People Operations Director

Cssmerge; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 185,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k)

Health Savings Account (HSA)

Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare

Dependent Care

Commuter

Paid time off

Job summary

Atoms is building the machines that power the next era of progress. We seek a seasoned People Operations leader to own the end-to-end employee lifecycle—onboarding, changes, promotions, data management, and offboarding—while guiding two teams and shaping scalable, compliant processes.

You’ll partner with Payroll, modernize HRIS (Workday), and drive metrics-driven operations to support rapid headcount growth.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of People Operations experience, including leadership of core People Operations and a shared services or HR operations delivery team.
• Experience supporting frontline, corporate, and executive populations across multiple locations, entities, or countries.
• Experience with HRIS—Workday preferred—automation, and building efficient, metrics-driven operations.
• Led offshore or shared services delivery teams; payroll operations experience is a strong plus.
• Comfortable staying hands-on while leading and developing a team in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Own the employee lifecycle: onboarding through offboarding end to end.
• Lead two teams: a People Operations Center of Excellence and a shared services team.
• Drive process and compliance excellence for I-9, background checks, benefits service delivery, workforce compliance, and audits.
• Partner on payroll: collaborate with Payroll as it integrates into People and expand ownership over time.
• Modernize systems and automation: deepen HRIS capabilities (Workday) and build automation across the lifecycle.
• Break, rebuild, and polish: redesign processes to support doubling headcount with a metrics-driven operating rhythm.

Skills

People Operations

Leadership

Workday

Payroll

Automation

Metrics-driven

Tools

Workday

Job description

Who we are

Atoms is building the machines that power the next era of progress.

Over the last decade, software has transformed the digital world. But the physical world, where food is made, minerals are mined, goods are moved, and industries are run, remains far less intelligent, far less efficient, and far more constrained. We're changing that.

Atoms builds Physical AI - real-world robots for the industries that move civilization forward, starting with food, mining, and transport. Our systems are designed to understand, predict, and control the real world with precision, turning complex physical operations into something more reliable, more scalable, and more productive.

This work requires more than robotics. It requires deep integration across hardware, software, AI, operations, manufacturing, and real estate. We don't just build machines in a lab. We deploy them into real environments, operate them, learn from them, and improve them until they work at scale.

We are roboticists, engineers, operators, and builders. We believe the next great technology companies will not only transform information, but the physical systems that shape everyday life.

If you want to work on hard problems with real-world impact, join us.

What you'll do

• Own the employee lifecycle: Manage the processes every employee moves through—from pre-onboarding and onboarding through employee changes, promotions, data management, and offboarding—end to end.
• Lead two teams: Lead a People Operations Center of Excellence responsible for process design, governance, compliance, and communications, alongside a shared services team delivering high-volume employee support against clear SLA and CSAT targets.
• Drive process and compliance excellence: Design, improve, and govern critical processes spanning I-9, background checks, benefits service delivery, workforce compliance, and audits.
• Partner on payroll: Work closely with Payroll as it integrates into the People organization, with the potential to expand the role’s direct ownership over time.
• Modernize systems and automation: Deepen our HRIS capabilities, particularly in Workday, and build automation and efficiency across the employee lifecycle.
• Break, rebuild, and polish: Redesign processes built for a smaller company so they can support a doubling of headcount. Establish an operating rhythm grounded in metrics, efficiency, and continuous improvement.

What we're looking for

• You bring 8+ years of People Operations experience, including leadership of core People Operations and a shared services or HR operations delivery team.
• You have operated in a complex organization supporting frontline, corporate, and executive populations across multiple locations, entities, or countries.
• Your experience spans both worlds: scaled, mature operations within a large organization and scrappy, high-growth environments where processes are still being built.
• You bring depth in HRIS—Workday preferred—automation, and building efficient, metrics-driven operations.
• You have led offshore or shared services delivery teams. Experience with captive offshore teams and payroll operations are strong pluses.
• You are comfortable staying hands‑on while leading and developing a team, and you thrive in a fast‑paced, entrepreneurial environment.

Why join us

At Atoms, you'll work on one of the defining challenges of our time - bringing automation into the physical world to drive real, lasting impact. We exist to uncover valuable unknown truths and turn them into progress, which means constantly pushing beyond what's known and building what doesn't yet exist. The work is ambitious and often challenging, but it's grounded in a shared sense of purpose and a team committed to seeing it through together. Our work only matters if it serves others, and we know that meaningful progress depends on the trust of the people we serve and the strength of our team, so we invest in both, creating an environment where you can do your best work and grow.

What else you need to know

This role can be based in our San Francisco office locations. As a company driven by innovation and continuous change, close collaboration is essential. We're constantly reimagining our industry, creating new products, and refining our processes, and we do our best work together. That's why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.

The base salary range for this role is $185,000 - $230,000 per year.

Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, qualifications, and work location.

Base salary is just one part of your total rewards package. You may also be eligible for equity awards and an annual performance-based bonus.

Benefits Summary (USA Full-Time Exempt Employees)

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (multiple plans, incl. HSA options).
• Company-paid life and disability insurance (short-and-long-term).
• Voluntary insurance: accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity.
• Optional supplemental life insurance for self, spouse, and children.
• Pet insurance discount.
• 401(k).
• Health Savings Account (HSA).
• Flexible Spending Accounts (Healthcare, Dependent Care, Commuter).
• Time Off policies: discretionary vacation days, 8 paid holidays per year, paid sick time, paid bereavement leave, and paid parental leave.

Benefits are subject to change at the company’s discretion.

Atoms accepts applications on an ongoing basis.