Ather Energy - Site HR Lead

Role: Site HR Lead - Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar

Location: Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra

Reporting to: Head TP - Operations, Supply Chain, PM & CP

Team name: People Operations & Strategy (POPS)

About the Team and the Role:

The People Operations & People Strategy (POPS) team at Ather is responsible for providing strategic and operational leadership for the manufacturing plant, covering end-to-end talent management, statutory compliance, and industrial relations.

The role holder will be the primary strategic partner to site leadership, providing inputs on organizational design, P&L restructuring, and workforce planning at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. The role holder will be responsible to manage blue-collar workforce dynamics, maintain a stable industrial relations environment, and drive workforce planning and capability development across the plant.

• Lead talent identification, succession planning, and capability building for plant-specific roles and critical positions.
• Greenfield HR Setup & Scaling: End-to-end responsibility for setting up the plants HR infrastructure, workflows, and operations from scratch, aligning them with the companys core EV manufacturing standards.
• Talent Acquisition Strategy: Design and execute an aggressive localized hiring strategy to source, select, and onboard blue-collar (on-role and off-role) and white-collar technical talent specific to EV manufacturing.
• Industrial Relations (IR) & Union Management: Proactively manage industrial relations, implement robust grievance redressal mechanisms, and foster a strike-free, harmonious work culture while mitigating labor risks.
• Local Statutory Compliance: Ensure 100% adherence to Maharashtra state labor laws, factory acts, pollution control board guidelines, and EV-specific manufacturing compliance mandates.
• Liaison & Government Relations: Serve as the primary face of the company for local government bodies, labor commissioners, Marathwada regional authorities, and local communities to ensure smooth plant operations.
• Cross-Site Alignment (HQ & Hosur): Partner closely with the Bangalore HQ and the Hosur plant teams to replicate best practices, maintain cultural synergy, and ensure seamless remote reporting and governance.
• Contract Labor Management: Oversee the onboarding, compliance, payroll audits, and ethical management of third-party contract staffing vendors required for plant scaling.
• Safety, Health & Environment (EHS) Collaboration: Partner with the EHS team to implement stringent safety protocols, shop-floor discipline, and health standard operations procedures (SOPs) critical to EV battery and powertrain assembly.
• Performance & Productivity Management: Implement shop-floor productivity tracking, shift-management policies, and skill-mapping matrices (like building a multi-skilling index) for the technical workforce.
• Local Ecosystem & Training Partnerships: Establish tie-ups with local ITIs, polytechnics, and engineering colleges in the Marathwada region to build a sustainable pipeline of EV-ready technical talent.

Experience and Qualifications:

Masters Degree in Human Resource Management

Minimum 12+ years of HR experience in medium or large manufacturing / engineering environments

Must Have Competencies:

• Design and implementation of manpower planning and deployment strategies for large-scale blue-collar workforces.
• Strategic management of harmonious industrial relations, union handling, and collective bargaining negotiations.
• Execution of comprehensive statutory compliance frameworks across labor, industrial, and factory laws.
• Demonstrated ability to implement proactive strategies to manage high attrition and absenteeism (up to 20% and 15% respectively) in a highly competitive manufacturing labor market like Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar.
• Focus on data analytics to monitor manpower levers like attrition, overtime (OT), and plan vs. actual gaps
• Technical handling of labor court cases, legal notices, domestic inquiries, and legal risk mitigation.

Good to Have Competencies:

• Utilization of HRIS tools and data analytics to drive talent identification and succession planning.
• Development of multiskilling and upskilling programs aligned with operational excellence and business needs.
• Implementation of employee welfare frameworks and service management for canteen, transport, and medical facilities.
• Application of performance management systems to facilitate goal setting and transparent evaluation processes.

Want to know more:

At Ather, weve built Indias first intelligent scooter, from scratch. Based on the philosophy of clean design and smart technology, we are transforming the urban commute experience. We are expanding in India, and in the coming years, we look forward to scaling up and launching more products globally. Today, our product offerings include the Ather 450X, 450S, 450 Apex, and Rizta. Beyond the product, we are also setting up an extensive charging network and re-imagining end-to-end ownership experience. To know more, check out our Careers site and our Substack.

Be You, With Us:

The Ather story doesn't write itself - our people do. We believe everyone is equal, but not the same. Diversity is our strength, and building an inclusive and equitable workplace begins with acknowledging and embracing our differences. We are an equal opportunity employer, and our team reflects a wide range of identities, experiences, and perspectives - all united by a shared passion to shape the Ather journey.