Program Manager, Talent & People Operations

Founded in 2016 and based in the Pacific Northwest, our team comes from diverse backgrounds in aerospace, naval architecture, marine operations, hardware, software, and research.

About the Job

Our core technology is the node, a device that produces energy in the ocean’s harshest conditions for years at a time without human maintenance or intervention.

Our Talent and People Operations team is critical to helping us attract and retain the world-class team required to develop and deploy nodes at scale. We seek a Program Manager for our Talent & People Operations (T&PO) function with the knowledge, experience, and expertise in talent acquisition (recruiting), people operations systems, and HRIS administration to run the talent acquisition function, improve our HRIS and HR processes, and provide support redundancy for routine people operations duties.

The person in this role needs to be driven to roll up their sleeves and get things done by building, improving, and operating the core processes and tools required as the company continues to grow and evolve. This individual thrives when working with others and making lives easier. They have high standards, an orientation towards customer service, a drive for continuous improvement, a penchant for tech-enabled processes, and a willingness to collaborate across teams to achieve the goal.

Our staff have worked at organizations such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, Boeing, Virgin Orbit, Virgin Galactic, Astra, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, New Relic, Bridgewater, Raytheon, Disney Imagineering, and the US Army and Air Force, as well as research universities, startups, and small companies across a range of industries. We are organized as a public benefit corporation and are backed by leading venture capital firms, private investors, philanthropic investors, and endowments.

We strive to be the best team on the planet, and we compensate our team members accordingly.

Responsibilities

• Run our talent acquisition processes, ensuring an excellent experience for candidates, employees, and hiring managers alike.
• Own the details of the recruiting process including posting open roles, managing external recruiter relationships, coordinating candidate outreach and communication, scheduling interviews, collecting needed information and assessment results, etc.
• Identify and implement improvements to T&PO tech systems and software integrations, especially those for recruiting, onboarding, workforce planning, performance management, compliance, and HRIS.
• Optimize our HRIS and improve our data gathering, analysis, and reporting capabilities.
• Provide critical redundancy for routine People Operations duties including HRIS/ATS administration, payroll, and benefits administration.
• Execute continuous improvement initiatives in both talent acquisition and people operations by analyzing current business processes and identifying and prioritizing areas of improvement that are aligned with organizational objectives and priorities.
• Work with leads across the company to identify and capture critical requirements for strategic initiatives.
• Establish institutional resources in the form of hands-on coordination, coaching, training, tools, and/or consultative expertise to drive success in T&PO functional and cross-functional operations within the organization.
• Monitor and continuously evaluate the adoption and effectiveness of process improvement initiatives by implementing and exercising effective change management strategies.
• Identify the need for and evaluate capabilities of internal and external resources such as personnel, tools, and software solutions, to support the successful execution of day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives related to T&PO.
• Develop and publish documentation which supports the process including SOP’s, guidelines, protocols, and training materials.
• Organize and facilitate project and initiative post-mortem sessions, documenting lessons, trends, action plans and monitor progress on to ensure lessons learned are effectively incorporated into organizational practices.

Required Qualifications

• At least 4-5 years of experience in business operations, building processes and programs in Talent and/or Human Resources operations (experience across both functions preferred).
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Organization and time management skills that make it possible to reliably plan, prioritize, and manage daily and special project tasks to deliver on time.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication style with the ability to concisely deliver needed information in varied formats including slack messages, standard documentation, reports, and presentations to teams across the organization.
• Proficient with workflow design, implementation, and ongoing improvement of new and existing processes.
• Ability to assess business processes for technological needs, identify and evaluate potential solutions, and recommend and implement software and/or tools that address and enhance workflows.
• Strong analytical problem solving knowledge with the ability to methodically evaluate workflows to identify root causes, decompose complex problems into manageable components, and develop recommendations for optimized solutions.

Desired Qualifications

• SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP or similar certification or accreditation.
• Experience in a highly technical engineering environment.
• Working knowledge of continuous improvement tools and methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Agile).

The above qualifications are desired, not required. We encourage you to apply if you are a strong candidate with only some of the desired skills and experience listed.

Compensation and Benefits

If hired for this full-time role, you will receive:

• Cash compensation of $85,000 – $125,000
• Equity in the company. We’re all owners and if we’re successful, this equity will be far and away the most valuable component of your compensation.
• A benefits package that helps you take care of yourself and your family, including:

• Flexible paid time off
• Health insurance (the company pays 100% of gold level PPO plan for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Dental insurance (the company pays 33% for full time employees and 100% for their partners and dependents)
• Vision insurance (the company pays 100% for full time employees, their partners, and dependents)
• Disability insurance (the company pays 100% for a policy to provide long term financial support if you become disabled)
• Ability to contribute to tax-advantaged accounts, including 401(k), health FSA, and dependent care FSA

Location

This is an on-site position. Our offices, lab, and shop are located in Portland, Oregon.