Head of People

About the Organization

MATS finds and trains talented individuals for what we see as the world's most urgent and talent-constrained problem: reducing risks from unaligned artificial intelligence. We believe ambitious researchers from a variety of backgrounds have the potential to meaningfully contribute to alignment, control, security, and governance research. Through our research fellowship, we provide mentorship, training, professional network, and financial support to accelerate their careers and increase their impact.

Since late 2021, we have trained over 527 researchers; about 80% now work in AI alignment and 10% have co-founded organizations. Our fellows have produced 185+ research papers with 11,000+ collective citations. And we are just getting started: in the coming year we will expand our program to support even more researchers.

But we need your help to get there. As our first dedicated HR/People hire, every system you build, every program that you lead, and every policy you write will shape how MATS grows - not just in headcount, but in creating a thriving culture that ensures the people who make this mission possible have a quality work life that keeps them happy, healthy, and motivated.

About the Role

MATS is entering a new stage of growth, transitioning from a small, scrappy team to a durable institution. We currently have ~45 employees across Berkeley and London with no dedicated HR or People staff. Generalist operations team members have been handling people-related tasks alongside everything else, and while they've done an admirable job, it's time to build out the function. Given the phase of MATS’s growth, we want to make sure that the mission-driven culture we’ve fostered can scale with the organization sustainably.

We are building out our People team for the first time. As the Head of People, you will be the founding member and leader of this function. You will also be joined by a (Senior) Recruiting Lead who will report to you and own the talent pipeline. We are simultaneously hiring a COO who will oversee all operational teams. As you will all be joining around the same time, we are looking for people who are happy to collaborate, co-construct, and grow together into a top-notch team.

This is a build role. You will assess what exists, decide what to build first, and create the people-infrastructure that lets MATS scale from 45 to 90+ employees over the next year across two countries.

We are not looking for a box-checker or someone who waits to be told what to do. We want someone who brings genuine expertise, makes well-evidenced arguments for what the organization needs, and takes real ownership of the People function and its outcomes. You will be the organizational voice for the people side of the equation - and that voice matters.

What You'll Do

• Stand up the People function: Build out and lead a team to handle all aspects of the People and HR function. Audit what exists, identify the most critical gaps, and build the foundational people operations and HR systems MATS needs to scale durably: onboarding, performance management, development pathways, employee handbook, benefits policies, grievance procedures, and compensation frameworks, etc. You'll need to prioritize ruthlessly - not everything can happen at once, and you'll have to make judgment calls about what to build now versus what can wait.
• Advocate for the role of people in organizational strategy: Assess and design organizational structures - reporting lines, spans of control, role leveling, team composition - that support the org's current needs and anticipated growth. Conduct workforce planning and consult with Leadership on how to integrate people strategy into MATS’ strategic goals.
• Be the go-to person for all things people: Managers and employees will come to you with questions, concerns, and problems ranging from "how do I give difficult feedback?" to "what's our policy on parental leave?" You'll serve as a trusted advisor, especially to managers who may be stepping into people leadership for the first time. You'll also assist managers with employee relations matters - workplace conflicts, accommodation requests, performance issues, and separations - with fairness, discretion, and legal awareness.
• Shape organizational culture: MATS is growing fast, and culture doesn't scale on its own. You'll be intentional about employee wellbeing, taking the pulse of the organization and analyzing to target organizational touchpoints to positively shape the employee experience; hiring, onboarding, recognition, team-building, events, offsites, offboarding, etc. You'll think about inclusion and belonging in an organization that is growing rapidly across 2 offices from one where everyone can feasibly know one another and rely on unspoken norms, to an institution that will need strong values operationalized and embedded into its systems.
• Build a performance and development culture: Design and implement a performance review framework that includes goal-setting, feedback cycles, and development planning. Create training programs - particularly management training - that help MATS develop its existing team members alongside hiring new ones. Build systems for continuous learning, not just annual review cycles.
• Own hiring strategy (alongside the Recruiting Lead): While the Recruiting Lead handles day-to-day recruiting execution, you'll collaborate on the strategic layer: ensuring hiring practices are consistent, fair, and effective across all roles. You'll collaborate on selection methodology, candidate evaluation standards, and process design. You should understand evidence-based hiring well enough to oversee the function, and to step in and execute directly when needed.
• Navigate a complex HR compliance landscape: MATS operates in the US (Berkeley) and UK (London), and is in the process of setting up a UK child-entity. While you will not be expected to have formal expertise in employment law, you'll need to have enough awareness to ensure people practices comply with relevant employment law in both jurisdictions. MATS has external legal counsel - but you will need to identify risks and know when to escalate.

Our Office

This position is full-time, and candidates will typically work in-person at our office in Berkeley, California. For special cases with very strong candidates, working from our office in London, UK may be possible. Our offices are a short walk from bus, bike, and subway routes. We have catering, dedicated desks, flexible hours, and casual attire. MATS is committed to fostering an inclusive and welcoming work environment.

