People Lead – India

Job Title: People Lead – India

Location: Bengaluru (Hybrid)
People Manager: Yes

Graphcore is a UK-headquartered semiconductor and AI compute company, now part of SoftBank’s global AI ecosystem. Our headquarters are in Bristol, with offices in London, Cambridge, Poland, Germany, and Taiwan. In 2025, we are expanding into India with a new entity and office based in Bengaluru — a key hub for engineering, operations, and growth.

Our mission is to build the future of AI compute – and that depends not only on exceptional engineering but also on an outstanding People function. As we scale globally, the People team is focused on building strong operational foundations and great employee experience everywhere we operate.

The People Lead – India will be our first senior People Enablement hire in-country, playing a pivotal role in standing up our India entity and shaping its success. This is a hands-on, high-impact generalist position covering the employee lifecycle, ensuring India compliance, operational excellence, and strong local partnerships.

You will be part of the Global People Team, reporting into the Senior Director of People Operations in the UK, and collaborating with the wider People Operations, Business Partner, and Talent teams.

Job Summary

You will own the delivery of all People Enablement activities for our India entity, from onboarding to offboarding, while ensuring we meet all statutory, policy, and compliance requirements.

This role will act as the local point of contact for India employees and managers, collaborating closely with global colleagues in People, Finance, Workplace, and Engineering to ensure smooth operations and a consistent global experience.

As a trusted advisor to managers and engineers, you will help them build and grow great teams — providing practical guidance, ensuring strong people practices, and fostering an inclusive and high-performance culture.

You will work closely with the People Operations Adviser currently supporting setup activities, providing direction, and mentoring as operations mature. You will also partner with key vendors including payroll and benefits brokers, and local compliance partners.

As our footprint grows, you will help us move from 0 to 100+ employees – building while flying – creating scalable processes, supporting team environments, and continuously improving our ways of working.

Responsibilities and Duties

Operational Delivery

• Lead delivery of all People Operations activities for the India entity – onboarding, employment changes, HRIS updates, benefits enrolments, and leavers.

• Partner with managers and engineers to enable smooth onboarding, transitions, and people processes that support team growth and engagement.

• Oversee payroll inputs and monthly cycles in partnership with Finance and payroll provider.

• Maintain and update India employee files, HR registers, and statutory records in line with local requirements.

• Partner with Workplace and IT on onboarding, asset tracking, and workspace readiness.

• Partner with auditors to ensure accuracy and compliance of employee documentation and processes.

Compliance and Governance

• Ensure compliance with India labour law, statutory benefits (EPF, ESIC, Gratuity, Shops & Establishment Act), and record-keeping obligations.

• Establish and coordinate the POSH Committee, ensuring compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act.

• Liaise with auditors, and regulators on People-related compliance and filings.

• Maintain awareness of evolving employment legislation and update policies and processes accordingly.

Vendor and Partner Management

• Act as the day-to-day relationship lead for payroll, benefits, and HR service providers to ensure smooth delivery of people's operations.

• Partner with Finance, Workplace, and Legal teams to ensure alignment on operational and compliance matters.

• Manage renewals, service improvements, and issue resolution with all vendors.

Employee and Manager Experience

• Provide high-quality employee support across the lifecycle – contracts, letters, benefits queries, and general HR advice.

• Support and coach managers and engineers on People policies, employee relations, and day-to-day management practices to help build healthy, high-performing teams.

• Support employee engagement activities, wellbeing initiatives, and policy awareness.

• Promote consistency with Graphcore’s global People processes while adapting for local needs.

• Foster and promote the company’s culture of collaboration, respect, and continuous improvement through everyday interactions and people programs

Process Improvement and Projects

• Build, document, and refine local HR processes, workflows, and templates.

• Identify opportunities to automate or simplify manual steps through HRIS tools and data.

• Support global People initiatives such as policy alignment, HRIS upgrades, and process mapping.

• Contribute to global People Enablement discussions, sharing India insights and improvements.

Candidate Profile

Essential

• [10 years plus] strong relevant Experience in People Operations or HR Generalist Lead roles

• Strong working knowledge of India statutory requirements and employment law.

• Experience managing HR vendors and external partners (e.g., payroll, benefits, HR services).

• Skilled in HR systems and data management.

• Proven ability to manage workflows, prioritise effectively, and deliver high-quality outcomes under time pressure.

• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills across cultures and time zones.

• Comfortable with ambiguity and change – able to build structure while scaling rapidly.

• Experience leading or mentoring a small team.

Desirable

• Experience working in a global or technology/engineering environment.

• Exposure to setting up or supporting new entities or international offices.

• Familiarity with global HRIS, benefits, and compliance frameworks.

Mindset and Approach

• Values collaboration over hierarchy and builds trust through openness and involvement.

• Is confident and knowledgeable, yet curious and humble enough to learn from others.

• Enjoys working in a fast iterative environment – building while flying.

• Balances structure with pragmatism, and compliance with a people-first approach.

• Motivated by helping managers and engineers build great teams.