---
title: 'People Operations Specialist at Constellation Institute'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/people-operations-specialist-constellation-institute-berkeley-86rnkdr8xq7d'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-10'
---

# People Operations Specialist at Constellation Institute

- **Company:** Constellation Institute
- **Location:** Berkeley, CA
- **Compensation:** $100k–$120k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-04
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-10
- **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/constellation-institute/am9icG9zdDonxB7gYBcq1IolOXN6EMvC

## Job description

## About the role

The AI safety field needs more capacity, capability, and cooperation to safely navigate transformative AI. Constellation builds all three — by mobilizing talent, incubating projects and organizations, and convening the people working on this problem. Supporting all of this requires an internal People Operations (People Ops) function that runs smoothly, scales with the organization, and gives our team a great employee experience from day one.

We're looking for a People Operations Specialist to join our People team. This role is the operational backbone of our People function. You'll support the day-to-day execution of onboarding, HRIS, benefits, and compliance, while also lending support to recruiting/talent operations and immigration administration as needed. This is a great fit for someone who wants broad exposure across the full employee lifecycle, enjoys detail-oriented execution, and is excited to build systems in a fast-moving, mission-driven organization.

## Key responsibilities

Core People Operations

- Own end-to-end onboarding and offboarding logistics, ensuring new hires have a smooth start and departing employees are supported through a clean transition.
- Maintain and continuously improve our HRIS, ensuring employee data is accurate, well-organized, and audit-ready.
- Support employee benefits programs, including enrollment, questions, and vendor coordination in partnership with the HR Lead.
- Support policy development and maintenance, and help ensure the organization stays compliant with applicable employment laws and regulations.
- Manage People Ops documentation, processes, and internal resources (e.g., employee handbook, FAQs, process guides).
- Identify opportunities to streamline and systematize People Ops workflows as the organization scales.

Immigration & Legal Administration

- Track visa and immigration case timelines and deadlines.
- Liaise with outside immigration counsel to coordinate documentation, filings, and employee communications (operational support, not case management).
- Support contract and compliance administration, including tracking offer letters, employment agreements, and policy acknowledgments in partnership with legal counsel.

Recruiting & Talent Operations Support

- Support with scheduling, candidate communications, and onsite/interview coordination as needed.
- Help maintain applicant tracking system (ATS) hygiene and recruiting data.
- Assist with candidate experience touchpoints, such as greeting onsite candidates and helping them navigate the Constellation ecosystem.

## Skills & experience

- Experience in People Operations, HR, or a related administrative/coordination role, with a track record of managing detailed processes accurately and on time
- Highly organized with meticulous attention to detail — you notice the small things that keep processes from breaking.
- Comfortable wearing multiple hats and shifting between core People Ops work, administrative coordination, and recruiting support as priorities shift.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, and you bring warmth and professionalism to every employee and candidate interaction.
- A self-starter who's comfortable with ambiguity and enjoys building or improving processes rather than just following existing ones.
- Some familiarity with HRIS systems, ATS platforms, or similar tools (or you pick up new systems quickly).

Nice-to-Have

- Experience managing immigration cases or complex compliance matters.
- Experience designing or restructuring People Ops processes/systems.
- Exposure to multi-state or multi-country employment compliance.
- Experience administering an HRIS e.g. Rippling.

You might be a good fit if you:

- Are mission-aligned and values-driven, with a genuine interest in helping humanity safely navigate the development of transformative AI.
- Find satisfaction in creating order from complexity and following through reliably.
- Are eager to learn and grow your skills over time.
- Enjoy a people-facing role that blends structure with flexibility.

## Compensation & Benefits

The base pay range for this role is $100,000 – $120,000 per year.

