People Operations & Compensation Lead

Arc Institute; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 147,500 - 181,500; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual discretionary bonus

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

Arc Institute, located in Palo Alto, is seeking an experienced HR professional to lead our People Operations team. This role focuses on driving AI-native operations and delivering a competitive compensation and benefits program.

The ideal candidate has over 8 years in People Operations, is adept at managing complex operational issues, and believes in enhancing employee experiences through technology. A generous salary range of $147,500 - $181,500 is offered, along with an annual discretionary bonus.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in People Operations or relevant experience.
• Proven track record of managing benefits and compensation programs.
• Experience with technology and workplace tools.

Responsibilities

• Lead the People Operations team and improve operations using AI.
• Manage onboarding, offboarding, and employee changes.
• Oversee benefits and compensation programs.

Skills

Experience in People Operations

Benefits and compensation program knowledge

Implementation of AI and automation

Strong operational management

Collaborative skills

Tools

HR technology tools

AI-driven workflows

Job description

Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.

Unlike academia, our scientists have long‑term funding and industry‑like resources. Unlike industry, they’re free to pursue high‑risk, long‑term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.

Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:

• Virtual Cell Initiative: Building a full‑stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.
• Alzheimer's Disease Initiative: Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.

More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long‑term philanthropic funding.

About the position

This role is responsible for leading our People Operations team and partnering with the Head of People and People Partner team to deliver our Compensation program.

About you

You are an experienced HR operator that’s excited to uplevel People Operations using AI. You believe a great user experience is built on great tech. You love to solve problems as part of a team and see the best in people.

In this position you will

Lead our People Operations team:

• Drive AI‑native operations across the People function by implementing technology driven solutions with a great employee experience
• Oversee the core work of the People Ops team (onboarding, offboarding, processing employee changes, etc.)
• Serve as escalation point for complex operational issues, benefits decisions, and compensation situations
• Manage the relationship with our PEO to deliver our benefits program and ensure compliance throughout our operations
• Lead our benefits strategy, ensuring our benefits package is competitive and supports our team
• Establish and lead a culture of service and operational excellence

Lead the delivery of our compensation program:

• Lead the delivery of Arc's compensation program, including owning cyclical compensation events
• Use AI‑driven workflows to develop and maintain compensation benchmarking and Arc’s structure
• Partner with hiring managers and recruiting on offers, including building AI driven tools to uplevel process and information sharing

Requirements

• 8+ years of experience in People Operations (or other relevant experience)
• Experience supporting benefits and compensation programs
• Proven track record of implementing AI and automation
• Strong operational background and cross functional collaborator
• Great manager
• Wide range of experience in technology and workplace tools

The base salary range for this position is $147,500 - $181,500. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.

As set forth in Arc Institute’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.