Head of People & Culture

We're looking for our first Head of People & Culture to build and lead the People function company-wide as we grow globally. Our people and culture will be key as we scale into a leading global deep-tech company. This role is based at our Helsinki HQ, with regular travel to our offices around the world. WHY DISTANCE? At Distance Technologies, the problem we're solving is simple to state and hard to solve: the amount of data in the world is endless, but human capacity is not. We are building a fundamentally new perception layer between humans and machines, transforming transparent surfaces into interfaces unlike the world has ever seen. Think of the windscreen of a car, the visor of a helmet, or a sight device, each becoming a new front-end for AI. The way we fuse bits and atoms into expanded human perception is protected by over 50 granted international patent families. We build it for two demanding worlds: defense and automotive. And we build it from a single foundation fusing software, hardware and computational optics. There are 50 of us today, with decade-long experience building world's best products, optics, and open-source operating systems. We partner and build with globally leading companies like KIA, General Dynamics, Supacat, and Galvion, and we were Google Ventures' first investment in Finland. What we're building is hard, and will fundamentally change how we operate and see the world, and that's exactly why we seek exceptional people who enjoy building things never seen before. THE ROLE We're scaling fast from 50 to 100 to 1000 people, and your job is to ensure that we attract and keep world-class talent, deliver strong performance against our goals, and protect our culture as we scale. You'll work among some of the best and brightest in their fields, where high ambition and strong performance are simply the norm. Your remit spans the whole People function: the employee lifecycle and experience, compensation and benefits, learning and development, diversity, equity and inclusion, culture, organizational design, performance management, talent acquisition and employer branding. You will have the opportunity to impact the processes, tools and ways of growing the team, both in scale and in competence. We need someone who can see what to build and in what order, and make it happen. You must be able to work hands on as well as know how to delegate effectively to your team and the rest of the org. Above all, you care about building a place where people do the best work of their careers. Great culture isn't built on policies or perks, but on leadership, clarity, trust, and how we work together day to day. WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU This is for someone who loves building. You'll shape and grow the People function as we scale, and define how it evolves. High impact. A seat in the leadership team, helping you align and influence every key decision in the company. From the operational day-to-day to culture and strategy, you own all things people, in close partnership with the founders and leadership. A growth-stage, international deep-tech company doing work that matters for European tech sovereignty, backed by globally leading investors and partners. OUR EXPECTATIONS You bring a senior track record building and leading HR and People, gained in both high-growth environments and technology companies, though not necessarily at the same one. You ideally have experience working in a scaleup. You've built or substantially developed a People function before, not just maintained one that already existed. You're genuinely hands-on but equally comfortable at the strategic level, with the determination, ownership, and presence to hold your own in the leadership team. You've worked well beyond a Finland-only scope, with people and teams across borders. You're happy to be mostly onsite at our Helsinki HQ and to travel when the role calls for it; it can't be done remotely from elsewhere. If you've been part of a leadership team before, that's a plus. You're fluent in English; Finnish is beneficial. DID WE GET YOU INTERESTED? Apply via the application form at the latest on September 13th, 2026. Our recruitment process for this position includes several discussions with the team. If you want to learn more about the position, reach out to our recruiter, Joel Kinnunen. Kindly note that, for data privacy reasons, we are not able to process applications sent via email.