Head of People Operations

Why Nuclearn.ai

Nuclearn.ai builds AI-powered software for the nuclear industry. Our software integrates AI-driven workflow, documentation, and research automation, and is already used at 65+ nuclear reactors across the world.

We’re growing quickly, expanding our team and our Phoenix HQ. The work is consequential: what you help build here, through the people you hire and support, directly impacts how real plants run safer and smarter.

Eligibility: U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (green card) is required due to DOE export compliance.

The Role & Impact

We’re seeking a hands-on Head of People Operations to build and own the people engine that takes Nuclearn from ~30 people to 100+ and beyond without losing quality, pace, or culture.

You’ll spend ~50% of your time on recruiting, owning the full funnel from intake to offer, and the rest building the systems, programs, and manager habits that drive performance, retention, and engagement.

This is a builder / player–coach role, not a policy cop: you’ll design pragmatic processes, keep us compliant without bureaucracy, and focus relentlessly on hiring and growing exceptional talent. You’ll report to the founders and work closely with leaders across Engineering, Product, Finance, and Operations.

What You’ll Do

Talent acquisition & recruiting (≈50%)

Your primary job on the recruiting side is to build a machine that finds and closes A‑players.

• Own the full recruiting funnel across engineering, product, nuclear domain experts, and GTM roles - from headcount planning to signed offer.
• Partner with founders and hiring managers to define interview plans that focus on real work and real thinking - not generic “tell me about your weakness” prompts.
• Craft clear, compelling job descriptions (like this one) that reflect our work and standards.
• Champion real‑work assessment (practical exercises in our stack or theirs, role‑relevant scenarios, portfolio reviews) over “performative interview” tricks or puzzle questions.
• Build and manage sourcing channels: outbound, referrals, events, niche communities, and agencies.
• Own candidate experience end-to-end: fast communication, tight scheduling, high-signal interviews, and crisp decisions.
• Track and improve recruiting metrics: time-to-offer, pass-through rates by stage, offer-accept rate, and pipeline diversity.

You’re not here to “fill seats”; you’re here to protect the A‑player bar, say “no” a lot, and make sure we only hire people we’d be excited to work with for the next decade.

Onboarding, development & performance

• Design and run a consistent onboarding experience so new hires know what success looks like in their first 30/60/90 days.
• Partner with leaders to define role expectations and success metrics for new hires.
• Stand up lightweight, high-signal performance management: goal-setting, feedback cycles, and talent calibration that doesn’t slow us down.
• Equip managers with practical tools for feedback - how to call out red flags early, how to coach at the “edge” of someone’s knowledge and capabilities, and how to differentiate A‑players from well‑liked but mis‑leveled folks.
• Help identify and nurture high performers; shape growth paths and internal mobility as we scale.

Compensation, leveling & rewards

• Build and maintain a leveling framework and title structure that scales across functions.
• Partner with Finance/Controller to define a compensation philosophy and bands by level and role; ensure we apply it consistently and fairly.
• Structure offers (base, equity, bonus) that are competitive, coherent, and aligned with our philosophy.
• Support quarterly compensation reviews and promotion cycles, with clear communication to managers and employees.

People operations, systems & compliance (pragmatic, not bureaucratic)

• Own our HRIS and people tooling; ensure clean, accurate data across HRIS, payroll, benefits, and equity platforms.
• Maintain essential people processes: offer letters, employment docs, handbook, onboarding/offboarding checklists, and manager playbooks. Keep them lightweight, documented, and easy to use.
• Implement practical policies (PTO, hybrid/in-office, travel, conduct) that support a high-performance, adult culture.
• Partner with Security, Engineering, and Finance to ensure people-related controls align with our SOC 2 / ISO 27001 posture (access control, onboarding/offboarding evidence, training) without bogging teams down.
• Stay on top of core U.S. employment compliance (especially multi-state) and coordinate with external counsel/partners as needed.

