About AIRCO

AIRCO™ develops advanced technologies for energy security and global resiliency. The company makes drop-in e-fuels that can power transportation across air, land, sea and space. Its modular MAD Fuel System™ combines the company's proprietary catalysts, compact hardware, and locally available power to produce fuels to spec wherever they’re needed, turning distributed energy into ready-to-use fuel.

Led by co-founder and CEO Gregory Constantine (a 2026 EY Entrepreneur of the Year), the company has been awarded government contracts, including from the U.S. Department of War, NASA and the Department of Energy (DoE), and has investment and commercial partners with groups such as In-Q-Tel, GE Aerospace, Toyota Ventures, Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines among others.

The Position

We are seeking a People Operations Manager to be based at our New Britain, Pennsylvania site. This is a hands-on role responsible for the day-to-day People operations that keep AIRCO running, including payroll, benefits, HRIS, recruiting operations, employee lifecycle, compliance and performance administration.

You will initially report to the Director, Finance & Controller, transitioning to the HR Director once appointed. You will partner closely with Finance, IT, EHS, external employment counsel and business leaders to deliver reliable People operations and a strong employee experience. We are looking for someone who can build reliable systems, solve problems, improve how we work and deliver a strong employee experience across the full employee lifecycle. This is a full-time role based in New Britain, Pennsylvania, near Doylestown.

What you get to do

Own People data, changes, and payroll preparation and audits; partnering with Finance for control, approvals and funding and benefits administration, including medical, dental, vision and retirement plans, open enrollment, employee changes, audits, reconciliations, vendor management and
Own the day-to-day administration, accuracy and controls of AIRCO's HRIS and People systems, including employee records, integrations, reporting and self-service workflows. Play a hands-on role in the transition from ADP Workforce Now to Rippling, including data validation, workflow configuration, testing, process documentation and post-implementation improvements. Maintain clear standard operating procedures and recurring People calendars to support continuity and compliance.
Run the operational side of recruiting in Greenhouse, including interview coordination, candidate workflows, offers, background checks and onboarding handoffs, partnering with hiring managers across corporate, engineering and operations roles.
Own onboarding, offboarding, employee records, leave administration and other core employee lifecycle processes. Coordinate with IT, EHS, Facilities and managers to ensure each team completes its respective onboarding and offboarding responsibilities..
Run the operational administration of check-ins, performance reviews, goals, ratings, promotions and compensation cycles, including system setup, communications, tracking and reporting.
Serve as the initial point of contact for employee relations matters, including receiving concerns, documenting facts, providing routine policy guidance and coordinating follow-up. Escalate investigations, accommodations, protected leave, disciplinary matters and terminations to the designated executive leader and external employment counsel, until the HR Director assumes oversight
Maintain compliance across federal, state and local requirements, including I-9s, leave, workers' compensation, required training, employment records and recurring compliance deadlines. Coordinate employment-based immigration matters with outside counsel and manage key deadlines.
Provide leadership with reporting and analysis on headcount, turnover, hiring, compensation and benefits, and support compensation decisions and workforce planning.
Maintain People policies, employee handbook documentation and clear employee communications. Partner with leadership on AI and automation initiatives by defining People workflow requirements, validating data privacy and access controls, testing automated processes and maintaining appropriate human review and approval checkpoints