Vice President, People & Talent

About the Company Armada is the hyperscaler for the edge, delivering modular AI infrastructure from first deployment to AI factory with speed, scale and sovereignty. Named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies and to the CNBC Disruptor 50, Armada’s solutions are deployed in over 60 countries globally for organizations ranging from energy to defense. With nearly $500 million in funding to date, Armada is backed by leading investors including Founders Fund, Lux, BlackRock and Microsoft (M12), alongside strategic partnerships with Microsoft, Dell, Palantir, NVIDIA, SpaceX, and Skydio. We are building the infrastructure layer for sovereign and edge AI - rugged, deployable compute for customers that cannot rely on centralized cloud. Working at Armada means taking ownership, driving autonomy, and delivering impact. You’ll tackle challenges that haven’t been solved before and help build something transformative from the ground up. What you do here will not only define your career but help further Armada’s mission to bridge the digital divide for customers around the world. About the Role Armada is seeking a Vice President, People & Talent to build and scale a globally distributed People organization. This leader will design and mature the infrastructure, systems, and operational discipline required to support sustained company growth. This role oversees Global People Operations, Talent Acquisition and Workspaces, ensuring our compliance posture, workforce planning, performance frameworks, and People technology ecosystem evolve alongside the business. The ideal candidate is a systems-oriented operator who thrives in complex international environments and is motivated by building durable infrastructure that enables clarity, accountability, and scale. We’re looking for a proven people leader with experience across People Operations, Total Rewards, and Talent Acquisition that has taken a venture-backed startup from early-stage ( Series A/B) through late-stage growth funding (Series C/D/E) and/or IPO. This is a senior operational leadership role with responsibility for defining people strategy, execution, infrastructure design, and financial stewardship within the People function. Location. This role will require you to come onsite to either our San Francisco Presidio HQ or our Bellevue, WA office on a weekly basis . We are not able to consider remote candidates for this role. Main responsibilities: Build a Scalable Global People Operations Function Design and scale a compliant, globally consistent People Operations framework Partner closely with Legal on employment law, regulatory compliance, immigration, and risk mitigation Oversee payroll, benefits, mobility, and vendor management across multiple jurisdictions Ensure audit readiness, documentation rigor, and strong internal controls Establish operational standards that balance global consistency with local nuance Provide clear, data-informed perspective on team health, performance, and organizational risk Lead Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning Own global recruiting strategy across technical and non-technical functions Implement structured hiring processes that increase talent density and hiring rigor Improve time-to-hire, quality-of-hire, and hiring manager accountability Partner with Finance to align headcount planning with budget forecasting Support long-term workforce modeling and geographic expansion planning Architect the People Systems & Technology Ecosystem Own and optimize the People technology stack (HRIS, ATS, payroll, performance tools, analytics) Rationalize and integrate systems to improve reporting integrity and reduce redundancy Establish strong data governance and scalable workflows Drive automation and operational efficiency Build a tech-enabled People platform designed for long-term growth Elevate Organizational Maturity & Performance Standards Partner closely with the senior leadership team on organizational design, leadership effectiveness, and comp…