Nuclearn · 4 days ago
Head of People Ops
Phoenix, AZ
Full-time
Hybrid
Director/Executive
$120K/yr - $180K/yr
6+ years expNuclearn.ai is an innovative company developing AI-powered software for the nuclear industry. They are seeking a Head of People Operations to lead their recruiting efforts and build a robust people operations framework, ensuring the company scales effectively while maintaining quality and culture.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)EnergyMachine LearningNuclearSoftware
No H1B
U.S. Citizen Only
Responsibilities
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
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
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
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
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
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
Qualification
Required
U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (green card) is required due to DOE export compliance
6-10+ years in People Ops / HR, with significant time in fast-growing B2B SaaS or deep-tech startups
Owned full-cycle recruiting for technical and non-technical roles and helped a company scale to 100+ (or similar)
Comfortable sourcing and running interviews as well as 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
Comfortable operating in an environment that is technical, regulated, and occasionally ambiguous and enjoy helping bring clarity
Preferred
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
Benefits
Unlimited PTO
Health/dental/vision insurance
Company
Nuclearn
Nuclearn is a software company delivering AI solutions for automating Nuclear Industry tasks.
11-50 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Early StageTotal Funding
$13MKey Investors
Blue Bear CapitalAZ-VC
2025-09-09Series A· $10.5M
2023-08-01Seed· $2.5M
Leadership Team
Bradley Fox
Co-Founder
Jerrold Vincent
Co-Founder & CFO
Recent News
Columbia West
2025-11-15
2025-10-15
Company data provided by crunchbase