PopVax is an Indian full-stack biotech building first-in-class and best-in-class vaccines and cancer immunotherapies using machine learning-driven protein design and relentless empiricism. We design, develop, and manufacture our own RNA medicines end-to-end because we believe great pharmaceutical science can only flourish in tight feedback loops that iterate rapidly. PopVax’s experimental work and clinical dose production is based at the RNA Foundry, our integrated R&D and GMP-capable clinical dose production facility in Hyderabad.
PopVax's north star is our goal of developing novel vaccines and therapeutics over the next decade with the cumulative ability to save 1 million lives each year – the Million Lives Mission. To that end, we are developing first-in-class vaccines against Hepatitis C, Strep A, and adult pulmonary TB; broadly-protective best-in-class vaccines against COVID-19, influenza, malaria, and HPV; and precision immunotherapies against hard-to-treat solid tumours such as liver cancer and pancreatic cancer. Beyond existing diseases, we are leveraging our high-speed platform to build rapid-response biosecurity capabilities against engineered de novo pathogens.
Our mission is funded by Vitalik Buterin’s Balvi Fund, the Gates Foundation, the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), Renaissance Philanthropy, and Good Ventures, with individual investments from Enveda founder Viswa Colluru and Tesla self-driving AI pioneer Dhaval Shroff. Our first program, an open-source broadly-protective COVID-19 vaccine, will begin a Phase I clinical trial in Australia in mid-2026. This is just the start – we intend to advance 6+ novel vaccine and immunotherapy programs into human clinical trials over the next three years, decisively demonstrating that world-class biotech R&D is possible in India.
No matter the job title, each person’s role at PopVax is ultimately about helping bring safe, effective new medicines that represent a step-change over the current standard-of-care to the people who need them, as quickly as possible. If you are looking for a place where the ambition is high, the learning curve is steep, and the work matters to billions, you’ll feel at home here.
If you’re excited by the idea of advancing scientific, clinical, and regulatory frontiers of vaccines and immunotherapies, spending each day developing medicines with the potential to save millions of lives, and building a generational global pharmaceutical company in India along the way – join us!
The Role
PopVax is scaling quickly across science, clinical, regulatory, and operations — and across entities in India, the UK, and Australia. That pace only works if we hire well and keep the team healthy while we do it, which is exactly what this role owns. This is a hands-on HR manager position for someone who wants to build the function rather than just administer it: running recruitment end to end, standing up the systems and policies a growing company needs, and partnering with team leads across a genuinely multidisciplinary organisation. The role works closely with leaders across every function.
The Work
Most of this job is upkeep – the load-bearing work of keeping the place running so everyone else can get on with theirs. It's for someone who takes real satisfaction in being the person a company quietly depends on: the systems that hold, the records that are right, the compliance that's handled, and the hundred small things that would break if no one owned them. Get it right and the whole place moves faster without ever quite knowing why. The role spans the full employee lifecycle along with the HR operations, policy making, and communications that keeps a fast-growing team running.
Who Thrives Here
Someone who likes building systems and is comfortable both setting up the structure and doing the hands-on work day to day. This is a company that moves fast, so the person who does well here is organised, self-directed, and able to hold several threads at once without dropping any.
Good judgment and discretion matter – a lot of this work touches sensitive information and difficult conversations, and people need to trust that HR handles both well. Just as important is a real interest in people: what makes a team work, what makes someone want to join and stay, and how to keep a culture healthy while it grows.
Required Qualifications
0–6 years of progressive HR experience across talent acquisition, HR operations, employee engagement, L&D, and business partnering.
Strong grounding in the employee lifecycle and HR best practices.
Working knowledge of Indian labour laws and statutory compliance.
Strong stakeholder management, communication, and interpersonal skills.
High integrity and comfort handling confidential information.
An analytical approach, using metrics to inform decisions.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-moving environment.
Proficiency with Google Workspace and HRMS platforms.
Nice to have
Experience in startups, incubators, technology, healthcare, or life-sciences environments.
Hands-on payroll coordination and benefits administration.
Experience with performance management systems.
HR analytics and dashboard reporting.
Familiarity with Keka or a similar HRMS.
Experience supporting organisational change and transformation.
What We Offer
Very competitive compensation, comprehensive health insurance with the option to cover immediate family (including pre-existing conditions), and a collaborative environment focused on the challenge of building a generational pharmaceutical company in India.