People Operations & Compensation Lead

About Arc Institute

Arc Institute is an independent nonprofit research organization at the interface of artificial intelligence and biology, working to accelerate scientific progress and understand the root causes of complex diseases. Founded in 2021 and based in Palo Alto, Arc partners with Stanford University, UC Berkeley, and UC San Francisco.

Unlike academia, our scientists have long-term funding and industry-like resources. Unlike industry, they're free to pursue high-risk, long-term research without commercial pressures. Arc's Technology Centers and Core Investigator labs work side by side, integrating experimental and computational biology under one roof to tackle problems neither could solve alone.

Our two Institute Initiatives reflect this model in action:

Virtual Cell Initiative : Building a full-stack virtual cell model to identify disease mechanisms and nominate drug targets, accelerating the path from biological insight to clinical trials.

Alzheimer's Disease Initiative : Mapping the genes, pathways, and environmental factors behind Alzheimer's disease to develop drug candidates that address root causes.

More than 300 Arconauts work together at our Palo Alto headquarters, backed by substantial long-term philanthropic funding.

About the position

This role is responsible for leading our People Operations team and partnering with the Head of People and People Partner team to deliver our Compensation program.

About you

You are an experienced HR operator that’s excited to uplevel People Operations using AI. You believe a great user experience is built on great tech. You love to solve problems as part of a team and see the best in people.

In this position you will

Lead our People Operations team:

Drive AI-native operations across the People function by implementing technology driven solutions with a great employee experience

Oversee the core work of the People Ops team (onboarding, offboarding, processing employee changes, etc.)

Serve as escalation point for complex operational issues, benefits decisions, and compensation situations

Manage the relationship with our PEO to deliver our benefits program and ensure compliance throughout our operations

Lead our benefits strategy, ensuring our benefits package is competitive and supports our team

Establish and lead a culture of service and operational excellence

Lead the delivery of our compensation program:

Lead the delivery of Arc's compensation program, including owning cyclical compensation events

Use AI-driven workflows to develop and maintain compensation benchmarking and Arc’s structure

Partner with hiring managers and recruiting on offers, including building AI driven tools to uplevel process and information sharing

Requirements:

8+ years of experience in People Operations (or other relevant experience)

Experience supporting benefits and compensation programs

Proven track record of implementing AI and automation

Strong operational background and cross functional collaborator

Great manager

Wide range of experience in technology and workplace tools

Hybrid role, onsite 3 days per week

The base salary range for this position is $147,500 - $181,500. These amounts reflect the range of base salary that the Institute reasonably would expect to pay a new hire or internal candidate for this position. The actual base compensation paid to any individual for this position may vary depending on factors such as experience, market conditions, education/training, skill level, and whether the compensation is internally equitable, and does not include bonuses, commissions, differential pay, other forms of compensation, or benefits. This position is also eligible to receive an annual discretionary bonus, with the amount dependent on individual and institute performance factors.

In addition to the Base Salary and Annual Bonus above, you will be eligible to participate in the Institute’s Compound Cash Grant Program (the “CCGP”). The CCGP is a program designed to offer multi-year cash grants providing for a fixed dollar amount paid out in semi-annual installments to reward employees for staying and contributing to the Institute. As soon as reasonably practical after your start date, you will receive a grant letter describing the terms of your award under the CCGP.