Head of People: Build HR from Zero at Aerospace Startup

Icarus; El Segundo (CA); On-site; USD 175,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Market salary and bonuses

Health insurance

Ownership of hardware

Job summary

Icarus is seeking an exceptional candidate to lead HR as the first hire at a ~50-person defense tech company. You will build HR systems, policies, compliance, and culture to empower engineers to design, test, and fly.

This role covers payroll, benefits, onboarding, performance reviews, and policy. You will work directly with the CEO and Founding Recruiter, shaping the company as it grows to 200+ people and scales its operations in Los Angeles.

Qualifications

• 6+ years HR experience, including at least 2 years as the first or sole HR leader at a startup.
• Deep working knowledge of California employment law and wage-and-hour rules.
• Experience supporting hourly manufacturing, technician, or field teams alongside salaried employees.
• Experience at a hardware, aerospace, or defense company with ITAR/export controls or security clearance processes.
• Sound judgment and discretion handling sensitive employee relations issues and investigations.
• Hands-on and operational; you will run payroll and fix the spreadsheet yourself.

Responsibilities

• HR infrastructure: select and run the HRIS, payroll, and benefits stack; own open enrollment and broker/PEO relationships.
• Compliance: California and federal employment law, multi-state compliance as we hire outside CA, I-9/E-Verify, and wage-and-hour (exempt vs. non-exempt, overtime, meal and rest breaks for factory and field teams).
• Defense requirements: partner with security and legal on ITAR/export-control hiring checks, security clearance processes, and government contract labor requirements.
• Onboarding and offboarding: a fast, repeatable process from signed offer to first flight.
• Employee relations: be the trusted, discreet point of contact for concerns, investigations, and hard conversations.
• Compensation and equity: build leveling, salary bands, and an equity grant framework with the CEO & Recruiter.
• Performance and growth: lightweight review cycles and feedback that engineers actually value.
• Policy: a lean handbook, leave, PTO, travel, and safety policies that hold up legally and fit how we work.
• Scale: partner with our Founding Recruiter to grow from ~50 to 200+ people without losing the culture.

Skills

HR leadership

California employment law

Payroll operations

Employee relations

Security clearance processes

ITAR/export controls

Startup scale-up

Job description

Icarus is seeking an exceptional candidate to lead HR as the first hire at a ~50-person defense tech company. You will build HR systems, policies, compliance, and culture to empower engineers to design, test, and fly.

This role covers payroll, benefits, onboarding, performance reviews, and policy. You will work directly with the CEO and Founding Recruiter, shaping the company as it grows to 200+ people and scales its operations in Los Angeles.