Director of Human Resources

Noda

Director of HR leading talent acquisition and HR operations for a defense technology company. Responsible for building people strategy and culture in a fast-moving environment.

Posted 4/29/2026full-timeAustin • Texas • 🇺🇸 United StatesLeadWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Own end-to-end recruiting across engineering, mission, growth, and G&A functions, including roles requiring security clearances
Personally source, screen, and close candidates while building the systems, tooling, and pipelines that scale recruiting beyond a single hire at a time
Design and run the interview process — scorecards, debriefs, calibration, and offer strategy
Build relationships with cleared talent communities, military transition programs, and defense-friendly technical pipelines
Manage external recruiting partners and search firms as needed for specialized roles
Establish recruiting metrics and reporting that make hiring legible to the founding team and hiring managers
Design and own NODA’s compensation philosophy, salary bands, and equity framework appropriate to a venture-backed defense startup
Manage benefits programs including health, dental, vision, 401(k), leave, and ancillary benefits, including annual renewal and broker management
Benchmark compensation across defense, technology, and cleared talent markets to keep NODA competitive
Lead the offer process in partnership with hiring managers and finance, balancing candidate expectations with internal equity and budget
Stand up the HRIS, ATS, and supporting systems that scale with the team
Own onboarding, offboarding, employee records, and the day-to-day operational rhythm of HR
Establish HR policies, the employee handbook, and people processes appropriate for a federal contractor
Ensure compliance with federal contractor obligations including OFCCP, AAP, EEO, E-Verify, and applicable state and federal employment law
Partner with the security team on personnel security workflows, clearance-related HR processes, and the cleared employee lifecycle
Serve as a strategic thought partner to the founding team on org design, headcount planning, and people decisions
Build the performance, feedback, and development practices that fit NODA’s stage and culture
Develop manager enablement and leadership development as the team grows
Help define and protect the cultural elements that make NODA the team it is today

Requirements

What you’ll need

Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business, or related field, or equivalent experience
8+ years of progressive HR experience, including dedicated time in both recruiting and HR generalist or HR operations roles
Direct, hands-on full-cycle recruiting experience for technical roles
Experience designing or managing benefits programs and working with brokers on annual renewals
Working knowledge of federal and state employment law
Strong written and verbal communication, including comfort engaging with engineers, executives, and candidates
U.S. citizenship with ability to obtain a security clearance.
Prior people leader or HR Director experience at a venture-backed startup, ideally as the first dedicated HR hire
Recruiting experience for defense, aerospace, or cleared technical roles
Familiarity with federal contractor HR compliance obligations including OFCCP, AAP, and E-Verify
Experience designing compensation philosophy and equity frameworks at an early-stage company
Prior military, government, or defense industry exposure
SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, or SPHR certification
Existing security clearance

Benefits

Comp & perks

Hybrid work environment
Competitive pay
Flexible time off
Generous PTO policy
Federal holidays
Generous health, dental, and vision benefits
Free OneMedical membership
401(k)

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

full-cycle recruitingbenefits program managementcompensation philosophy designHRIS managementATS managementemployee onboardingemployee offboardingHR policy establishmentperformance managementleadership development

Soft Skills

communicationrelationship buildingstrategic thinkingorganizational skillscollaborationproblem-solvingadaptabilityleadershipnegotiationpeople management

Certifications

SHRM-CPSHRM-SCPPHRSPHR