J-1 Visa Director Of People Jobs
Director of People roles in the U.S. are accessible to international professionals through J-1 visa sponsorship under the Trainee or Specialist program category. Designated sponsors issue your DS-2019 and partner with host employers to structure a qualifying training or exchange program aligned with your HR leadership background.
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INTRODUCTION
Who We Are
Notion is the collaborative AI workspace where teams and agents think together. We're building one place where your knowledge, projects, meetings, and AI tools live side by side, so work is faster, clearer, and less fragmented. Millions of individuals, small teams, and large companies run their work on Notion. Notinos (our employees) are customer zero in bringing this future of work to life. We care about craft, building things that last, and the belief that great work is still fundamentally human. Our goal isn’t to ship the next feature. Each and every team of Notinos is working to set the standard for how humans work together in the AI era. From building a business’s system of record to making and managing AI agents to automating away the busy work, we care deeply about giving our customers more time for their life’s work.
ABOUT THE ROLE
You're joining Notion's People Analytics & Operations team as part of an 18-month rotational program -- the group that builds the insights engine powering every people decision Notion makes. We look for slope over intercept. We care less about where you trained and more about what you've built. If you've ever rebuilt a broken process because it was bothering you, used AI to do something you couldn't have done alone, or found yourself reading about labor economics for fun -- you're the person we're looking for. Over 18 months, you'll rotate across people operations, people analytics, and compensation/benefits. Every rotation is real work with real ownership. On the analytics side, you'll build dashboards that land in exec review, write SQL that powers headcount models, and prototype AI-assisted workflows that help our team move faster. On the operations side, you'll run the HR engine -- managing employee lifecycle transactions in Workday, owning onboarding and offboarding coordination end-to-end, triaging and resolving employee requests, and keeping our people data clean and audit-ready. You'll be paired with a senior operator who will push your craft and raise your bar. We want someone who's hungry, high-agency, and passionate about leveraging AI to build the future of work. Not "I've used ChatGPT" native -- "I use AI every day to move faster and build smarter" native. And you don't just use Notion; you build in it. At the end of 18 months, you'll declare a focus area and move into a permanent team within the People org -- whether that's People Analytics, People Operations, Total Rewards, or staying broad as a high-impact People generalist. We're intentionally building the next generation of the People team from within.
WHAT YOU'LL ACHIEVE
Build the insights engine: Write SQL that powers our headcount, attrition, and hiring funnel dashboards. Transform raw people data from Workday and Snowflake into crisp analyses that drive real decisions. For example, you might build a model that identifies where we're losing great candidates and propose a process fix.
Run the HR operations engine: You'll learn how the ops side of the house actually works by doing it. That means executing employee lifecycle transactions in Workday (new hires, transfers, terminations), coordinating onboarding and offboarding end-to-end, triaging and resolving employee requests, supporting compliance and audit readiness, and keeping headcount and requisition data clean. For example, you might own the full ops flow for an onboarding cohort and surface process gaps that shorten time-to-productivity.
Tell the story in data: Take a messy people question and produce a clean narrative: numbers to insights to recommended decision. You'll own the analytical arc end-to-end -- from pulling the data to presenting it to senior leadership.
Prototype AI-assisted workflows: Identify manual, repetitive work across HR operations and replace it with something smarter -- automated onboarding task routing, AI-assisted ticket triage, offboarding checklists that run themselves, compliance reminders that don't require a human to send. You'll have real latitude to experiment and ship things that outlive your rotation.
* Build and own our Notion workspace: You'll be the People team's Notion expert. Pages, databases, dashboards, views -- you'll build operating systems the whole team relies on. From day one, you'll be the person others come to when they want to do something in Notion they didn't know was possible.
SKILLS YOU'LL NEED TO BRING
SQL is your native language: You don't reach for SQL when you have to; you reach for it when you want to think. You can write queries that join, filter, aggregate, and transform data. You debug the wrong answer and figure out exactly why it's wrong.
Quantitatively sharp: You think in numbers. You've studied business, economics, statistics, or mathematics and it showed up in your work. Analytical storytelling -- connecting numbers to insights to decisions -- is a skill you've already started building.
High agency, high urgency: You don't wait for perfect instructions. When something's broken, you fix it. When there's ambiguity, you make a call. We look for slope over intercept -- we care more about what you've built and how fast you learn than where you trained.
AI-fluent: You use AI tools every day as a real multiplier, not a novelty. You know when Claude drafts it faster, when a formula is cleaner, and when you need to write the code yourself. Come ready to show us how you've used AI to do something you couldn't have done alone.
* Notion power user: You live in Notion. You know the difference between a filtered view and a linked database. You get a little excited when you find a cleaner way to structure something. From day one, you'll be one of the most fluent Notion users on the People team.
