VP of People

Hermeus is an aerospace and defense technology company founded to radically accelerate air travel by delivering hypersonic aircraft. The company aims to develop hypersonic aircraft quickly and cost-effectively by integrating hardware-rich, iterative development with modern computing and autonomy. This approach has been validated through design, build, and test of the company’s first combined turbojet-ramjet engine and is now being scaled through its first flight vehicle program, Quarterhorse. Hermeus is also developing Darkhorse — an uncrewed hypersonic aircraft designed to deliver unique asymmetric capabilities to the warfighter.

Hermeus is seeking an experienced and strategic Vice President of People to lead and scale our People function. This role will be responsible for building and optimizing people strategies, programs, and processes that enable our workforce to thrive while ensuring we maintain our culture, agility, and operational excellence. This role is best positioned in our Los Angeles office but could also be housed in our Atlanta Office and manage a People Team primarily located in Atlanta but growing in LA. 

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership & Growth

- Develop and execute a People strategy that supports scaling the company beyond 1,000 employees while maintaining an exceptional employee experience.

- Serve as a thought partner to the executive team on organizational design, workforce planning, compensation strategy, and talent and leadership development.

- Be the catalyst of the Hermeus hardware rich, rapid design to validation, autonomous and accountable, high performance, team first culture. 

- Drive organizational design and workforce planning strategies to support company growth and efficiency.

People Analytics and Operations

- Build and implement data-driven People Analytics to inform decision-making across talent acquisition, performance, and engagement.

- Develop scalable, efficient, multi-location onboarding programs that accelerate new hire productivity and integration.

- Establish key HR metrics and reporting frameworks to track hiring, retention, engagement, development, and workforce performance.

Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding

- Lead high-volume hiring strategies to attract and retain top talent across all functions.

- Develop strong employer branding initiatives to position Hermeus as an employer of choice.

- Implement best-in-class recruitment processes to ensure efficiency and high-quality hires at scale.

Compensation & Total Rewards

- Design and implement scalable compensation frameworks that support business growth while ensuring internal equity and external competitiveness.

- Oversee annual compensation planning cycles, salary benchmarking, and incentive structures that attract and retain top talent.

- Partner with finance and executive leadership to develop equity and bonus programs aligned with company goals.

- Drive corporate benefits strategy and decisions, and evolve them as the company scales.

- Ensure compliance with compensation-related regulations and reporting requirements.

- Own key relationships with brokers and strategic partners.

Employee Engagement

- Partner with leadership to drive performance management and career development programs that continue to raise the bar for team performance.

- Deliver programs that enhance employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention at scale.

Employee Relations and Compliance

- Build a scalable, employee-first approach to employee relations, conflict resolution, and compliance.

- Ensure company policies, procedures, and practices align with legal requirements and industry best practices.

- Act as a trusted advisor to executives and managers on people-related matters.

Leadership Development & Performance Management

- Design and implement scalable leadership development programs to cultivate future leaders.

- Evolve performance management processes to drive accountability, career growth, and business impact.

- Provide coaching and guidance to executives to enhance leadership effectiveness.

Required Experience:

- 10+ years of HR experience, including experience as a VP or senior People leader in a high-growth environment. 

- Experience building and optimizing scalable People processes in high-growth environments.  

- Expertise in people analytics, total compensation, talent acquisition, onboarding, employee engagement, and employee relations at scale.  

- Strong data-driven mindset with the ability to leverage analytics to drive People strategy.  

- Deep knowledge of HR best practices, compliance, and workforce planning.  

- Experience navigating complex employee relations and compliance issues at scale.  

- Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.  

Desired Experience:

- Intimate knowledge of HR systems including ADP, Lattice, Pave, Lever, AllVoices, etc. 

- Experience working in a high-growth engineering environment. 

- Experience working in larger organizations to understand how the world changes from start up to 1000+ person organizations.

U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS 

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. US persons include U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending. 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Hermeus is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions at Hermeus are based solely on merit, competence, and qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.