HUMAN RESOURCES (HR) MANAGER / HR LEAD

About

The HR Manager will be responsible for building, managing, and scaling the human capital function at Red Balloon Aerospace. This role goes beyond traditional HR administration and plays a strategic role in talent acquisition, performance management, compliance, culture building, and organizational development for a high-growth aerospace startup. The HR Manager will work closely with founders, technical leaders, and finance to ensure the right talent, systems, and culture are in place to support innovation, execution, and long-term growth.

Description

Skills & Competencies

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ability to work hands-on and independently
• High integrity and confidentiality - Startup mindset with problem-solving attitude
• Excellent organizational and documentation skills

Ģ Comfort working with engineers, scientists, and technicians

Requirements

• Key Responsibilities
• | Talent Acquisition & Workforce Planning
• Ģ Own end-to-end recruitment for engineering, operations, R&D, manufacturing, interns, and business roles
• Ģ Develop hiring plans aligned with program milestones and funding stages
• Ģ Build strong campus, research institute, and internship pipelines
• Ģ Coordinate interviews, offers, onboarding, and background verification
• Ģ Support hiring of consultants, advisors, and contractual staff
• | HR Operations & Compliance
• Ģ Establish HR policies, SOPs, and employee handbook
• Ģ Ensure compliance with Indian labour laws, PF, ESI, gratuity, Shops & Establishments Act
• Ģ Manage employment contracts, NDAs, IP agreements, and exit formalities
• Ģ Maintain employee records, attendance, leave, and payroll coordination
• Ģ Liaise with auditors, legal, and finance teams on HR matters
• | Performance Management & Employee Development
• Ģ Design and implement performance appraisal systems (OKRs/KPIs) should have knowledge on HR tools such as Zoho People, Zoho Recruit, Zoho Payroll.
• Ģ Drive goal setting, reviews, feedback cycles, and promotions
• Ģ Identify training needs and coordinate technical & leadership development programs
• Ģ Support career path planning for engineers, technicians, and managers
• Ģ Digitize and automate attendance, leave, onboarding, payroll inputs, exits, and document management

Ģ Own HR MIS Reporting, Including

• Headcount & attrition reports
• Hiring funnel & time-to-hire metrics
• Compensation & cost-to-company (CTC) summaries
• Performance and productivity dashboards

  Ģ Provide regular HR dashboards to founders, leadership, and investors

• | Culture, Engagement & Employer Branding
• Ģ Build a strong startup culture aligned with Red Balloons mission and values
• Ģ Drive employee engagement initiatives, town halls, and internal communication
• Ģ Promote a safety-first, ethics-driven, and innovation-focused work environment
• Ģ Support diversity, inclusion, and merit-based growth
• | Compensation, Benefits & ESOP Management
• Ģ Design competitive compensation structures aligned with startup benchmarks
• Ģ Support ESOP policy implementation and employee communication
• Ģ Manage benefits including insurance, reimbursements, and statutory benefits
• Ģ Assist founders in workforce cost planning and budgeting
• | Strategic HR & Scaling Support
• Ģ Act as a strategic HR partner to founders during scale-up phases
• Ģ Support organizational design as teams grow (structure, roles, reporting)
• Ģ Prepare HR systems for audits, investor diligence, and government programs
• Ģ Enable smooth transition from early startup to structured growth stage
• DESIRED
• Ģ MBA / PGDM in Human Resources or equivalent
• Ģ 2-5 years of HR experience (startup, manufacturing, aerospace, deep-tech preferred)
• Ģ Strong understanding of Indian labour laws and HR compliance
• Ģ Proven experience in recruitment, HR operations, and performance management
• Ģ Experience working in fast-growing or founder-led organizations
• Ģ Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Ģ Ability to work hands-on and independently
• Ģ High integrity and confidentiality
• Ģ Startup mindset with problem-solving attitude
• Ģ Excellent organizational and documentation skills
• Ģ Comfort working with engineers, scientists, and technicians