Director, People Operations & Total Rewards

Formation Bio is looking for a Director of People Operations & Total Rewards to own the strategy and execution of our people infrastructure. Reporting to the SVP, Head of People, you'll drive outcomes that advance company priorities by building compensation expertise in-house, designing scalable people programs, and ensuring operational excellence across our systems and processes.

Responsibilities

People Operations Excellence

• Drive AI-native operations across the people function - identifying opportunities to leverage technology while maintaining the human elements of our work
• Ensure compliance and evolve our people processes to ensure they are fit for purpose as the business scales
• Lead cross-functional processes and partner with internal stakeholders including Legal, Finance, Tech Ops, and Quality Assurance
• Serve as escalation point for complex operational issues, benefits decisions, and compensation situations
• Manage external vendor relationships and consultant partnerships

Total Rewards Strategy & Execution

• Own compensation strategy and execution for Formation's unique business model, including framework design, market positioning, and equity programs
• Lead benefits strategy, vendor selection, and plan design; ensuring our total rewards package is competitive and supports our culture and business needs
• Own cyclical compensation reviews end-to-end
• Partner on complex offer negotiations and provide market intelligence and competitive positioning recommendations

Program Design & Strategic Execution

• Elevate and own our annual performance, promotion and compensation review process to ensure quality, consistency, and scalability as we grow
• Partner with Director, People Business Partner on program execution and continuous improvement
• Anticipate program needs based on business growth and evolution

About You

• 8+ years of experience in people operations, total rewards, and/or HR leadership roles
• Deep compensation expertise - you've designed frameworks, led market analysis, structured equity programs, and can think strategically about total rewards in complex or unique business models
• Proven track record implementing AI and automation - you have concrete results in people operations, not just enthusiasm, and a strong vision for where an AI-native function can go
• Strong operational background - you've owned people systems, benefits, compliance, and built scalable people operations infrastructure
• Experience designing and scaling talent management programs - you know how to balance quality with operational efficiency
• Ability to make independent, complex decisions - you evaluate tradeoffs with a company-wide perspective and anticipate long-term implications
• Strong ownership mentality and high accountability - you take full responsibility for outcomes and drive work to completion
• People management experience - you've developed and elevated individuals and teams, and care deeply about career development
• Strong cross-functional partnership skills - you build excellent relationships with internal teams and external vendors
• Comfortable working in fast-paced, high-growth environments - you can be both strategic and hands-on
• Experience in biotech, pharma, or other technical/regulated industries is a plus but not required

Benefits

The company offers equity, comprehensive benefits, and generous perks.

Location

The role is located in New York, NY; Boston, MA, with a hybrid model requiring 3 days per week in office.