HR & Business Operations Manager

Irradiant Technologies; Waltham (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

Irradiant Technologies in Waltham, Massachusetts, seeks a dynamic Manager of Human Resources and Business Operations to align HR and operational infrastructure with our rapidly growing scale-up strategy. This onsite role reports to the Vice President of Operations and partners with leadership to implement sustainable processes for people and culture.

The successful candidate will be a collaborative, high-EQ leader who creates practical solutions across HR and G&A, including immigration,

Qualifications

• 5+ years in HR operations, people operations, or office/business operations.
• Knowledge of MA and federal employment law (wage/hour, leave, EEO, I-9).
• Experience with HRIS/payroll platforms and benefits administration.
• Ability to partner with leadership and external HR resources.

Responsibilities

• Lead HR operations, onboarding, offboarding, and benefits processes.
• Partner with VP of Operations to create inclusive work environment and culture.
• Manage recruitment workflow from sourcing to offer.
• Ensure compliance with state and federal employment laws and maintain accurate files.
• Coordinate with immigration counsel and manage visa-related processes.
• Drive workplace policies in collaboration with external HR advisors.
• Support team-building and recognition initiatives to enhance engagement.
• Oversee general office operations, IT & security needs, and vendor coordination.

Skills

HR operations

People operations

Office operations

HRIS/payroll

Paychex

Policy design

Compliance

Communication

Leadership

Tools

Deltek Costpoint

Paychex

Job description

Position Summary:

Irradiant Technologies is seeking a dynamic, collaborative Manager of Human Resources and Business Operations to align HR and operational infrastructure goals with the business strategies of a rapidly growing scale-up deep tech organization. In this onsite role reporting to the Vice President of Operations, he/she/they will partner with leadership, other Operations team members and external vendor resourcing to develop and implement sustainable process frameworks in support of the company’s cross-functional G & A needs with an initial concentration on people and culture.

The successful candidate will be a true “Manager of the Miscellaneous” who thrives in collaborative interactions guided by a high EQ (emotional intelligence), has a continuous learning mindset, and personifies a passion for proactively creating, proposing and implementing solutions to people and organizational process challenges.

What you'll be doing

Human Resource Operations (75%):

Identify and implement best practices across all general areas of HR associated with the employee life-cycle, including:

• Partner with the VP of Operations to champion, operationalize and sustain an inclusive work environment.

• Collaboratively partner with additional Operations team members to deliver across the recruitment sourcing-to-offer pipeline.

• Create, streamline and deliver onboarding/offboarding programs and processes (inclusive of onsite logistics such as office workstations, badging and access coordination, equipment management etc.) to ensure an exemplary employee experience.

• Act as the primary point of contact for onboarding and offboarding employees.

• In partnership with external Human Resources consultant(s), support the design and execution of new policies, and communicate company-wide changes in policy, practice, and resources.

• Manage annual HR cycle deliverables related to benefits enrollment, performance management and merit and promotion decisions.

• Ensure compliance with federal and Massachusetts employment laws and regulations (wage and hour, leave, EEO, I-9); maintain accurate, audit-ready employee files.

• Serve as the primary operational point of contact with outside immigration counsel while internally maintaining immigration database and public access files inclusive of case documentation, status maintenance, reminder cadence, and leadership reporting for employees on work visas.

• Provide clear, proactive communication to visa-holding employees regarding case status and points of contact.

• Leverage external HR advisory resources (in close partnership with VP of Operations) for complex employee relations matters.

• Assist with team building initiatives to support a culture and work environment that encourages employee engagement and collaboration (including weekly team lunches, All-team meetings, company swag, etc.).

• Support the development and deployment of a workplace recognition strategy that empowers staff to live out the organization’s values and execute on its mission and vision.

Business Operations (25%):

Identify and implement best practices across broader G & A units of the company to ensure continuous organizational improvement through:

• Owning day-to-day office operations inclusive of supplies, mail, shipping and receiving touchpoints, people-facing vendor coordination (catering, cleaning schedules) and miscellaneous troubleshooting requests in partnership with the Lab Operations, Facilities & EHS Manager.

• Oversight and tracking of IT and security needs for our growing workforce in partnership with our external managed services IT provider.

• Maintain a safe, organized, and welcoming workplace for employees and visitors, including readiness for customer and investor visits.

• Coordination (and when needed, creation of) internal communications for the roll-out of new policies and culture-building initiatives.

What experience you'll need

• This role requires access to facilities, technical data, and program information subject to U.S. export-control regulations (ITAR/EAR).

• 5+ years of experience in HR operations, people operations, or office/business operations, ideally in a startup or small-company environment.

• Working knowledge of Massachusetts and federal employment law, including wage and hour, leave, EEO, and I-9 requirements.

• Hands-on experience with HRIS/payroll platforms (Paychex or similar) and benefits administration.

• Must be able to work with minimal direction and be able to exercise judgment, creativity, and analytical thinking.

• Experienced and comfortable interacting at all levels including Board members and senior management.

• Possess a high degree of poise, judgment, discretion, empathy and professionalism.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Onsite presence required; local candidates only.

Desirable:

• Employment-based immigration experience - coordinating cases with outside counsel.

• Defense, aerospace, or advanced-technology / manufacturing experience, including familiarity with export-control (ITAR/EAR) compliance environments.

• HR certification (e.g., SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP or PHR/SPHR).

• Experience with Deltek Costpoint.

• Artificial Intelligence integration and application in reference to processes and workflows

• Experience supporting a scaling organization across dual defense and commercial business lines.

Company Overview

Irradiant Technologies is pioneering the future of nano-optics and photonics with our proprietary 3D nanofabrication platform. Our technology enables the creation of optical components with geometries and refractive index profiles previously unattainable, opening doors to entirely new classes of photonic devices. By redefining what is possible in optical design and manufacturing, we are accelerating innovations in sensing, communication, imaging, display, and computation. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, we are a 30+ person team of scientists and engineers delivering on active DARPA and U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) contracts. In 2025, we reached >$10M in revenue, and we are currently raising a Series A to scale our platform and program portfolio.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this role is $110,000 - $130,000+ (depending on experience), as well as equity. We are committed to equitable compensation across our company. Preferably, we are looking for a contract-to-hire person for this vacancy, but would be open to discussing more permanent options.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Irradiant Technologies is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive team free from discrimination or harassment. We encourage candidates of any race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status to apply. Applicants with a disability are encouraged to contact us with any requests for accommodation.