VP, People

Job description

About Plasmidsaurus Plasmidsaurus is on a mission to accelerate new cures and promote a healthier planet by unlocking a new level of productivity for scientists. Our sequencing services are used daily by thousands of innovators, including Nobel laureates, Fortune 100 pharma, and over 70,000 scientists. We began by revolutionizing plasmid sequencing, making it exponentially cheaper and faster, with innovative sequencing technologies and a global network of laboratories that turn samples into answers in hours, not weeks. Now we are expanding that same disruptive model across all of genomics. With the launch of our new RNA-seq service, we are taking a bold step toward our vision to sequence everything, providing scientists everywhere with faster, simpler, and more affordable access to the data that powers discovery. Every team member at Plasmidsaurus plays a crucial role in driving the future of biotech research. Together, we are building the world’s most efficient sequencing engine that operates overnight, scales globally, and helps scientists make breakthroughs faster than ever before. The Opportunity The VP People at Plasmidsaurus will help lead a rapidly growing, category-defining life sciences company with exceptional product-market fit, real and significant growth opportunities. You will shape the people strategy behind innovative technology that allows researchers around the world to move faster on some of society's most important scientific challenges. Reporting to the CEO and partnering directly with an ambitious founding team and company leadership, you will architect the organizational structure, develop the leadership bench, and build the people systems required to power a rapidly growing startup as we expand internationally, launch new products, enter new markets, and deepen strategic partnerships. We’re looking for a leader who has seen similar growth stages with a founder-led business, who has successfully built international teams and operating structures, and who has implemented people programs that enable growth without sacrificing performance, compliance, or execution quality. Great candidates will bring not just HR leadership, but also strong business judgment and strategic thinking. They will contribute meaningfully to discussions that extend beyond traditional People topics. The strongest candidates will be as comfortable debating organizational strategy, growth plans, and business tradeoffs as they are leading people function. The Role Build the leadership, organizational, and management foundations that enable Plasmidsaurus to scale globally while remaining fast, accountable, and operationally excellent. As we grow in complexity, geography, and headcount, the VP, People will ensure our leadership capability, organizational effectiveness, workforce governance, and global people infrastructure evolve to support the company's ambitions. Responsibilities Organizational & Leadership Development - Partner with the CEO and leadership team on organizational design, leadership development, succession planning, and workforce strategy. - Develop managers and leaders across the company and help raise the overall quality of leadership. - Serve as a trusted advisor on organizational, leadership, management, and workforce-related decisions. People Strategy & Operations - Own and develop the People function, including HR business partnership, people operations, employee relations, compensation and benefits, performance management, compliance, and workforce planning. - Partner closely with our Talent team to ensure hiring, onboarding, leadership development, performance management, workforce planning, and retention strategies work together to strengthen the organization over time. - Build the systems, processes, tools, and operating mechanisms required to support a rapidly growing and increasingly complex business. - Build and lead a high-performing People team that scales alongside the business. Global Growth & Workforce Infrastructure - Lead the evolution of Plasmidsaurus's global workforce strategy, including international hiring, employment practices, compensation, mobility, immigration, workforce planning, and distributed team support. - Evaluate and recommend the systems, partners, and organizational investments required to support continued international expansion and company growth. Compliance, Governance & Risk - Ensure the company maintains strong employment, compliance, and workforce governance practices across all jurisdictions in which we operate. - Oversee employee relations, investigations, policy development, and people-related risk management while balancing business needs, employee experience, and legal obligations. - Partner effectively with external legal, immigration, and compliance experts to ensure the company scales responsibly. What Success Looks Like The First Three Months - The team knows you. You’ve built key relationships and credibility across the leadership and management teams. You’ve leaned into conversations, projects, and relationships with curiosity and a learner’s mindset. - You know us. You’ve assessed our current management practices, performance processes, organizational structures, and people programs—formal or informal—and understand what’s working and what needs attention before it slows us down. - You understand where we are headed. You’ve developed a clear view of what’s required for us to continue to grow, and you’ve identified the most important organizational, leadership, compliance, governance, and scaling challenges facing the business. - You’ve got a plan. We have an informed, organized view into where we are strong, where we are stretched, and where future growth could create challenges. You've aligned leadership around a practical roadmap for addressing them. - You’ve had some quick wins. We’re already benefiting from your judgment and experience, and you’ve helped improve a handful of important processes, decisions, or leadership discussions. Within 6 Months - We’re raising the bar. Expectations around performance, promotions, compensation, and talent development are clearer, more consistent, and better understood across the company. - Managers are looking to you. They have clearer expectations, better support, and greater confidence in their ability to lead growing teams. They increasingly see the People team as a resource for solving problems, developing talent, and improving team performance. - Leaders trust your judgment. You’ve become a trusted thought partner to the leadership team and are regularly pulled into important organizational, leadership, and business decisions. You've helped us avoid mistakes, accelerate important decisions, and prioritize the investments that will have the greatest impact on the business. - We have a path forward that supports global growth. International hiring, employment, compensation, and global workforce management are intentional, consistent, and scalable strategies as we continue to expand. - We understand risk. Leadership has a clear view of our most important people, compliance, and employment challenges, we can evaluate options and