotics is seeking a Head of People to build and lead the People function as the company scales.

You will partner with our leadership team on organizational design, headcount planning, and the evolution of compensation and rewards programs to attract and retain top talent. This role is highly hands-on and requires practical HR execution across processes, systems, and partnerships.

Qualifications

• Broad experience across the People function including operations and fundamentals
• Experience at fast‑growing startups scaling and handling complexities
• Experience building or improving People programs and processes
• Strong knowledge of compensation and equity in venture-backed context
• Experience advising leadership while working day-to-day with employees
• Strong judgment and communication skills in sensitive situations
• Hands‑on, low‑ego style and knows when more structure is needed

Responsibilities

• Partner with leadership on organizational design and headcount planning
• Refine compensation, leveling, rewards philosophy, salary structures, bonuses, equity grants, and refresh programs
• Build practical approaches to performance, career development, manager training, and growth
• Help define and strengthen Eka’s culture and employee experience during growth
• Own day‑to‑day People function including HR policies, benefits, payroll, compliance, and employee relations
• Build lightweight, scalable People systems in collaboration with the talent team
• Develop manager training and support for first‑time managers and technical leaders
• Advise leadership on employee relations, retention, and organizational effectiveness

Skills

Broad HR experience

Startup scale-up

Compensation & equity

People programs

Manager development

Communication skills

Hands-on operating style

Job description

Eka Robotics

We are looking for a Head of People to build and lead the People function at Eka.

You will work closely with our leadership team on the people and organizational questions that become increasingly important as Eka grows: how we structure teams, compensate and reward employees, develop new managers, maintain a strong culture, and build People systems that support our employees without creating unnecessary bureaucracy (e.g., revamping our hiring process to reduce burden on teams, improving new-joiner onboarding, formalizing performance management and feedback right sized to the organization, etc.).

We are looking for someone with broad HR experience who has seen this stage of company-building before and experienced first hand what happens as early stage startups scale, when complexities increase and informal practices are no longer enough.

This is a highly hands‑on role. You will help set the direction and build the function, but you should also be comfortable personally doing the work.

Role Overview

• Partner with our leadership team on organizational design, headcount planning, and how our teams should evolve as we scale.

• Refine our compensation, leveling, and rewards philosophy, including salary structures, bonuses, equity grants, and refresh programs

• Build practical approaches to performance, career development, manager training, and employee growth.

• Help define and strengthen Eka’s culture and employee experience as the company grows.

• Own the day‑to‑day People function, including HR policies and processes, benefits, payroll, compliance, employee relations, and employee support, working with external partners where appropriate.

• Build lightweight, scalable People systems and work closely with our talent team to ensure recruiting and People strategy stay aligned.

• Develop manager training and support, particularly for first‑time managers and technical leaders

• Advise leadership on employee relations, retention, organizational effectiveness, and other complex People matters.

Minimum Qualifications

• Broad experience across the People function, including People operations and employment/compliance fundamentals as well as areas such as compensation, performance management, organizational design, and manager development.

• Firsthand experience at a fast‑growing startup, ideally having helped the organization scale through a meaningful stage of growth and change.

• Experience building or materially improving People programs and processes rather than only operating within established systems.

• Strong working knowledge of compensation and equity in a venture‑backed company, including the ability to help leadership develop a coherent philosophy around how employees are rewarded.

• Experience advising leadership on organizational and employee matters while remaining comfortable working directly with employees and handling day‑to‑day issues.

• Strong judgment and communication skills, particularly when navigating sensitive or ambiguous situations.

• A hands‑on, low‑ego operating style and the judgment to know when a growing company needs more structure — and when it doesn’t.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in robotics, AI, deep technology, or another highly technical environment.

• Experience helping technical ICs transition into first‑time management roles.

• Experience supporting international or geographic expansion.

• Experience working with a PEO or similarly outsourced HR infrastructure.