Senior Manager, Talent Operations

planetlabs

San Francisco, CA · San Francisco · United States

Posted Mar 27, 2026

Full-time
Hybrid
Talent Acquisition

Apply on company site

Job description

Welcome to Planet. We believe in using space to help life on Earth.

Planet designs, builds, and operates the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history. This constellation delivers an unprecedented dataset of empirical information via a revolutionary cloud-based platform to authoritative figures in commercial, environmental, and humanitarian sectors. We are both a space company and data company all rolled into one.

Customers and users across the globe use Planet's data to develop new technologies, drive revenue, power research, and solve our world’s toughest obstacles.

As we control every component of hardware design, manufacturing, data processing, and software engineering, our office is a truly inspiring mix of experts from a variety of domains.

We have a people-centric approach toward culture and community and we strive to iterate in a way that puts our team members first and prepares our company for growth. Join Planet and be a part of our mission to change the way people see the world.

Planet is a global company with employees working remotely world wide and joining us from offices in San Francisco, Washington DC, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and The Netherlands.

About the Role:

Planet is executing one of its most ambitious hiring years — onboarding hundreds of new team members across multiple geographies to deliver on our growth plan, launch a second manufacturing hub in Berlin, and scale our Earth intelligence products to market. Behind every hire is a complex operational machine: ATS workflows, interview scheduling, offer approvals, compliance checks, onboarding handoffs, and dozens of process touchpoints that determine whether a candidate has a world-class experience or drops out of the funnel.

As Senior Manager, Talent Operations, you will own that machine. You will lead a team of operations specialists, recruiting coordinators, and support staff that keeps the entire hiring lifecycle running smoothly — from requisition creation through offer acceptance. You will drive the Talent Operations Roadmap, which includes active projects spanning AI interview assessment tool deployment, global process standardization, headcount approval flow redesign, SLA audits, and interview process documentation.

This role sits at the intersection of process design, technology, compliance, and candidate experience. You will be responsible for ensuring that our operational infrastructure scales at the same pace as our hiring ambitions — and that every touchpoint in the recruiting process reflects the quality and rigor candidates expect from a company building technology that monitors the entire planet.

This role reports directly to the Senior Director of Talent Acquisition and Talent Management. You will partner closely with the Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition to ensure that the operational data flowing out of your systems — pipeline velocity, stage conversion rates, scheduling throughput — feeds directly into the capacity model that drives recruiting resource allocation. This is a critical role. This hire will immediately unblock a significant body of work and drive operational leadership to a function that touches every hire the company makes.

This is a full-time, hybrid role which will require you to work from our San Francisco office 3 days per week.

Impact You’ll Own:

Own and execute the Talent Operations Roadmap — a portfolio of active projects including AI assessment tool evaluation and rollout, global process standardization, headcount approval flow redesign, SLA audit and enforcement, and interview training program development.
Lead and develop a team of operations and coordination professionals across multiple offices, setting priorities, coaching on operational excellence, and ensuring coordination coverage meets the needs of a growing recruiting team.
Drive scorecard SLA compliance to target by implementing process controls, automated reminders, and accountability mechanisms within the ATS — turning a lagging metric into a leading indicator of interview quality.
Reduce time-to-fill by identifying and streamlining operational bottlenecks — particularly in interview scheduling, offer approval workflows, and pre-offer document processing.
Operationalize the selected AI interview assessment tool across the full recruiting team, including training, change management, hiring manager onboarding, and usage analytics tracking.
Own ATS administration, configuration, and optimization — including custom workflows, approval chains, reporting dashboards, offer templates, and compliance-driven fields for global hiring across multiple entities and geographies.
Lead the headcount approval flow redesign — documenting the current state, mapping the ideal state, building automated workflows, and launching with clear communication and documentation.
Ensure onboarding compliance for all new hires across multiple geographies, working closely with People Operations to hand off candidates cleanly and verify all pre-hire documentation including background checks, export control clearances, work authorization, and international entity requirements.
Build and maintain the talent operations knowledge base — ensuring all processes, policies, and SLAs are documented, current, and accessible to the recruiting team and hiring managers.
Partner with the Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition to provide the operational data that feeds the capacity model — including pipeline velocity metrics, stage conversion rates, and scheduling throughput — so that resource allocation decisions are grounded in real process performance.

