Head of People

Meet Arago and the Aragonians

Arago is an AI and computer hardware company whose mission is to drive the course of history forward. We do so by accelerating breakthroughs at the intersection of AI and semiconductors.

Founded in 2024 by AI researchers and physicists with deep expertise in photonics, electronics, software, mathematics, and machine learning, Arago brings together a lean team of engineers and scientists from the world’s top companies and research labs.

Composed of nine nationalities and operating from hubs in France, North America, and Israel, we believe in great science and fast achievements. Our work is guided by these core principles:

1. Do great things: we deliver work we’re proud to sign our name to.

2. High velocity: speed matters. We move quickly, one step at a time.

3. One unit: we’re all in this together, with relationships grounded in trust, respect, and camaraderie.

Arago is backed by executives from Apple, Arm, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Hugging Face, as well as prominent US and European deeptech venture firms and exited founders.

What you’ll do

You'll build Arago's People function from the ground up as we scale from 50 people to a global deep tech company. The scope covers compensation, performance, talent development, organizational design, and culture across our three hubs. You'll report directly to the CEO, sit on the leadership team, and grow a People team underneath you as the company scales.

Required Skills and Experience

• 8+ years in People / HR roles, with at least 3 in a leadership position at a fast-scaling startup or scale-up (Series B+).

• Track record of building People functions from scratch or near-scratch, including comp, performance, L&D, and HR operations.

• Strong experience designing and running compensation frameworks (cash, equity, leveling) in technical organizations.

• Comfort operating across multiple geographies, with working knowledge of labor frameworks in France, the US, and ideally Israel.

• Experience scaling teams from ~50 to several hundred employees.

• Sharp judgment on people, culture, and organizational design: you know what to build now and what to defer.

• Builder mindset: hands-on when needed, strategic when it matters, allergic to bureaucracy.

• You're a great listener, positive and empathetic.

• Language: English at a proficient level. French is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Build and lead the entire People function: talent acquisition, people operations, L&D, performance, and culture.

• Design and own Arago's compensation philosophy and framework (cash, equity, leveling, and benchmarking across geographies).

• Define and run performance management, career growth, and development programs that match the bar of an engineering-led company.

• Partner with the CEO and leadership team on org design, headcount planning, and key hires.

• Hire and grow the People team underneath you, including the Talent Acquisition Lead and future People Ops, L&D, and HRBP roles.

• Own the end-to-end recruitment process, from resource planning and headcount strategy through sourcing, hiring, and onboarding.

Pay and benefits

• Competitive cash compensation, with final package based on location, experience, and the pay of team members in similar positions.

• Meaningful stock option plan offered at the earliest stage of the company (included in the majority of full time offers).

• Relocation bonus and coverage of moving expenses for relocation within 20 minutes of the company’s location.

• Healthcare coverage (including family-friendly options), pension contributions, professional development support, and 25 days of PTO, in addition to public holidays.

• Ownership of a key technical domain, with significant vertical and/or horizontal growth opportunities, based on performance and individual drive.

• Reimbursement of 50% of the public transport subscription fee.

• A high-paced, multicultural (with 10 nationalities), and engineering-led environment.