--- title: 'Senior Human Resources Manager at Clockwork.io' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-human-resources-manager-clockwork-io-palo-alto-r3tgcbpk71tc' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-19' --- # Senior Human Resources Manager at Clockwork.io - **Company:** Clockwork.io - **Location:** Palo Alto, CA - **Posted:** 2026-09-28 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-19 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/clockworksystems/jobs/6139274004 ## Job description ## About Clockwork Systems Clockwork.io – Software Driven Fabrics to increase GPU cluster utilization Clockwork Systems was founded by Stanford researchers and veteran systems engineers who share a vision for redefining the foundations of distributed computing. As AI workloads grow increasingly complex, traditional infrastructure struggles to meet the demands of performance, reliability, and precise coordination. Clockwork is pioneering a software-driven approach to AI fabrics by delivering cross-stack observability to catch and quickly resolve problems, workload fault tolerance to keep jobs running through failures, and performance acceleration that dynamically routes and paces traffic to avoid congestion. To learn more, visit[www.clockwork.io](https://www.clockwork.io). ## About Clockwork Systems Clockwork.io – Software Driven Fabrics to increase GPU cluster utilization Clockwork Systems was founded by Stanford researchers and veteran systems engineers who share a vision for redefining the foundations of distributed computing. As AI workloads grow increasingly complex, traditional infrastructure struggles to meet the demands of performance, reliability, and precise coordination. Clockwork is pioneering a software-driven approach to AI fabrics by delivering cross-stack observability to catch and quickly resolve problems, workload fault tolerance to keep jobs running through failures, and performance acceleration that dynamically routes and paces traffic to avoid congestion. To learn more, visit www.clockwork.io. ## About the Role As our Senior HR Manager, you'll be the cornerstone of Clockwork's people function. This is a high-impact, hands-on role for someone who thrives in the builder phase: you'll own the full HR lifecycle, elevate our people programs, and serve as a trusted partner to leadership and employees alike. You'll work closely with our executive team to shape the culture, policies, and infrastructure that will carry us through our next phase of growth — including our teams in the U.S. and UK. ## What You'll Do People Operations - Own end-to-end HR operations: onboarding, offboarding, employee lifecycle management, and HRIS administration. - Partner with our PEO on payroll, benefits administration, and HR compliance. - Serve as the primary point of contact for employee relations, resolving issues with empathy, fairness, and good judgment. Programs & Policy - Design, implement, and continuously improve HR policies, employee handbooks, and operational processes that scale with the company. - Lead compensation benchmarking, benefits strategy, and rewards programs to keep Clockwork competitive in the AI/infrastructure talent market. - Build and deliver onboarding, training, and manager development programs that reinforce our values and accelerate employee effectiveness. Compliance & Legal - Ensure compliance with federal, California, and UK employment laws and regulations. - Oversee employment-based immigration programs (H-1B, green cards, etc.) in partnership with outside counsel. - Proactively identify compliance risks and implement controls before they become problems. Strategic Partnership - Partner with leadership on workforce planning, org design, and headcount strategy as we scale. - Track and report on people metrics (attrition, engagement, hiring velocity) and surface actionable insights. - Support our UK employees with region-appropriate HR programs and compliance requirements. - Contribute to culture-building initiatives, DEI programs, and employee engagement. ## What We're Looking For - 8–10+ years of progressive HR experience, with meaningful time in high-growth startup or scale-up environments. - Demonstrated ability to build HR programs from scratch — not just maintain existing ones. - Deep knowledge of California and U.S. employment law; familiarity with UK employment law is a strong plus. - Hands-on experience with compensation benchmarking, benefits administration, employee relations, performance management, and onboarding. - Familiarity with employment-based immigration processes (H-1B, PERM, etc.). - Experience working with PEOs and HRIS systems (e.g., Rippling, Gusto, BambooHR, or