People Program Manager

CHAOS Industries is redefining modern defense with a multi-product portfolio that gives the ultimate advantage—domain dominance. The company's products are powered by Coherent Distributed Networks (CDN™), empowering warfighters, commercial air operators, and border protection teams to act faster, adapt rapidly, and stay ahead of evolving threats. 

CHAOS Industries was founded in 2022 and has raised a total of $1 billion in funding from leading investors, including 8VC, Accel, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, and London. For more information, please visit www.chaosinc.com.

We are seeking a People Program Manager to build, operationalize, and scale high-impact people programs, while also serving as a close partner to our Chief of Staff to the CPO on company-wide strategic initiatives. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in a mid-sized environment—where structure is still evolving and there’s strong ownership, visibility, and influence. 

You will play a key role in shaping the employee experience, partnering closely with People leadership and business leaders to implement and drive execution of programs that support growth, engagement, and performance. 

Responsibilities 

• Own and evolve core people programs across the employee lifecycle (onboarding, engagement, performance, development, and retention) 
• Build processes that bring consistency while maintaining flexibility for a growing organization 
• Identify gaps and proactively design solutions that scale with company growth 
• Partner with leaders on talent planning, internal mobility, and development pathways 
• Equip managers with tools, resources, and guidance to lead effectively 
• Support organizational changes such as team scaling, restructuring, or new leadership layers 
• Partner with the Chief of Staff to the CPO on company-wide strategic projects 
• Drive adoption of new programs, policies, and tools with clear communication and training 
• Track key metrics (engagement, retention, performance, diversity, etc.) 
• Support the design, rollout, and tracking of People-related OKRs and operating rhythm 
• Deliver insights and recommendations to People leadership and executives 
• Continuously improve programs based on data and feedback 

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of experience in People Operations, HR, Program Management, or Consulting 
• Experience working in a mid-sized or high-growth company (100–500 employees preferred) 
• Demonstrated ability to both build and run programs (not just design) 
• Strong project management and prioritization skills in a fast-moving environment 
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and building structure from scratch 
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills 
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities, including experience preparing materials for senior/executive audiences 
• Demonstrated ability to exercise judgment and discretion to navigate sensitive people topics and executive relationships 

What Makes You Successful in This Role

• You are equally comfortable thinking strategically and executing tactically 
• You bring structure without overcomplicating processes 
• You build strong, trusted relationships with managers and leaders 
• You use data to inform decisions but know when to act with judgment 
• You are proactive, resourceful, and thrive in a growing organization 
• You move fluidly between hands-on People program delivery and higher-altitude, cross-functional strategic work 
• You are a trusted operator who can represent the People function in cross-functional settings 

Why CHAOS?

• Health Benefits: Medical, dental, and vision benefits 100% paid for by the company
• Additional benefits: 401k (+ 50% company match up to 6% of pay), FSA, HSA, life insurance, and more
• Our Perks: Free daily lunch, ‘No meeting Fridays’, unlimited PTO, casual dress code
• Compensation Components: Competitive base salaries, generous pre-IPO stock option grants, relocation assistance, and (coming soon!) annual bonuses
• Team Growth: 250 employees and counting across 5 global offices

The stated compensation range reflects only the targeted base compensation range and excludes additional earnings such as bonus, equity, and benefits. If your compensation requirements fall outside of the range, we still encourage you to apply. The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations. 

#LI-onsite