Principal People Business Partner, R&D
Leads people strategy for the R&D organization, advising executive technical leadership on organizational design, career architecture, culture, workforce planning, and talent programs. Requires 8+ years of HR experience, including senior R&D partnering in a high-growth technology or SaaS environment.
About the job
Responsibilities
- Advise the CTO, SVP of Product, and R&D leadership on workforce planning, organizational design, culture initiatives, and people strategy aligned with technical roadmaps and release cycles.
- Evolve technical career ladders for engineers and product managers, including individual-contributor and management paths.
- Foster a high-velocity, balanced R&D culture and coach technical leads and managers on feedback, conflict resolution, and team motivation.
- Analyze engagement, turnover, and hiring data to provide actionable insights to leadership.
- Collaborate with Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, People Ops, Finance, Accounting, and Operations on headcount strategy, workforce planning, and organizational scalability.
- Support performance cycles, compensation planning, promotions, and talent reviews.
Requirements
- 8+ years of HR experience, including 3+ years in a senior People Business Partner role supporting R&D in a high-growth technology or SaaS company.
- Understanding of the software development lifecycle, including DevOps, backend engineering, sprints, technical debt, and shipping code.
- Ability to build trust and influence at the C-suite and VP levels.
- Experience partnering with Finance, Accounting, and Operations teams.
- Experience leading people strategies through rapid growth, international expansion, or post-IPO scaling.
- Expert ability to interpret data and use it to drive executive action.
- Ability to integrate AI-driven insights and automation into organizational design and talent analytics.
- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.
- BA/BS degree required.
Nice-to-haves
- MBA or master’s degree in HR or organizational development.
- SHRM-SCP or SPHR certification.
Skills
Software Development Lifecycle, DevOps, Backend Engineering, Workforce Planning, Organizational Design, Talent Analytics, AI Automation, Performance Management, Compensation Planning, Career Architecture, Employee Engagement, Hr Strategy
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