similar). - Excellent judgment, discretion, and the ability to navigate ambiguity with confidence. - Strong communicator who can build trust with engineers, executives, and everyone in between. - Prior experience at a technical company or AI/infrastructure startup is a plus — you don't need to know how GPUs work, but you should be comfortable in that environment. ## Why Clockwork - You'll be the owner — not a coordinator — of a people function that genuinely matters. - Competitive compensation, equity, and benefits. - An exceptional team solving hard, important problems at the intersection of AI and infrastructure. - Palo Alto HQ with catered meals and a collaborative, low-ego culture. - The chance to shape the HR foundations of a company at an inflection point. Enjoy - Challenging projects. - A friendly and inclusive workplace culture. - Competitive compensation. - A great benefits package. - Catered lunches. Compensation for this position will vary based on the skills and experience you bring, as well as internal equity considerations. For candidates hired at the posted level, the expected base salary range is $140,000 - $180,000. The offered compensation package may also include stock options or other equity awards, subject to Clockwork’s equity program and applicable approvals. In addition to cash compensation, this role is eligible to participate in the company’s equity program, which may include stock options granted in accordance with the company’s equity plan and subject to approval and applicable vesting schedules. Clockwork Systems is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building world-class teams by welcoming bright, passionate individuals from all backgrounds. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status. We believe diversity drives innovation, and we grow stronger together. ## About Clockwork.io ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Clockwork builds software-driven AI fabrics that optimize GPU clusters for fault tolerance, deterministic performance, and higher utilization, working across any network (InfiniBand, RoCE, Ethernet) and any GPU vendor. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series B) - **Headquarters**: Palo Alto, California, United States - **Founded**: 2018 (originally founded as Tick Tock Networks, renamed Clockwork Systems in 2021) - **Founders**: Balaji Prabhakar, Yilong Geng, Deepak Merugu, Suresh Vasudevan (CEO), Mendel Rosenblum (Chief Scientist) ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: AI infrastructure / data center networking / GPU cluster optimization - **Target customers**: B2B, targeting hyperscalers, cloud providers, enterprises, and AI labs running large-scale distributed training and inference workloads - **Mission/purpose**: To eliminate communication bottlenecks in AI fabrics, making AI workloads resilient, performant, and efficient — all through software alone. ## Products & Services - **Clockwork FleetIQ**: A software-driven AI fabric that improves GPU cluster utilization and job completion times by 1.1–1.5x, reduces disruptive failures by over 90%, and provides observability, fault tolerance, and dynamic traffic control. Works across any network and GPU vendor. - **Clockwork TorchPass**: A fault-tolerance framework for AI training that, according to a SemiAnalysis report, is the only approach that does not degrade training performance, recovering millions in wasted compute annually. - **Live GPU Migration**: Introduced in June 2026, enables AI workloads to continue running through failures by migrating GPU state live, minimizing downtime. - **Global Clock Sync**: Software-based near-nanosecond clock synchronization across distributed components, enabling precise telemetry and one-way delay measurement. - **Distributed State Transfer**: Captures and transfers distributed network/communication state (model parameters, NCCL communicators, etc.) to support path failover and live GPU migration. - **Dynamic Traffic Control**: Programmable traffic steering and pacing at the packet level to relieve congestion and bound tail latencies. ## Market Standing - **Total Funding**: $41.5M raised (Series B, with $20.5M raised approximately 10 months prior to June 2026) - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed - **Notable Investors**: Lead Series A investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Individual investors include Lip Bu Tan (CEO of Intel), Diane Greene (former CEO of VMware), John Chambers (former CEO/Executive Chairman of Cisco), John Hennessy (former President of Stanford, Chairman of Alphabet), Ram Shriram (Trustee of Stanford and Alphabet), Jerry Yang (AME Cloud