VP - People

Job description

About Us Axelera AI https://www.axelera.ai is not your regular deep-tech startup. We are creating the next-generation AI platform to support anyone who wants to help advancing humanity and improve the world around us. In just four years, we have raised a total of $370 million and have built a world-class team of 220+ employees (including 49+ PhDs with more than 40,000 citations), both remotely from 20 different countries and with offices in Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, headquartered at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, Netherlands. We have also launched our Metis™ AI Platform, which achieves a 3-5x increase in efficiency and performance, and have visibility into a strong business pipeline exceeding $100 million. Our unwavering commitment to innovation has firmly established us as a global industry pioneer. Are you up for the challenge? Position Overview We are seeking an experienced VP of People to own our people advisory and culture agenda at Axelera AI. You will join a tightly knit team of 10 specialists spanning Office & Community, People Operations, Talent (People) and Recruiting, working together to make Axelera AI an exceptional place to work. You'll work closely with highly skilled deep-tech professionals across R&D, software, and hardware, across varied seniorities, locations, and cultures - helping them do their best work in a fast-moving and innovative environment, whether they're in the office or working fully remotely. You care about the details of people's daily experience as much as the big programs: the conversations, the small moments, the sense that someone's looking out for them. At Axelera AI, we're building groundbreaking technology - but we know that happens because of the people behind it. We're a values-driven, people-first company where curiosity is encouraged; ideas are genuinely heard regardless of title, and we invest real time and energy in helping our people grow. You'll set the agenda for talent management and culture at Axelera AI — not just execute against it — making the calls on where the team invests its time and how success is measured. This role reports to the Chief People Officer and includes management responsibilities for part of the team. Key responsibilities: People Advisory - Own our people engagement metrics — from setting targets to tracking progress and driving action off the results, making sure engagement data leads to real change, not just a quarterly readout. - Own our performance management cycle - goal setting, reviews, calibration, and feedback processes - making sure it's meaningful and not just a compliance exercise. - Own our learning and development platform and its delivery — from selecting programs and tools to overseeing rollout and impact. - Drive talent development and career growth, helping people and their managers build clear paths forward. - Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to colleagues and teams at all levels, fostering a culture of high performance and engagement. - Provide expert guidance on employee relations, team dynamics, and organizational development. - Lead change management processes and support leaders in navigating organizational change with clarity and confidence. - Analyze people data and metrics to inform decisions and measure the impact of people initiatives. - Ensure compliance with local labor laws and employment regulations across our locations. Culture & Employee Experience - Set the operating model for how people advisory and culture work gets prioritized, resourced, and measured, and hold your part of the team accountable for outcomes. - Own delivery of a great employee experience end to end - from day to day moment, to milestone. - Partner closely with Office & Community to ensure our offices and company events foster cohesion and reflect our culture. - Be a regular, visible, hands-on presence - someone who proactively checks in, has informal conversations, and knows what's really going on with people. - Help make sure our culture and sense of connection reach people consistently, wherever they're working from. - Proactively identify and address employee concerns, creating a positive and inclusive work environment. - Act as a role model for company values and culture, ensuring alignment across all people practices. - Lead key culture and talent projects to support our scaling efforts. Qualifications: - Significant experience in a senior HRBP role, ideally in a fast-paced tech scaleup. - Demonstrated experience building and running employee culture & engagement programs. - Hands-on experience delivering learning programs and team effectiveness initiatives (strongly preferred). - Experience with organizational design, workforce planning, and succession planning in a fast-growing company. - Experience building connections across both in-office and remote or distributed teams. - Knowledge of European labor law is a significant advantage, especially of some of our operating countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Switzerland). - Demonstrated experience being a visible, hands-on presence for employees at all levels. - Strong coaching and counseling capabilities. - Proven experience managing and developing a team, given this role's direct people-management responsibility. - Excellent problem-solving skills paired with genuine people orientation. - Exceptional interpersonal skills with the ability to build trust and credibility at every level of the organization, from new joiners to leadership. - Comfortable operating at startup pace: fast-moving, with minimal structural support. - Strong strategic thinking, paired with high energy, warmth, and a proactive, roll-up-your-sleeves mindset. - Fluency in English required; German fluency is a strong plus. - Tech-savvy, with hands-on experience using AI tools to work smarter. Location This role is based in either our Amsterdam or Eindhoven office. In both cases you will need to be in the Eindhoven office three days a week and work from Zurich 3-4 days a month. Additional travel to other office locations can be discussed in consultation with your manager. What we offer  This is your chance to shape and be part of a dynamic, fast-growing, international organization. We offer an attractive compensation package, including a pension plan, extensive employee insurances and the option to get company shares.  An open culture that supports creativity and continual innovation is awaiting you. Collaborative ownership and freedom with responsibility is characteristic for the way we act and work as a team.  At Axelera AI, we wholeheartedly embrace equal opportunity and hold diversity in the highest regard. Our steadfast commitment is to cultivate a warm and inclusive environment that empowers and celebrates every member of our team. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds to join us in shaping the future of AI.