Head of People

Roboticsconnected; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Ultra is seeking a people leader to build the recruiting engine, establish our people operations, design compensation programs, shape culture, and advise the founders. You will work directly with the CEO and leadership to scale a multi-state, multi-country workforce, spanning ML researchers, robotics engineers, technicians, and corporate staff.

This is a fast-paced, on-site role based in New York City requiring hands-on implementation of HR systems, payroll, benefits, onboarding, and performance

Qualifications

• Built or led the People function at a high-growth startup.
• Personally recruited exceptional technical talent.
• Experience supporting organizations with physical operations.
• Deep understanding of compensation, leveling, equity, and performance management in venture-backed companies.
• Experience implementing HR systems, payroll, benefits, and employment infrastructure.

Responsibilities

• Own recruiting strategy, process, and execution across engineering, research, operations, and go-to-market.
• Design and implement the operating system for our people function: HRIS, payroll, benefits, onboarding, performance reviews, immigration, compliance, and everything else required to support a rapidly growing company.
• Design compensation and career progression: Own leveling, salary bands, equity refreshes, promotions, and performance cycles. Help ensure we can attract exceptional talent while maintaining fairness and discipline as we scale.

Skills

People leadership

Talent recruitment

HR systems

Compensation & equity

Performance management

Job description

About Ultra

Ultra builds industrial AI robots that are working in the real world today. Our robots automate mission-critical warehouse labor end-to-end, starting with e-commerce order packaging. We deploy fast, learn from real production data, and iterate aggressively. We already have a quickly growing number of revenue-generating robots operating in U.S. warehouses, and are now scaling towards thousands of deployments over the next few years. Our mission is simple: build the world's most useful and deployable robot.

WARNING: Robotics is not for the faint of heart. There are no silver bullets here. It is tiresome, unglamorous, and at times brutal work. The only way out is through, and the only way through is treacherous and unknown.

Success will require teamwork

• so we are building a world-class team to tackle some of the most exciting problems out there. We hope you join us.

About the Role

Ultra is growing from a small team into a powerful organization. Over the next 18 months, we'll more than double the team, open additional locations, and build the management systems that will support hundreds of employees over time. We're looking for the person who will build that foundation.

This isn't a traditional HR leadership role. There isn't a recruiting organization to inherit, an established People team to manage, or mature systems to optimize. You'll build the recruiting engine, establish our people operations, design compensation programs, help shape our culture, and advise the founders on some of the hardest organizational decisions we'll make. You'll work directly with the CEO and leadership team, and your work will touch every person who joins Ultra.

It's also a uniquely complex environment. Our workforce spans ML researchers, robotics engineers, field technicians, operators, and corporate staff across multiple states and countries. Some employees are salaried, some are hourly, and some are contractors.

Location

This is a on-site role based in New York City.

What You'll Do

• Build a world-class recruiting function: Hiring is your highest-leverage responsibility. You'll own recruiting strategy, process, and execution across engineering, research, operations, and go-to-market.
• Create the operating system for our people function: Implement and own HRIS, payroll, benefits, onboarding, performance reviews, immigration, compliance, and everything else required to support a rapidly growing company.
• Design compensation and career progression: Own leveling, salary bands, equity refreshes, promotions, and performance cycles. Help ensure we can attract exceptional talent while maintaining fairness and discipline as we scale.

Who You Are

You've gone from 0 to 1, and 1 to 10 before. You know what it's like to join a company before the playbook exists and create the systems yourself.

You care deeply about recruiting. You know that great companies are built one exceptional hire at a time, and you're excited to spend meaningful time on it.

You have strong judgment. You know when a company needs process and when process gets in the way.

Most importantly, you're someone employees trust and can help design and grow our culture.

Experience and Skills

• Built or led the People function at a high-growth startup, ideally scaling from tens to hundreds.
• Personally recruited exceptional technical talent.
• Experience supporting organizations with physical operations - hardware, manufacturing, logistics, field service, or similar.
• Deep understanding of compensation, leveling, equity, and performance management in venture-backed companies.
• Experience implementing HR systems, payroll, benefits, and employment infrastructure.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.