Director – People Operations

About Us

Axelera AI is not your regular deep-tech startup. We are creating the next-generation AI platform to support anyone who wants to help advancing humanity and improve the world around us.

In just three years, we have raised a total of $120 million and have built a world-class team of 180+ employees (including 55+ PhDs with more than 40,000 citations), both remotely from 11 different countries and with offices in Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, headquartered at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

We have also launched our Metis™ AI Platform, which achieves a 3-5x increase in efficiency and performance, and have visibility into a strong business pipeline exceeding $100 million.

Our unwavering commitment to innovation has firmly established us as a global industry pioneer. 

Are you up for the challenge?

Position Overview

We are seeking a highly experienced and detail-driven Director – People Operations to join our growing People team. Reporting directly to the VP of People, you will lead the People Ops function and ensure our employees experience seamless, compliant, and engaging processes across the entire employee lifecycle.

This is a critical leadership role for someone who thrives at the intersection of operational excellence, compliance, and people experience. You will manage and scale our global people operations — spanning our people systems (BambooHR and Lattice), contracts, onboarding, payroll, benefits, equity, reporting and compliance across multiple European legal entities.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead People Operations globally: Oversee a team of 2 colleagues & lead all our operational people processes across entities and EOR services.

• Compliance & Risk Management: Ensure compliance with employment laws and regulations across all countries in Europe, working closely with finance and legal.

• HRIS & Data: Own our HR systems, data integrity, and reporting dashboards. Provide actionable insights to leadership using people metrics.

• Payroll Interface: Partner with Finance to ensure accurate payroll execution across countries, managing all HR-related updates and changes.

• Benefits & Equity Programs: Administer and roll out benefits, equity plans, and new employee offerings (e.g. parental leave policies, wellness initiatives).

• Operational Excellence: Continuously optimize people processes for scale, automation, and employee satisfaction.

• Policy & Governance: Design, maintain, and communicate HR policies and employee handbooks across countries, ensuring consistency with our culture and compliance.

• People Experience: Balance efficiency with a human touch — ensuring that operational processes contribute positively to employee experience.

• Leadership: Manage, mentor, and grow the People Ops team; act as a key partner to the VP People on strategic people initiatives.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 10 years of proven experience in HR/People Operations, preferably in an international scale-up or tech environment.

• Strong expertise in compliance, HR systems, and operational process design across multiple European jurisdictions.

• Experience managing payroll processes in partnership with Finance.

• Proven ability to build and roll out benefits, equity, and employee programs across geographies.

• Exceptional organizational skills, attention to detail, and problem-solving mindset.

• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills — able to influence across levels and functions.

• High energy, proactive, and hands-on, with the ability to balance strategy with execution.

• Fluency in English is required; additional European languages are a plus.

• Willingness to sporadically travel within Europe.

Location

This position requires regular presence in our Eindhoven office, therefore only applicants willing to work out of this location at least 3 days per week will be considered.

What we offer 

• The opportunity to shape and lead People Operations at a dynamic, fast-growing, international organization.

• Attractive compensation package, including pension plan, extensive employee insurances, and the option to receive company shares.

• A culture of collaboration, inclusion, and curiosity, where operational excellence and people experience go hand in hand.

• Freedom with responsibility and the ability to build scalable, world-class people processes.

At Axelera AI, we wholeheartedly embrace equal opportunity and hold diversity in the highest regard. Our steadfast commitment is to cultivate a warm and inclusive environment that empowers and celebrates every member of our team. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to join us in shaping the future of AI.