Culture, engagement & leadership support

• Keep a pulse on morale through skip-levels, surveys, and informal channels; synthesize what you hear into clear, actionable insights.
• Design and facilitate rituals that scale: all-hands, offsites, recognition programs, and manager forums.
• Coach managers and founders through sensitive situations (feedback, performance issues, conflict) with a bias toward directness.
• Help codify and evolve our culture and operating norms as we grow, protecting what’s working and intentionally updating what isn’t.

Cross-functional partnership

• Work with founders on org design and headcount planning that matches our product and revenue roadmap.
• Partner with Finance on workforce planning, payroll coordination, and the people inputs to our operating model.
• Collaborate with leaders in Engineering, Product, and Customer Success to sequence hiring, unblock searches, and anticipate future needs.
• Support Marketing/Comms on employer brand efforts, including content, events, and candidate-facing narratives.

Examples of near‑term problems you’ll tackle (first 90 days)

• Hiring engine: Establish a repeatable recruiting pipeline for priority roles (e.g., Engineering, Product, Customer Success).
• Interview calibration: Shadow interviews, give feedback, and level up interviewers on how to dig deep, push to the edge of a candidate’s knowledge, and avoid being dazzled by polish.
• Onboarding v1.0: Ship a consistent onboarding program with a template 30/60/90 plan, function-specific checklists, and clear ownership.
• Leveling & titles: Draft an initial leveling framework (IC/manager tracks) and align titles/levels across existing team members.
• People metrics: Define and publish a core people dashboard: headcount, hiring funnel metrics, ramp time, and basic engagement indicators.

What Makes You a Great Fit

You:

• Have 6-10+ years in People Ops / HR, with significant time in fast-growing B2B SaaS or deep-tech startups.
• Have owned full-cycle recruiting for technical and non-technical roles and helped a company scale to 100+ (or similar).
• Are a player–coach: as comfortable sourcing and running interviews as you are debating org design with founders.
• Default to pragmatic, human-first solutions, not policy for policy’s sake.
• Use data (funnel metrics, retention, engagement signals) to prioritize and make decisions - but also have strong qualitative judgment.
• Communicate clearly and calmly, especially when stakes are high or situations are sensitive.
• Are comfortable operating in an environment that is technical, regulated, and occasionally ambiguous and enjoy helping bring clarity.

Nice To Have (Not Required)

• Experience supporting teams working under SOC 2 / ISO 27001 or similar security/compliance frameworks.
• Background partnering with highly technical teams (engineering, AI/ML, scientific, or other safety-critical domains like medical devices, aerospace, or energy).
• Exposure to nuclear/utility or other regulated, safety-critical environments.
• Experience with equity compensation and coaching early-stage leaders/founders.

Success Metrics (What “Good” Looks Like)

Over time, success in this role will look like:

• Hiring bar: Clear definition of A‑players and criteria; strong alignment among leaders on what “yes” and “no” look like.
• Time-to-offer: predictable and within agreed targets by role.
• Offer-accept rate: ≥80% for priority roles.
• Quality of hire: strong manager feedback at 3 and 6 months; most new hires rated “on track” or better.
• Onboarding effectiveness: new hires report they understand expectations and feel productive by day 30.
• Retention: low regretted attrition; high-performer retention especially strong.
• Manager health: managers consistently running 1:1s, giving feedback, and leaning on you as a thought partner.
• Org health: upward trends in engagement / eNPS and qualitative signals about communication, clarity, and culture.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary: $120k - $180k
• Equity: 0.04% - 0.14%
• Bonus: 10%
• Benefits: Unlimited PTO, health/dental/vision insurance

Work Model & Schedule

• Full-time, salaried
• Mon-Fri hybrid (Wed remote); expectation is ≥80% in-office (Phoenix HQ)
• Occasional travel for recruiting events, offsites, or partner visits as needed

How We Hire (fast, respectful, practical)

• 20-min intro with the founder/hiring manager to trade context and assess mutual fit
• Practical work session (60–90 min) on a real People Ops problem (e.g., designing a hiring funnel for a role, onboarding plan, or performance approach)
• Team panel with cross-functional leaders you’ll partner with (Engineering, Product, Finance, Operations)
• We aim to move from first conversation to decision quickly.x