Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This Director of People Operations role stands out in the SaaS landscape because it sits at the intersection of product-led scale and operational maturity. Cohere is building and deploying AI models for developers and enterprises, which typically means rapid iteration, evolving org design, and constant pressure on internal systems to keep pace with customer demand and global hiring.
For a SaaS People leader, the mandate signals unusually high leverage: designing the infrastructure that enables consistent onboarding, lifecycle operations, analytics, and support across a distributed workforce. The work translates well across modern SaaS companies because it builds the core toolkit of scalable People Ops, including HRIS strategy, workflow standardisation, and service delivery models that can be measured and improved over time.
The role best fits someone who prefers ambiguity over inheritance and is motivated by building durable systems rather than running established programs. It will appeal to operators who think in processes and automation, are comfortable partnering with technical and business stakeholders, and want a leadership scope where team-building and platform thinking are part of the remit.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
Who are we?
Our mission is to scale intelligence to serve humanity. We’re training and deploying frontier models for developers and enterprises who are building AI systems to power magical experiences like content generation, semantic search, RAG, and agents. We believe that our work is instrumental to the widespread adoption of AI.
We obsess over what we build. Each one of us is responsible for contributing to increasing the capabilities of our models and the value they drive for our customers. We like to work hard and move fast to do what’s best for our customers.
Cohere is a team of researchers, engineers, designers, and more, who are passionate about their craft. Each person is one of the best in the world at what they do. We believe that a diverse range of perspectives is a requirement for building great products.
Join us on our mission and shape the future!
We’re hiring a Director of People Operations to help build the operational backbone of the People function at Cohere during a period of intense global scale.
This is not a “keep the lights on” People Ops role. This is a high-ownership, systems-building role with huge scope and greenfield opportunity.
Cohere is one of the leading AI companies in the world, with real enterprise traction, rapid product growth, and a huge amount of momentum. We’re scaling quickly and need someone who can help architect the infrastructure that allows the People organization to scale with it across a globally distributed workforce with both remote employees and physical office locations.
This is one of the highest-leverage hires on the People team and will be a key leadership role within the function. We’re incredibly excited about the opportunity for someone to come in and help design the operational foundation of the People organization during a major scaling moment.
Right now, we have fragmented tooling, inconsistent workflows, weak operational infrastructure, and huge opportunity to rethink how a modern AI-native People function should operate.
You’ll own:
People systems and workflows
HRIS and operational tooling
shared services/helpdesk infrastructure
onboarding and employee lifecycle operations
operational analytics and reporting
operational process design and scalability
This role will also build and lead a People Operations team underneath it.
We’re looking for someone who:
has deep hypergrowth and scaling experience
has experience scaling People Ops in globally distributed tech environments
loves systems thinking and operational design
is highly automation and AI-minded
enjoys solving messy operational problems
can build from zero-to-one
scales through systems and leverage, not just headcount
There are very few sacred cows here. This is a rare opportunity to redesign and modernize the operational foundation of the People function at scale.
If some of the above doesn’t line up perfectly with your experience, we still encourage you to apply!
We value and celebrate diversity and strive to create an inclusive work environment for all. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and are committed to providing equal opportunities. Should you require any accommodations during the recruitment process, please submit an Accommodations Request Form, and we will work together to meet your needs.
Full-Time Employees at Cohere enjoy these Perks:
🤝 An open and inclusive culture and work environment
🧑💻 Work closely with a team on the cutting edge of AI research
🍽 Weekly lunch stipend, in-office lunches & snacks
🦷 Full health and dental benefits, including a separate budget to take care of your mental health
🐣 100% Parental Leave top-up for up to 6 months
🎨 Personal enrichment benefits towards arts and culture, fitness and well-being, quality time, and workspace improvement
🏙 Remote-flexible, offices in Toronto, New York, San Francisco, London and Paris, as well as a co-working stipend
✈️ 6 weeks of vacation (30 working days!)
