--- title: 'Head of People Operations at Heron Power' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/head-of-people-operations-heron-power-scotts-valley-w6j1waf56azk' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-12' --- # Head of People Operations at Heron Power - **Company:** Heron Power - **Location:** Scotts Valley, CA - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-09-09 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12 - **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/heron-power/81d4e616-3028-469b-a29a-d5f97d7dc301 ## Job description What to Expect Heron Power is a startup building cutting-edge power electronics for the 21st-century grid. We aim to debottleneck the growth of electricity generation and consumption with scalable, innovative, and cost-effective hardware solutions, accelerating the electrification of everything. Our first goal is to build better converters (inverters & rectifiers) to connect large-scale renewables, storage, and loads to the grid. Heron’s leadership team is made up of seasoned veterans who have designed and shipped gigawatts of power conversion products. We believe no one person knows everything. We learn together, build together, and solve hard problems from first principles. You’ll work in a fast-moving, deeply technical environment where ownership and impact are real. Job Overview We are seeking a Head of People Operations to serve as Heron Power’s first dedicated HR hire. Reporting to the VP of Finance & Operations, you will help build the people operations foundation for a company scaling from R&D into manufacturing. You will own HR operations, payroll administration, benefits, compliance, employee relations, and manager support, while implementing the systems and policies needed to support a growing non-exempt and hourly workforce. This is a hands-on, high impact role that will influence Heron Power’s culture for years to come. ## How You Will Contribute Employee Lifecycle - Own employee onboarding, background checks, immigration with outside counsel, I-9 verification, and new hire orientation - Manage offboarding, including final pay coordination, exit interviews, systems deprovisioning, and documentation - Coordinate performance review cycles, promotions, job changes, and salary adjustments in partnership with Finance and leadership - Support contractor onboarding, renewals, and offboarding in partnership with Legal and Finance Payroll, Benefits & Systems - Prepare payroll for salaried and hourly employees in partnership with Finance - Lead benefits evaluation, annual renewals, open enrollment, and day-to-day administration - Manage HR systems and lead necessary transitions and integrations in partnership with IT - Build scalable timekeeping, attendance, scheduling, and wage-and-hour processes ahead of manufacturing ramp HR Business Partnership & Compliance - Serve as the first point of contact for employee relations, manager coaching, performance concerns, investigations, and HR cases - Maintain the employee handbook, HR policies, required trainings, employee records, and compliance calendar - Partner with Compliance/EHS on workers’ compensation, OSHA-related processes, safety training, and injury reporting ## What You Will Bring We have a short list of must-have requirements. We prioritize a strong grip on first principles, hands-on skills, and a sense of initiative. Domain-specific knowledge and experience will help determine the career level for each hire. Must-Have Requirements - Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience - 7+ years of progressive HR / people operations experience, including senior-level responsibility at a high-growth company - Hands-on experience running payroll, including non-exempt/hourly staff - Experience owning HRIS and payroll systems, including implementations and integrations with third-party tools - Exceptional discretion, judgment, and communication skills — employees at every level trust you with sensitive matters - Strong knowledge of federal and California employment law Nice-to-Haves - Prior experience as the first or early HR hire at a Series A–C company - Experience supporting a scaling manufacturing, warehouse or hourly workforce - PHR, SPHR, or SHRM-CP/SCP certification If you are passionate about technology and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, we would love to hear from you. Join us in accelerating the electrification of everything at Heron Power. Heron Power provides competitive compensation (salary and equity) and benefits. The salary for this role ranges from $195,000 to $251,000 per year. ## About Heron Power ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Heron Power develops next-generation medium-voltage power electronics, including solid-state transformers, to modernize the electrical grid for AI data centers, renewable energy, and surging electricity demand. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B) - **Headquarters**: Scotts Valley, California, United States - **Founded**: 2024 - **Founders**: Drew Baglino ## Core Business - **Primary industry/industries**: Electric Power Transmission, Control, and Distribution; Industrial Power Electronics; Energy Infrastructure - **Target customers**: B2B — hyperscale data center operators, solar and storage developers, utility-scale energy project developers, and the broader electricity sector. - **Mission or purpose statement**: To build power electronics purpose-built for the 21st-century grid, helping the electricity sector grow faster and more affordably with scalable, reliable, and software-integrated infrastructure. ## Products & Services - **Heron Link for Data Centers**: An integrated solid-state transformer + SuperBBU (battery backup unit) solution purpose-built for AI and hyperscale power needs, enabling more efficient, scalable, and reliable power delivery. - **Heron Link for Solar & Storage**: An integrated solid-state transformer and inverter in one infinitely scalable platform, designed to streamline the connection of renewable generation and battery storage to the grid. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed. - **Key Metric**: Total Funding of **$178 million** across two rounds (Series A: $38M led by Capricorn Investment Group in June 2025; Series B: $140M led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz in February 2026). