ABOUT ALTA ARES
Alta Ares is a deeptech startup founded in 2024, building real-time AI for defense operations (ISR, C-UAS). Our primary clients are NATO-aligned militaries, with regular deployments during live exercises. Products include:
- Real-time AI ISR module deployable on drones and tactical platforms
- Counter-UAS solution enabling autonomous drone takeover under GNSS-denied environment
- Full-stack MLOps platform for training & deploying military-grade AI models
- Data fusion and trajectory prediction
ROLE & MISSION
- Own and scale the full talent journey using data and AI-driven insights to enable high performers to do their best work across all stages from recruitment to retention.
- Design the People roadmap for the coming year, establish high-bandwidth communication with the leadership team, and raise the bar on recruitment and people operations.
- Recruit, develop, and manage a high-performing people team across admin, recruitment, and operations to build clear ownership and a culture of high standards rooted in a deeptech native mindset.
- Align hiring plans, org design, and people programs with product and go-to-market priorities to ensure the right people are in the right roles at the right time for business success.
- Act as a strategic partner to leadership by providing clear data, simple processes, and training to empower them to scale their teams effectively and make informed people decisions.
- Design systems, structures, and processes that anticipate business changes to gracefully scale with volume, headcount, and the needs of a global team.
- Monitor best practices in a high-growth tech to selectively bring in what makes Alta Ares more resilient and efficient as the company evolves.
CANDIDATE PROFILE
- 8+ years in People Operations, including in high-change tech startup/scale up environments (Defense, AI) scaling teams from 50 to 150+ people
- Experience managing the entire talent journey from hiring to onboarding to people development to long-term retention
- Experience working in ambitious, culture-driven and internationally distributed teams
- Track record of empowering and engaging leaders rather than setting up heavy processes
- Ability to embody and champion a strong company culture
- Can get operational and hands-on when needed
- Empathetic approach to people and their development
NICE TO HAVE
- Experience recruiting for defense, aerospace, or deeptech companies
- Experience in high-growth startup environments (Series A to C scale-ups)
- Track record building people functions from scratch or through rapid scaling (10 → 100+ people)
- Multilingual capabilities (French/English)
- Network in European defense or AI/ML engineering communities
- Understanding of security clearances, export controls, or defense procurement
SKILLS & VALUES
European & Technolo-gical sovereignty
Rigor & Audacity
Pragmatic, Field-Oriented Innovation
Resilience in Extreme Conditions