NICE TO HAVES
Some exposure to Python -- enough to know what a loop is and when to reach for one
Familiarity with Workday, Snowflake, or similar HRIS or data warehouse tools
* Prior experience in a business operations, finance, or sales operations context (internships count)
COMPENSATION
Notion is committed to providing highly competitive cash compensation, equity, and benefits. The compensation offered for this role will be based on multiple factors such as location, the role’s scope and complexity, and the candidate’s experience and expertise, and may vary from the range provided below. For roles based in San Francisco, the estimated base salary range for this role is $40.87 - $59.62 hourly.
By clicking “Submit Application”, I understand and agree that Notion and its affiliates and subsidiaries will collect and process my information in accordance with Notion’s Global Recruiting Privacy Policy.
A NOTE ON AI
You don’t need deep AI expertise for every role, but we do expect every Notino to be intellectually curious, drawn to tinkering and discovery, and excited to use AI as a real collaborator in their work. For some roles, AI fluency is a core requirement — when that’s the case, we'll say so explicitly in the qualifications. People who thrive here don’t treat AI as a novelty. They use it to think better, and make their work easier for others to build on.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & ACCOMMODATIONS
We hire talented people from a wide range of backgrounds. If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet every bullet, we still encourage you to apply. Notion is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of any legally protected characteristic. Consistent with applicable law, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. Notion provides reasonable accommodations during the application process; if you need one, please let your recruiter know. Notion is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. Notion considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. Notion is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please let your recruiter know.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding J-1 Visa Sponsorship in Director Of People
Frame your HR credentials for J-1 eligibility
The Trainee category requires a degree plus one year of related experience, or five years of field experience without a degree. Document your people-operations work, org design projects, and talent strategy roles in a format that matches the DS-2019 training plan requirements.
Target host employers with dedicated HR functions
Organizations large enough to have a standalone People team are more likely to structure a qualifying J-1 visa program. Mid-size to enterprise companies in tech, healthcare, and professional services regularly host exchange visitors in HR leadership roles and have infrastructure to support the training plan documentation.
Search for J-1-aligned Director of People roles on Migrate Mate
Use Migrate Mate to filter U.S. employer listings by J-1 sponsorship compatibility. It surfaces host organizations actively seeking exchange visitors for senior HR roles, saving you from applying to employers who have no framework for J-1 program hosting.
Clarify the two-year home residency rule early
Some J-1 participants are subject to a two-year home-country residency requirement before qualifying for H-1B visa or permanent residence. Your eligibility depends on funding source and nationality. Confirm your situation with the designated sponsor before accepting a host employer's offer.
Align your training plan with a recognized specialist category
For Director of People roles, the Specialist category applies when you have expertise the U.S. host cannot easily source domestically. Your training plan must specify objectives, supervision structure, and evaluation milestones. Vague plans are a common reason designated sponsors delay or decline DS-2019 issuance.
Coordinate DS-2019 issuance timing with your start date
Your designated sponsor issues the DS-2019 after approving the training plan, not after the job offer. This adds two to four weeks before you can schedule a consular appointment. Build that timeline into your negotiation with the host employer so your agreed start date is realistic.
Director Of People J-1 Visa: Frequently Asked Questions
Which J-1 program category fits a Director of People role?
Most Director of People candidates qualify under the Trainee or Specialist category. Trainee applies if you hold a relevant degree plus at least one year of HR experience, or five years of progressive HR work without a degree. Specialist applies when your expertise in organizational design, talent strategy, or people operations is specialized enough that the host employer cannot easily source it domestically.
Who actually sponsors the J-1 visa for this role, the employer or a separate organization?
The visa sponsor is a U.S. Department of State-designated organization such as Cultural Vistas, CIEE, or AIPT. That organization issues your DS-2019 form and is legally responsible for program compliance. The hiring company is your host employer, not your visa sponsor. You need both: a host willing to structure a qualifying training program and a designated sponsor to administer it.
How do I find U.S. employers open to hosting a J-1 Director of People?
Migrate Mate lets you search U.S. employer listings filtered by J-1 sponsorship compatibility, so you can identify organizations that have the infrastructure and intent to host exchange visitors in senior HR roles. Not every company advertising a Director of People position is set up to work with a designated sponsor, so filtering for J-1-aligned roles early saves significant time.
What does the J-1 training plan need to include for a people leadership position?
The training plan must outline specific learning objectives, a supervision structure, and scheduled evaluations. For a Director of People role, this typically means detailing exposure to U.S. employment law compliance, HRIS systems, performance management frameworks, and cross-functional collaboration. Vague plans referencing only job duties rather than structured learning outcomes are the most common reason designated sponsors request revisions or withhold the DS-2019.
Does the two-year home residency requirement apply to HR professionals on J-1?
It can, depending on your country of nationality and whether your exchange program is funded by your home government or a U.S. government agency. If the requirement applies, you must return home for two years before qualifying for H-1B status or a green card. Confirm your exposure early with the designated sponsor because it directly affects your long-term U.S. career planning.