What You Bring:

6+ years of experience in talent operations, or HR operations.
4+ years managing a team of coordinators and operations specialists at a scaling technology company.
Deep expertise with Greenhouse ATS or a comparable enterprise applicant tracking system, including administration, workflow configuration, custom reporting, and integration management.
Experience driving SLA compliance and process adherence across a distributed recruiting team — you have built the dashboards, set the targets, and held people accountable.
Experience managing recruiting coordination at scale (100+ hires per quarter), including complex multi-timezone scheduling, onsite coordination, and high-volume offer processing.
Track record of successfully deploying new recruiting technology — AI tools, scheduling automation, assessment platforms — with measurable adoption and impact metrics.
Project management capability to run multiple concurrent workstreams (roadmap execution, tool deployment, process redesign) without dropping priorities.
Experience with global hiring operations, particularly EMEA compliance, offer letter localization, and navigating local employment requirements.
Data-oriented mindset — you use pipeline metrics, SLA data, and process analytics to identify bottlenecks and make decisions, not intuition alone.

What Makes You Stand Out:

Experience supporting a German entity setup, including familiarity with German employment compliance.
Background in aerospace, hardware, or manufacturing recruiting operations where compliance requirements such as export control and security clearances add operational complexity.
Experience with headcount planning and approval workflow tools that integrate with HRIS and finance systems.
Lean Six Sigma, PMP, or similar process improvement credentials that demonstrate operational rigor.
Experience building or rebuilding a talent operations function from the ground up — including establishing SLAs, standing up reporting, and creating documentation where little or none existed.

Application Deadline:

October 31, 2026 by 11:59pm PST

Benefits While Working at Planet:

These offerings are dependent on employment type and geographical location, based upon applicable law or company policy.

Comprehensive Medical, Dental, and Vision plans
Health Savings Account (HSA) with a company contribution
Generous Paid Time Off in addition to holidays and company-wide days off
16 Weeks of Paid Parental Leave
Wellness Program and Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Home Office Reimbursement
Monthly Phone and Internet Reimbursement
Tuition Reimbursement and access to LinkedIn Learning
Equity
Commuter Benefits (if local to an office)
Volunteering Paid Time Off

Compensation:

The US base salary range for this full-time position at the commencement of employment is listed below. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary short-term and long-term incentives (bonus and equity). The final salary range is determined by job related experience, skills and location. The range displays our typical hiring range for new hire salaries in US locations only. Your recruiter can share more about the specific salary range for your preferred location during the hiring process.

San Francisco Salary Range

$162,600—$203,200 USD

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Why we care so much about Belonging.
We’re dedicated to helping the whole Planet, and to do that we must strive to represent all of it within each of our offices and on all of our teams. That’s why Planet is guided by an ultimate north star of Belonging—dreaming big as we approach our ongoing work. If this job intrigues you, but you’re thinking you might not have all the qualifications, please... do apply! At Planet, we are looking for well-rounded people from around the world who can contribute to more ways than just what is listed in this job description. We don’t just fill positions, we aspire to fulfill people’s careers, most excited about folks who are motivated by our underlying humanitarian efforts. We are a few orbits around the sun before we get to where we want to be, so we hope you’re excited to come along for the ride.

EEO statement:
Planet is committed to building a community where everyone belongs and we invite people from all backgrounds to apply. Planet is an equal opportunity employer, and committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. Know Your Rights.

Accommodations:
Planet is an inclusive community and we know that everyone has their own needs. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation during the hiring process, please reach out to accommodations@planet.com or contact your recruiter with your request. Your message will be confidential and we will be happy to assist you.

Privacy Policy: By clicking "Apply Now" at the top of this job posting, I acknowledge that I have read the Planet Data Privacy Notice for California Staff Members and Applicants, and hereby consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of my personal information as described therein.

Privacy Policy (European Applicants): By clicking "Apply Now" at the top of this job posting, I acknowledge that I have read the Candidate Privacy Notice GDPR Planet Labs Europe, and hereby consent to the collection, processing, use, and storage of my personal information as described therein.

AI in Our Interviewing Process: Planet is committed to providing an exceptional interview experience for all candidates. We currently use Metaview to better focus on candidates and less on trying to capture notes. As such, with the candidate's consent, select interviews may be recorded and include a "Planet AI Notetaker" for transcription and summarization purposes. Should an interview involve use of AI interview technologies, the candidate will receive notification and have the ability to opt out both in advance and/or real-time. Opting out will not affect one's candidacy.

Candidate AI Policy: Planet embraces Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, and we encourage its responsible use. We understand that candidates may use various resources, including AI tools, to prepare for interviews and assessments. However, during any live interview stage or when actively completing assessments for this position, the use of AI tools—e.g. Large Language Models (LLMs), deep fake technology, etc.—is strictly prohibited unless explicitly prompted by an interviewer or assessment instructions. If you are unsure about acceptable use, please contact your recruiter for clarification. If an AI tool or similar technology is desired as an accommodation, please contact accommodations@planet.com with your request for assistance. Your message will be confidential, and we will be happy to assist you. Violation of this policy may result in disqualification of your application.