---
title: 'Director of People at Astro Mechanica'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-people-astro-mechanica-san-francisco-txphtjqbbpxh'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-17'
---

# Director of People at Astro Mechanica

- **Company:** Astro Mechanica
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Compensation:** $235k–$285k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-10-13
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/astro-mechanica/3a65e213-277a-4b81-9119-c8db593bcf1b

## Job description

## ABOUT US:

Astro Mechanica is a vertically integrated aerospace company developing a scalable technology platform to power critical infrastructure, mission operations, and the future of flight. We apply aerospace engineering and quality standards across our products, delivering high performance, reliability, and efficiency for the most demanding operating environments. Astro Mechanica is backed by leading venture and strategic investors, including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Giant Step Capital, United Airlines Ventures, and Voyager Ventures.

## WHO WE ARE:

We’re a team of passionate engineers dedicated to advancing aerospace. We’re generalists with specialist depth, united by a flat structure and a shared obsession with building things that work well. We move fast, stay pragmatic, and let engineering excellence speak louder than hierarchy.

## WHO YOU ARE:

You’re a seasoned People leader who combines strategic perspective, business acumen, and operational rigor. You’ve built in early-stage environments and led at scale, and know how to translate business priorities into effective teams, programs, and systems. You know what great looks like—and how to build toward it through practical, iterative steps. You earn trust through sound judgment, clear communication, and reliable follow-through. You’re as comfortable managing a benefits renewal, resolving an employee issue, or fixing a workflow as you are advising leaders and designing programs.

## WHAT YOU’LL DO:

Shape the People strategy and roadmap

- Partner with the Head of People and leadership to translate business goals into a focused People roadmap
- Help define our People philosophy, operating rhythms, decision-making practices, and measures of success
- Deliver priority initiatives, iterate with feedback, and identify when to add specialist expertise and team capacity

Build programs that enable performance and growth

- Design, launch, and administer programs across performance, manager development, career growth, and engagement, including communications, manager resources, and follow-through
- Support compensation planning, market benchmarking, and review cycles in partnership with the Head of People and Finance
- Equip managers to set expectations, give feedback, and build an employee-first culture with high standards and accountability

Establish reliable People operations

- Own day-to-day employee lifecycle operations, including onboarding, offboarding, and benefits administration—from employment documentation and triaging questions to open enrollment, renewals, and vendor coordination
- Establish and maintain multi-state HR compliance practices, proactively identifying gaps and partnering with Legal, Finance, and external advisors to address risk as the company grows
- Manage and continuously improve Rippling, employee records, workflows, and reporting, building scalable processes and applying thoughtful automation to improve accuracy, reduce administrative work, and deliver a consistent employee experience

Partner with leaders and employees

- Advise leaders on team structure, talent planning, and organizational change
- Provide day-to-day guidance on policies and performance; manage sensitive matters with discretion and sound judgment, partnering with the Head of People and/or counsel as needed
- Synthesize qualitative and quantitative data, employee feedback, and management insights to inform People priorities and organizational decisions

## WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:

- 10+ years of progressive HR experience spanning People strategy, operations, programs, and business partnership, including building in resource-constrained startups and leading at scale
- Relevant hands-on experience managing employee lifecycle processes, benefits administration, HR systems, and multi-state compliance, with accountability for both accurate execution and continuous improvement
- A track record of establishing scalable processes and programs that evolve with the business
- Excellent judgment, business acumen, and communication skills, with demonstrated success advising senior leaders, navigating complex people decisions, and translating business priorities into effective organizational practices. Strong grounding in multi-state compliance and operational risk
- Experience leading teams, managing vendors and external partners, and delivering complex initiatives from strategy through execution. You’re equally comfortable setting direction, developing others, and launching programs—and thrive in the details and hands-on work that make them successful

## PERKS & BENEFITS:

- Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance, including Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
- 401(k) program and transparent stock option plan
- Self-managed and flexible time-off policy, including PTO, paid holidays, and sick time
- Flexible work environment

## ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

At Astro Mechanica, we highly value in-office work to foster collaboration and strengthen our company culture. We consider working in the office five days a week an essential part of the employee's role. Astro Mechanica is an equal opportunity employer. We proudly recruit and hire a diverse workforce and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

## About Astro Mechanica

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Astro Mechanica is building the world’s first turboelectric adaptive jet engine (Duality) that achieves high efficiency across both subsonic and supersonic speeds, aiming to democratize high-speed flight.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Venture-backed; latest round: Series A-II / Venture Round in September 2025)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2021
- **Founders**: Ian Brooke (CEO & Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Aerospace, aviation propulsion, defense systems
- **Target customers**: US government (military and defense applications), commercial aviation (long-term), cargo/logistics
- **Mission/purpose**: “Democratize high-speed flight by making supersonic travel flexible, accessible, and sustainable” – developing rapid, on-demand, point-to-point global mobility.

## Products & Services
- **Duality™ Propulsion System**: A proprietary dual-use turboelectric adaptive jet engine designed to be efficient at all speeds from subsonic to supersonic. Currently in development and expected to begin altitude testing in 2027 on a dedicated testbed aircraft.
- **Airframe & Flight Systems**: Vertically integrated design of airframes and flight control systems optimized for the Duality engine, with near-term focus on government contracts.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – **$54.7 million** as of the latest venture round in September 2025 (LinkedIn data; earlier reports by CBInsights indicated $27.6 million, likely reflecting a prior round)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: United Airlines Ventures (lead investor in latest round), Andreessen Horowitz, Giant Step Capital, Y Combinator (seed)
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew **228.6% year-over-year** to ~35 employees; **36 active job postings** as of mid-2025; rapid hiring across engineering, manufacturing, and leadership roles; moving toward engine flight test in 2027.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unique engine architecture**: The turboelectric adaptive design allows a single engine to operate efficiently from subsonic to supersonic regimes, removing the need for afterburners or separate engines.
- **Vertical integration**: In-house engine, airframe, and flight systems development enables tight optimization and rapid iteration.
- **Flat engineering culture**: Described as “generalists with specialist depth” and a flat structure that accelerates decision-making and innovation.

## Strategic Focus
- **Near-term**: Engine altitude testing (scheduled for 2027) and securing US government contracts for high-speed systems.
- **Long-term**: Develop a full aircraft platform and operational model for economically viable supersonic commercial travel.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Emphasis on engineering excellence, pragmatism, and moving fast. Flat hierarchy where “engineering speaks louder than hierarchy.”
- **Work policy**: Hybrid environment – most roles are based in San Francisco with a mix of in-office and remote collaboration. The majority of job listings specify “In-Office” at the HQ.
- **Notable perks**: Not explicitly listed, but the company offers equity (typical for startups) and the opportunity to work on groundbreaking aerospace technology from concept to flight.
- **Engineering focus**: Strong technical team with talent from SpaceX, Relativity Space, Boom Supersonic, Lockheed Martin, and Astra. Active hiring in propulsion, flight software, GNC, test engineering, and manufacturing.

## Sources
1. [astromecha.co](https://www.astromecha.co/)
2. [astromecha.co/careers](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/astro-mechanica)
3. [linkedin.com/company/astro-mechanica](https://www.linkedin.com/company/astro-mechanica)
4. [cbinsights.com/company/astro-mechanica](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/astro-mechanica)
5. [builtin.com/company/astro-mechanica](https://builtin.com/company/astro-mechanica)

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