Your Place on the Team

You may initially work with our Operations Director, though ultimately you will report to the COO as we bring them on board. We want to be transparent that our org structure is evolving and are looking for candidates who are comfortable navigating this process with us. The (Senior) Recruiting Lead will report to you.

Over time, we anticipate the People team growing to include additional HR support (potentially including a UK-focused team member). Your role will evolve from hands-on builder to functional leader as the team scales.

About You

The right person for this role is someone people trust with sensitive information, with difficult conversations, and with the responsibility of building systems that affect everyone in the organization. You communicate with warmth and clarity, especially when the message is a hard one. You have strong professional ethics, handle confidential matters with absolute discretion and you hold yourself to a high standard even when no one is watching. You're collaborative and low-ego; you'd rather build something good with your teammates than get credit for building it alone. You take genuine ownership: you identify what needs to happen, make the case for it, and drive it forward without waiting for someone to tell you what to do. You have good judgment in ambiguous situations, can make sound calls with incomplete information and manage the pace of change relative to what the organization can absorb. You know what you know and what you don't, and you're not afraid to bring in outside expertise when a situation calls for it. 

Essential Skills & Experience

We expect to hire someone who has all of the following:

• Demonstrated experience building or significantly expanding HR/People systems in a growing organization. You have set up people processes where few or none existed before - whether in a startup, a scaling nonprofit, or a fast-growing team within a larger org.
• 5+ years of professional experience in People Operations, HR, or a closely related function. Your title might not have been "Head of People" - but you have owned people systems, not just maintained them.
• Fluency in organizational culture, with a strong grasp of how to align organizational dynamics and operationalize values to foster a positive working environment that motivates and empowers people to do their best - ensuring team members feel MATS is a great place to work and grow.
• Experience directly handling employee relations: workplace conflicts, performance management issues, investigations, accommodations, and separations. 
• Strong advisory and coaching skills. You have helped managers navigate people topics - leadership, performance, team dynamics, career development conversations - and you're trusted by people at all levels to handle sensitive matters with discretion and care.
• Advanced understanding of the employee lifecycle and fluency managing people operations: professional development, performance review frameworks, employee handbooks / HR policy suites, onboarding programs, learning and training programs, compensation & benefits structures, etc.
• Working knowledge of employment law sufficient to identify risks and make day-to-day compliance decisions without needing to consult counsel on routine matters.
• Clear, proactive written and verbal communication skills. You can write policies people actually read, deliver difficult messages with empathy and professionalism, and adapt your communication to different audiences.
• A collaborative, low-ego approach. You'll be building alongside a brand-new COO and Recruiting Lead - you need to be comfortable with shared ownership, evolving scope, and an org structure that's in flux.

Desired Skills & Experience

We expect highly competitive applicants to have some of the following:

• Prior experience as a solo or founding HR/People hire, or as the first dedicated People person in a previously HR-less organization.
• Experience in research organizations, universities, think tanks, or technical nonprofits - environments where employees are highly autonomous, mission-driven, and resistant to bureaucracy.
• Curiosity and genuine interest in MATS's mission. You don't need to be an AI safety expert, but you should care about the work, be motivated by its importance, and be willing to learn about the field.
• Expertise in organizational design and workforce planning for rapidly scaling teams (e.g., doubling headcount in 12 months).
• Experience implementing or administering HRIS platforms (Gusto, Rippling, BambooHR, or similar) and making buy/build decisions on People technology.
• Experience with multi-jurisdiction employment (particularly US + UK, or US + any non-US country). Bonus if you've been involved in setting up a new legal entity's employment infrastructure.
• Familiarity with best practices and experience building more inclusive workplaces - particularly in technical environments.
• Background in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, organizational development, or evidence-based people management. Comfortable with people analytics and using data to make the case for people investments.

Who is Qualified for this Role?

We know that careers in the People space take many shapes and often have diverse titles. We truly welcome applications from individuals with varied backgrounds - you might come from a traditional HR path, from a relevant consulting field, from operations in a scrappy startup, or from a People role in a larger org where you built a specific function from scratch. We do not require any university degrees. However, because this role requires building and leading an entire People function, we do plan to hire someone who can demonstrate substantial relevant experience. We do not encourage early-career HR professionals or individuals without meaningful People/HR experience to apply for this particular position.

About the Compensation

• Compensation range for this role is $160,000-$240,000 per year for Berkeley-based hires and £118,000to £177,000 for London-based hires, depending on qualifications and experience.
• MATS provides in-office, catered lunches and dinners to employees on workdays.
• Paid work trips, including staff retreats, business trips, and relevant conferences.
• Funding and support for professional development.
• 17 days of annual paid time off for Berkeley-based employees (not including federal holidays), and 20 days of annual leave (not including bank holidays) for London-based employees.
• Flexibility for hybrid work (but not for fully remote work).
• Collaborative and intellectually stimulating work environment.
• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance.
• Both Roth 401(k) and Traditional 401(k) for Berkeley-based candidates, or Pension Scheme for London-based candidates.

Visa sponsorship may be possible but is not guaranteed.