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: - **Investors**: Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz (American Dynamism Fund), Capricorn Investment Group, Gigascale Capital, Valor Equity Partners, Energy Impact Partners, Powerhouse. - **Advisors**: JB Straubel (Tesla Co-Founder), Zach Kirkhorn (Former Tesla CFO). - **Strategic Partner**: LG Energy Solution Vertech (collaboration to integrate Heron Link with U.S.-manufactured battery energy storage systems). - **Growth Signals**: - Headcount has grown **975% year-over-year** to 72 employees, with 58 active job postings. - Awarded **$26.375 million** in tax credit incentives from the state of California to build a 40-gigawatt manufacturing facility and create 600+ advanced manufacturing jobs. - Rapidly scaling from engineering prototypes to early customer deployments with major industry partners. ## Competitive Advantages - **Deep technical moat**: Heron’s core technology is an integrated solid-state transformer (SST) — a fundamental re-architecture of medium-voltage power electronics that is more scalable, software-integrated, and efficient than traditional copper-and-iron transformers. - **Founder pedigree**: CEO Drew Baglino was a 18-year veteran and SVP of Powertrain and Energy at Tesla, where he led development of the 4680 battery cell, Megapack, and built multi-billion-dollar energy and charging businesses. - **Strategic backing**: Backed by a world-class syndicate of climate-tech and deep-tech investors (Breakthrough Energy, a16z, Valor) and advised by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel and former Tesla CFO Zach Kirkhorn. - **Manufacturing-first approach**: Already planning a 40 GW U.S. manufacturing facility with state incentives secured, signaling a focus on high-volume, cost-competitive production from the start. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale manufacturing**: Building out a large-scale U.S. factory to meet demand from AI data centers and renewable energy projects. - **Commercial deployment**: Moving from engineering prototypes to delivering integrated solutions with strategic partners like LG Energy Solution Vertech. - **Debottleneck the grid**: Targeting the critical infrastructure bottleneck where traditional transformers and grid equipment cannot keep pace with surging electricity demand from AI, electrification, and renewables. ## Why Work Here - **High-impact mission**: Work on foundational hardware that directly enables the energy transition and AI infrastructure — systems that will be deployed and operated for decades. - **Engineering culture**: Values rapid iteration ("build, test, learn"), first-principles reasoning, and cross-functional collaboration across hardware, software, manufacturing, and operations. - **Ownership and autonomy**: Strong emphasis on taking accountability for outcomes, not just tasks, and working across team boundaries to deliver an impeccable product. - **Transparent and direct**: Culture prizes clear communication, honest feedback, and progress over posturing — "no defensiveness, no ego." - **Location and flexibility**: Based in Scotts Valley, California (near Santa Cruz/Silicon Valley), with a presence in Canada. The work is highly hands-on (hardware, lab, factory), so on-site presence is expected for engineering roles. - **Growth trajectory**: Explosive headcount growth (975% YoY) and 58 open roles across electrical, mechanical, manufacturing, software, and supply chain disciplines — offering significant career acceleration for early hires. - **Notable perks**: Opportunity to work alongside a team with deep expertise from Tesla, Meta, and KKR, with direct mentorship from a proven founder. ## Sources 1. [heronpower.com](https://heronpower.com/) 2. [heronpower.com/about](https://heronpower.com/about) 3. [heronpower.com/careers](https://heronpower.com/careers) 4. [linkedin.com/company/heron-power-electronics](https://www.linkedin.com/company/heron-power-electronics) 5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/heron-power](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/heron-power) ## Other roles at Heron Power - [Staff Industrial Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-industrial-designer-heron-power-scotts-valley-fpx59mmenp7f) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Accounting Manager/Senior Accounting Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/accounting-manager-senior-accounting-manager-heron-power-scotts-valley-fnvtfa8188q9) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Staff Supplier Industrialization Engineer - Mechanical](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-supplier-industrialization-engineer-mechanical-heron-power-scotts-valley-957jykeqt1bf) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Staff Supplier Industrialization Engineer - PCBA](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-supplier-industrialization-engineer-pcba-heron-power-scotts-valley-eva12vmsvtfh) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Hardware Validation Systems Developer](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-validation-systems-developer-heron-power-scotts-valley-rt7hhp0tqay6) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Test Engineer – Power Electronics](https://feeny.ai/job/test-engineer-power-electronics-heron-power-scotts-valley-68sp21xs5b1x) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Electrical / Electronics Design Engineer - PCBA Test Automation](https://feeny.ai/job/electrical-electronics-design-engineer-pcba-test-automation-heron-power-scotts-97hcjwyaz5kk) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Systems Integration Engineer, SST & BESS Applications](https://feeny.ai/job/systems-integration-engineer-sst-bess-applications-heron-power-scotts-valley-vgbkn6jhna14) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Senior Product Test Engineer, Energy Storage Applications](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-product-test-engineer-energy-storage-applications-heron-power-scotts-jpvdhkdth144) — Scotts Valley, CA - [Senior Hardware Applications Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hardware-applications-engineer-heron-power-scotts-valley-j87zqh31qfc9) — Scotts Valley, CA