Manager, People Operations

Muon is built on a vision of a world that sees itself clearly—where real-time planetary insight drives action to protect lives, build resilience, and compound into shared prosperity. To support this mission, Muon seeks a People Operations Manager to join our rapidly growing People Operations team. The ideal candidate is a highly empathetic, high-integrity leader who will serve as the operational bedrock of our employee experience. Reporting to the VP of People Operations, you will lead a dedicated team delivering operational excellence across the employee experience balancing strategic scaling and compliance with a deeply human-centric approach.

This position is hybrid and requires working on-site in our San Jose, CA office three days per week. Could flex to accommodate remote for exceptional candidates who are located in the West Coast timezone and could travel to the Bay Area at least once a quarter. 

• Directly partnering with the VP of People Operations to design and execute scalable HR strategies, programs, and infrastructure built for rapid headcount growth to support the company.
• Ensure seamless execution across the employee lifecycle from onboarding, benefits administration, payroll processing, internal employee support and offboarding.
• Foster an inclusive, supportive, and kind workplace culture grounded in integrity, psychological safety, and clear communication.
• Design, launch, and analyze regular pulse surveys to measure employee engagement, gather actionable feedback, and drive continuous improvement in workplace culture.
• Maintain full compliance with federal, state, and local labor laws (including FLSA, FMLA, ADA, and aerospace-specific regulations like ITAR/EAR), and continuously update company policies as needed.
• Lead annual Open Enrollment, vendor management, and benefits strategy to ensure competitive and compassionate total rewards packages.
• Oversee accuracy and compliance in payroll workflows, HRIS management, and time-tracking systems.
• Lead and empower your team and be a role model for the company of management capability. 
• Serve as a trusted, approachable point of contact for employees, handling complex personal or professional inquiries with total confidentiality.
• Manage sensitive employee relations and conflict resolution with fairness, discretion, and deep emotional intelligence.

• Experience: 8–12+ years of progressive experience in People Operations or Human Resources, with at least 4+ years of direct people management experience.
• Scaling & Growth: Proven track record of building, scaling, and managing People Operations functions through rapid hyper-growth phases.
• Autonomy & Drive: Proven ability to translate broad business goals into actionable project roadmaps and execute independently with minimal direction.
• Total Rewards Strategy: Strategic expertise in Total Rewards and benefits design, vendor negotiations, and overseeing end-to-end Open Enrollment strategy.
• Problem Solving & Discretion: Demonstrated mastery in handling complex employee relations, internal investigations, and sensitive organizational challenges with exceptional emotional intelligence, discretion, and high integrity.
• Executive Partnership: Strong executive presence with proven success advising and partnering with stakeholders across our growing organization on people strategies.
• Communication Skills: Outstanding verbal and written communication skills with a natural approachability and warmth.
• Adaptability: Excited to work in a fast-paced environment with new challenges each week.
• Systems and Documentation: Hands-on experience architecting and managing modern HR systems (Rippling, Lattice) and building out accessible and clear documentation (Google Workspace, Confluence).

• Legal Compliance: Deep knowledge of multi-state federal, state, and local employment laws, compliance frameworks, and complex HR governance.
• Aerospace Regulations: Familiarity with ITAR/EAR regulatory compliance and security clearances and its implications on talent acquisition, onboarding, and export control workflows.

The salary range for this role is $193,000 - $214,000, plus a competitive equity grant and comprehensive benefits package. Final compensation will be determined based on skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location as assessed during the interview process.