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We enable rapid analysis and management of the world’s largest datasets.
The Role
C-suite HR leader responsible for people strategy, workforce planning, org design, talent acquisition, leadership development, total rewards, HR operations, compliance, and employee relations. Build and mentor a lean HR team, implement HRIS and people analytics, advise the CEO and Board, and scale people systems for rapid growth and pre-IPO readiness.
Summary Generated by Built In
About Ocient:
Ocient is building OcientAIQ™ – a complete ecosystem for delivering trusted agentic AI solutions at petabyte scale, for the organizations that can't afford to get AI wrong. Our customers protect networks, secure nations, and power the global economy. The problems we solve are genuinely hard, and the work matters.
Founded in 2016 by the team that built Cleversafe (acquired by IBM in 2015), Ocient is headquartered in Chicago with a remote-first global team. We are a carbon-neutral company backed by leading investors including Greycroft, OCA Ventures, In-Q-Tel, and Buoyant Ventures.
Job Title: Chief People Officer
Location: 100% Remote (US Based Only)
- We cannot sponsor or transfer any visas, of any kind, at this time*
Reports To: Chief Executive Officer
Estimated salary range: $275,000 to $350,000
- The salary offered for this position will be based on a candidate’s experience and skill demonstrated during interviews and other evaluations
Position Overview:
The Chief People Officer is a C-suite executive and key architect of Ocient’s people strategy during a defining growth phase. Reporting directly to the CEO, the CPO will build the talent infrastructure, culture, and leadership capability needed to scale from a high-velocity startup into a durable, high-performance organization. This is a hands-on, highly visible role for an operator who thrives in ambiguity, moves fast, and knows how to build people programs that actually accelerate the business — not slow it down.
The right candidate has been a senior people leader at a growth-stage technology company, understands the pace and complexity of scaling through rapid headcount growth, restructuring, or M&A, and brings the credibility and judgment to counsel the CEO and executive team on all people matters.
Core Responsibilities:
Executive Partnership & People Strategy
- Serve as a trusted advisor and strategic partner to the CEO and executive team, translating business strategy into a forward-looking people roadmap with clear priorities, owners, and milestones — revisited quarterly as conditions shift
- Bring a founder’s mindset to people strategy: think in systems, move with urgency, and build for scale without over-engineering
- Champion company culture — internally and externally — preserving the high-ownership, high-trust values of a startup while professionalizing the organization for the next stage of growth
- Serve as a visible advocate for Ocient’s people brand in recruiting markets, investor conversations, and the broader tech ecosystem
- Lead workforce planning, org design, and headcount modeling in close partnership with the CEO and functional leaders — anticipating growth needs 6–12 months out
Organizational Development & Leadership
- Design and implement leadership development, onboarding, and performance frameworks that build a high-performance culture without bureaucracy
- Build and mentor a lean, high-performing HR/People team — leveling up existing talent and making targeted hires as the business scales
- Drive org design decisions that improve accountability, reduce friction, and enable the company to move faster
Total Rewards & People Operations
- Own total rewards strategy, including competitive compensation benchmarking, benefits, incentive programs, and equity — with deep expertise in pre-IPO equity structures (options/RSUs)
- Oversee the full employee lifecycle: onboarding, development, performance, retention, and offboarding
- Implement and optimize HRIS and people analytics tools to drive data-informed decisions; define and report on key people metrics to the CEO and Board
- Manage employee relations, investigations, and conflict resolution with speed and discretion
Compliance & Risk
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws across multiple jurisdictions, developing scalable policies that meet legal requirements without unnecessary process
- Partner with legal counsel on employment matters, contractor classification, and risk mitigation
- Oversee regulatory reporting and filings (EEO, FMLA, ADA, FLSA, etc.)