Ventures, co-founder of Yahoo!). - **Growth Signals**: Launched "You Only Compute Once" (YOCO) contractual commitment to end GPU waste; TorchPass validated by SemiAnalysis; released Live GPU Migration capability; active hiring with 9 open roles across engineering, sales, and solutions engineering; CEO interview in June 2026. ## Competitive Advantages - **Vendor-neutral software-only approach**: Operates across any network fabric (InfiniBand, RoCE, Ethernet) and any GPU vendor — no proprietary hardware required. - **Foundational research from Stanford**: The Huygens clock synchronization system, developed by co-founder Yilong Geng during his PhD, provides near-nanosecond precision that underpins the entire platform. - **Unique fault-tolerance without performance loss**: TorchPass is claimed to be the only fault-tolerance framework that does not cost training performance, according to third-party analysis. - **Live GPU migration**: Allows workloads to survive failures by moving GPU state in real time, a capability not commonly available in competing solutions. - **Strong advisory network**: Backed by luminaries like Diane Greene, John Chambers, and John Hennessy, providing deep industry credibility. ## Strategic Focus - **Scale product adoption**: Expanding from early hyperscaler and enterprise deployments to broader market, with a focus on large-scale AI clusters. - **Deepen observability and automation**: Continuing to enhance the observe-decide-act control loop for autonomic collective communications. - **Expand global sales and partnerships**: Hiring senior account executives in Europe and solutions engineers in New York, indicating geographic expansion. - **Build finance and marketing infrastructure**: Recent hires include VP of Finance Alison Qu and VP of Growth Marketing Anita Pandey, signaling preparation for further growth. ## Why Work Here - **High-impact problem**: Solving fundamental communication bottlenecks in AI infrastructure, directly affecting GPU utilization and job completion times for the largest AI workloads. - **Strong leadership**: CEO Suresh Vasudevan previously led Nimble Storage from startup to IPO and acquisition by HPE, and was CEO of Sysdig. Co-founders include Stanford professors and VMware co-founder Mendel Rosenblum. - **Culture**: Emphasizes that "Behind every packet, there’s a person." Perks include free lunch, free gym, TGIFs, and comprehensive benefits. - **Work policy**: Mix of onsite (Palo Alto, San Francisco) and remote (e.g., New York) roles, with most engineering roles onsite. - **Recent funding and growth**: Series B stage with $41.5M raised and active hiring indicates strong runway and momentum. ## Sources 1. [clockwork.io/about-us](https://clockwork.io/about-us/) 2. [clockwork.io](https://clockwork.io/) 3. [clockwork.io/careers](https://clockwork.io/careers/) 4. [greenhouse.io - job board](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/clockworksystems/jobs/5870086004) 5. [cbinsights.com - Clockwork profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/clockwork-3) ## Other roles at Clockwork.io - [Senior Systems Engineer - AI Infrastructure](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-systems-engineer-ai-infrastructure-clockwork-io-palo-alto-6p897t3tqrda) — Palo Alto, CA - [Senior Software Engineer, TorchPass Product Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-torchpass-product-engineering-clockwork-io-palo-alto-8c6j4p73f2n5) — Palo Alto, CA - [Senior HPC Developer - RDMA Networking](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-hpc-developer-rdma-networking-clockwork-io-palo-alto-eqz2f7jqd9n0) — Palo Alto, CA - [Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-clockwork-io-palo-alto-4nv80gmv4jzd) — Palo Alto, CA - [Software Engineer Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-intern-clockwork-io-palo-alto-ww7d3e4tvcba) — Palo Alto, CA - [Software Development Engineer in Test](https://feeny.ai/job/software-development-engineer-in-test-clockwork-io-palo-alto-vh0c96bkfx1e) — Palo Alto, CA - [Senior Software Engineer – Network Observability](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-network-observability-clockwork-io-palo-alto-r2gff7gbgpjx) — Palo Alto, CA - [Senior Software Engineer – Time Synchronization](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-time-synchronization-clockwork-io-palo-alto-b3j0fz4jpytv) — Palo Alto, CA - [Senior Human Resources Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-human-resources-manager-atoms-dallas-xcctxzcfrpsc) — Dallas, TX - [Senior Human Resources Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-human-resources-manager-bankjoy-united-states-wdfrpf5zkkx4) — United States