## About Constellation Institute

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Constellation Institute is a non-profit independent research center that develops talent, supports key organizations, and creates coordination space to ensure transformative AI is developed, deployed, and governed safely.
- **Entity Type**: Private (501(c)3 Nonprofit)
- **Headquarters**: Berkeley, California, United States
- **Founded**: Not publicly available (likely recent, based on operational trajectory)
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary Industry**: AI Safety & Security Research, Talent Development, Field Building
- **Target Customers**: Researchers, founders, and organizations working on AI safety; the broader AI safety ecosystem (nonprofits, academia, industry, government)
- **Mission/Purpose**: To ensure transformative AI is developed, deployed, and governed safely by reducing risks through talent development, supporting key players, and creating space for coordination [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)

## Products & Services
- **Astra Fellowship**: A fully-funded, in-person program pairing emerging researchers with senior advisors in technical safety, governance, strategy, or field-building [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Visiting Fellowship**: A lightly-structured 3–6 month funded fellowship for full-time AI safety researchers to connect with the Constellation network and work from the Berkeley research center [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Generator Residency**: A three-month, in-person residency for AI safety generalists starting in Summer 2026 [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Incubator**: Office space, operational support, and access to an expert network for the next wave of organizations working on advanced AI risks [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)
- **Research Center**: An independent research center in Berkeley, CA where exceptional researchers, forecasters, and operators collaborate on the hardest problems in AI safety and security [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)
- **Convening Programs**: Curated events to upskill talent, build shared understanding, and strengthen collaboration across the field [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not applicable (Nonprofit)
- **Annual Revenue**: Not publicly available (nonprofit, funded by donations/grants)
- **Total Funding**: Not disclosed (nonprofit, 501(c)3 status confirmed)
- **Headcount**: **43 employees** with a monthly headcount growth of **+18.4%** [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: No formal investors; network includes talent sourced from top AI safety organizations (Redwood Research, MATS Research, FAR.AI, GovAI, Center for AI Safety, University of Cambridge) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Growth Signals**: 12 active job postings; monthly job posting growth of +20.0%; LinkedIn follower growth of +10.3% per month; workforce distributed across 5 countries (US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Poland) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Network-First Model**: Deeply embedded in the AI safety ecosystem, regularly collaborating with top researchers and thought leaders
- **Field-Building Focus**: Not just research—actively incubates new organizations and places talent in high-impact roles, creating moats through ecosystem ownership
- **Beautiful Physical Workspace**: Operates a dedicated research center in Berkeley, providing a unique collaborative environment for in-person work [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Full-Stack Support**: Covers the entire lifecycle of AI safety work—from talent identification and fellowship training to organizational incubation and scaling

## Strategic Focus
- **Current Priorities**: Scaling up the talent pipeline (Astra Fellowship, Generator Residency), incubating new organizations, and facilitating field-wide coordination. Strong emphasis on in-person collaboration at the Berkeley research center.
- **Direction for Growth**: Expanding the number of fellows and residents, broadening the range of research supported (from technical safety to policy and governance), and deepening connections across the global AI safety community [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/about)

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission-driven, friendly team deeply driven by the work; regular collaboration with top AI safety researchers and thought leaders [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Remote/Hybrid Policy**: Not explicitly stated, but the emphasis on the "beautiful physical workspace" in Berkeley and in-person programs suggests a strong preference for on-site work; however, the workforce is distributed across 5 countries, indicating some remote flexibility [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
- **Perks**:
  - Flexible time-off policy that encourages regular recharging
  - Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance
  - Generous 401(k) employer match
  - Employer-paid commuter stipend (public transportation + on-site parking)
  - Delicious, healthy lunches and dinners every weekday, plus unlimited snacks & drinks [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Hiring Process**: Transparent and respectful—phone screen, work test reflecting actual job tasks, interviews with teammates, and a focus on mission alignment [constellation.org](https://constellation.org/careers)
- **Engineering/Hiring Focus**: Currently hiring for operations, program coordination, events, IT/data, facilities, and talent mobilization roles; strong focus on generalists and operators who care about AI safety [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)

## Sources
1. [Constellation Institute Careers Page](https://constellation.org/careers)
2. [Constellation Institute Homepage](https://constellation.org/)
3. [Constellation Institute About Page](https://constellation.org/about)
4. [Constellation Institute LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/constellation-institute)
5. [Built In Company Profile](https://builtin.com/company/constellation-institute)

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