Ideal Qualifications:
- 12–18+ years of progressive HR/People experience, with at least 5–7 years at the VP, SVP, or CPO level
- Proven growth-stage operator: you’ve been a senior people leader at a high-growth technology company — ideally through a period of 2x–5x+ headcount scaling, restructuring, or M&A — and you know what it takes to build people infrastructure at speed
- Player-coach profile: you’ve operated at C-suite or VP level and still do the work yourself — writing JDs, running interviews, managing ER cases, pulling comp analyses. You don’t wait for a team
- Data-driven mindset: you use people metrics to make decisions, communicate business impact, and prioritize your team’s work
- Total rewards expertise: deep experience in compensation benchmarking, benefits strategy, and pre-IPO equity (options/RSUs)
- Multi-state and/or global HR experience: comfortable managing people programs across multiple jurisdictions and regulatory environments
- Executive-level credibility: proven ability to partner with CEOs, Boards, and investors on sensitive people matters and organizational decisions
- Business and financial acumen: experienced with headcount planning, budgeting, and making the financial case for people investments
- Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or a related field; Master’s or MBA preferred; or equivalent experience
An Exceptional Candidate Will Have:
- Experience at a company that has navigated a significant inflection point: Series C+ fundraise, pre-IPO readiness, acquisition, or rapid geographic expansion
- Background in data infrastructure, enterprise software, or deep tech — you understand what it takes to hire and retain rare technical talent
- Experience in a company selling into government, defense, or intelligence sectors (familiarity with clearance considerations a plus)
- Executive HR certification such as SHRM-SCP or SPHR
Interview Requirements: All interviews are conducted via video and require candidates to have their camera on for the duration of the session. The use of video filters, face-altering effects, or virtual backgrounds is not permitted for security and verification purposes.
We are not open to using an agency or staffing company at this time. We do not accept unsolicited agency or staffing resumes and we are not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes.
Ocient is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy status), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin or ancestry, ethnicity, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, marital status, parental status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, please contact [email protected] for more information.
All official Ocient job postings and recruiting communications will come directly from our team via our Careers page, LinkedIn, or from an ocient.com email address. If you receive communication about a role from any other source, please treat it with caution and direct questions to [email protected].
Skills Required
- 12-18+ years of progressive HR/People experience with at least 5-7 years at VP, SVP, or CPO level
- Senior people leader experience at a growth-stage technology company scaling through rapid headcount growth, restructuring, or M&A
- Player-coach profile: hands-on experience writing JDs, running interviews, managing ER cases, and performing comp analyses
- Data-driven mindset: use people metrics and people analytics to inform decisions and report impact to executives and board
- Total rewards expertise including compensation benchmarking, benefits strategy, and pre-IPO equity (options/RSUs)
- Multi-state and/or global HR experience managing programs across multiple jurisdictions and regulatory environments
- Executive-level credibility: ability to advise CEO, Board, and investors on sensitive people matters
- Business and financial acumen: headcount planning, budgeting, and building financial cases for people investments
- Experience implementing and optimizing HRIS and people analytics tools
- Experience ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and overseeing regulatory reporting (EEO, FMLA, ADA, FLSA)
- Experience managing employee relations, investigations, and conflict resolution with discretion
- Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Development, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- Master's degree or MBA
- Experience at a company that navigated Series C+ fundraise, pre-IPO readiness, acquisition, or rapid geographic expansion
- Background hiring and retaining rare technical talent in data infrastructure, enterprise software, or deep tech
- Experience with companies selling into government, defense, or intelligence sectors (familiarity with clearance considerations)
- Executive HR certification (e.g., SHRM-SCP or SPHR)
- All interviewers must have camera on; no video filters, face-altering effects, or virtual backgrounds permitted
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The Company
What We Do
Ocient is a Chicago-based, venture-funded startup building a SQL compliant, exabyte-scale database platform that achieves better performance than Hadoop and NoSQL systems. It is a distributed system optimized for NVMe drives, RDMA networks and high core count processors and is written in C++. We are led by a management team with seven successful st
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