consider outcomes, and we can put plans in place to address issues before they become bigger business problems. - The People function is stronger. Core HR processes, employee relations, compliance programs, and people operations are accessible, well organized, and scalable. Leaders and employees can get the support they need without navigating unnecessary complexity.. - We’re getting ahead of problems. We have better visibility into leadership, organizational, hiring, compliance, and global workforce challenges before they become distractions or obstacles to growth. Within 12 Months - We have stronger leaders. Managers are more effective, leadership quality has improved across the company, and we have greater confidence in our ability to develop future leaders from within. - We’ve added structure without adding bureaucracy. Leaders have the systems, tools, and support they need to efficiently make good decisions, build strong teams, and execute effectively as the business grows. - We’re operating globally with confidence. Our international workforce, employment practices, and people operations support continued expansion without creating unnecessary complexity or risk. - The People team helps the business move faster. Leaders rely on our people programs, processes, and guidance because they help solve problems and improve decision-making rather than creating additional work. - Our people infrastructure has kept pace with our global growth. Compensation, benefits, performance management, employee relations, compliance, and people operations support the business we are becoming, not just the company we used to be. - We’re managing risk before it becomes a problem. Leadership has confidence in our compliance practices, workforce governance, and employee management processes, and people-related issues are addressed early and effectively. - We are pressure tested at scale. Our people practices withstand the demands of global employees, sophisticated customers, and strategic partners, and the inspections of auditors, investors and external stakeholders. - We’re ready for what’s next. The company has grown, become more sophisticated, and taken on greater complexity without sacrificing speed, accountability, or execution. Who You Are You believe a great People strategy will empower Plasmidsaurus build a stronger company, better serve our customers, and execute on increasingly ambitious goals. You also recognize that the decisions we make as a company have a profound impact on our people, their careers, growth, and lives. You take that responsibility seriously and strive to build an environment where the business thrives because our people do. You think from first principles. You bring pattern recognition and experience from previous companies, but you don't blindly import playbooks. You're willing to challenge conventional wisdom, including your own, in pursuit of a better answer. You are genuinely curious about our industry and what makes this business so special, and you default to fully understanding the problem before deciding on a solution. You have a point of view. You ask smart questions, but you also bring expertise, judgment, and recommendations. You are comfortable making decisions with imperfect information and can clearly articulate what you would do, why, and the tradeoffs involved. When you take a stand it’s because the topic matters, and while you can be influenced by strong logic, evidence, and new information, you don't wait for consensus before forming an opinion. You thrive in ambiguity. You don't need a perfectly defined problem before making progress. You can quickly identify what matters most, cut through noise and competing priorities, and help teams move forward even when the path isn't obvious. You bring structure to ambiguity and momentum to situations that might otherwise stall. You meet people where they are. You hold a high bar and are willing to make difficult talent decisions when needed, but your first instinct is to invest in people. You see your role as ensuring our people and teams have the right support, expectations, and opportunities to thrive. You are committed to helping the team improve and pragmatic enough to know when change is required. You build, not just advise. You know that great ideas only matter if they translate into execution. You excel in thinking about organizations, leadership, and culture, but you are just as excited to roll up your sleeves and build the systems, processes, teams, and infrastructure required to support growth. You bring operational rigor. You know that growth requires more than strong relationships and good judgment. You establish the processes, controls, and operating discipline that allow the company to scale confidently. Compliance, employee relations, compensation, documentation, data security, and workforce governance are handled thoughtfully and proactively. You know people are our competitive advantage. You understand great companies are powered by exceptional teams. You are passionate about helping individuals, managers, and leaders reach their potential because you know people are the primary driver of business success and you get more excited about other peoples wins than your own. You view leadership quality, talent density, and organizational effectiveness as strategic advantages, not HR initiatives. You think like an owner. You approach decisions through the lens of what is best for the long-term success of the business. You operate knowing that people, leadership and organizational design connect directly to customer outcomes, business performance, and sustainable growth. Your Resume - You led the People function through significant growth at least once, partnering closely with founders, CEOs, and executive teams. - You've successfully scaled teams, systems, and processes that support international growth, globally distributed teams, and increasing organizational complexity. - You've helped navigate increasing organizational complexity without sacrificing performance, and making sure the company remains compliant, well-governed, and operationally sound. - There’s a list of leaders you’ve partnered with or helped develop who still seek your opinion and advice. - You're a go to expert on core People programs, including performance management, global compensation and benefits strategies, employee relations, compliance, workforce planning, and people operations. - You've operated in environments where execution matters, not just ideas (and in fact, you wouldn’t be that excited about a corner office-type job). - You use data and describe outcomes to articulate the difference you’ve made in the companies you’ve helped build and lead. We encourage you to apply even if your experience doesn't perfectly align with the job description as we seek out diverse and creative perspectives. Team members who love to learn and collaborate in an inclusive environment will thrive with us. We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. If you need additional accommodations to feel comfortable during your interview process, please let us know at careers@plasmidsaurus.com. careers@plasmidsaurus.com