Director, People Business Partner (R&D)

Strategic Technical Partnership: Act as the primary consultant to the CTO and SVP of Product, and their respective organizations. Align people strategies (workforce planning, org design, culture initiatives) with the technical roadmap and release cycles. 

Performance & Career Architecture: Lead the evolution of our technical career ladders. Ensure engineers and product managers have clear, transparent growth paths from Individual Contributor to Principal/Architect levels, and dual paths into Management. 

Engineering Culture & Engagement: Foster an R&D environment that balances high-velocity delivery, customer demands, and roadmap deliverables while continuing to harness and develop the R&D culture to be relentless, competitive, and balanced.

Leadership Coaching: Coach and mentor technical leads and managers—many of whom are brilliant technologists growing into first time people leadership—helping them master the art of feedback, conflict resolution, and team motivation.

Data-Driven: Analyze engagement data, turnover trends, and hiring metrics specifically within the R&D group to provide actionable insights to leadership.

Cross-Functional Collaboration: Build strong cross-functional relationships with Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, People Ops, and other partners to ensure People programs and processes are effectively implemented and aligned to business needs.

Organizational Scaling & Strategy: Partner with Finance, Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards and People Ops to align on headcount strategy, workforce planning, and organizational scalability.

Program Execution & Operations: Support the execution of People programs — including performance cycles, compensation planning, promotions, and talent reviews — within your assigned groups.

Any other tasks that may be assigned to help the company meet its goals

R&D Literacy: You understand the nuances of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). You know the difference between a DevOps engineer and a Backend engineer and can speak fluently about sprints, technical debt, and shipping code.

Strategic PBP Experience: 10+ years of HR experience, with at least 5+ years in a senior People Business Partner role specifically supporting R&D within a high-growth technology or SaaS company.

Executive Presence: Proven ability to build trust and influence at the C-suite and VP levels. You are a confident advisor who can navigate complex organizational dynamics with poise and professional maturity.

Partnerships within the G&A Function: Track record of working closely with Finance, Accounting, and Operations teams on day-to-day tasks and large-scale impactful projects.

Scale & Growth Mastery: Demonstrated experience leading People strategies during periods of rapid scale (e.g., doubling headcount, international expansion, or post-IPO).

Analytical Mindset: Expert-level ability to interpret data and use it to tell a compelling story that drives executive action.

AI Mastery: Adept at integrating AI-driven insights and automation to streamline organizational design and talent analytics, enabling more agile decision-making in fast-paced SaaS environments.

Communication Excellence: Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex people strategies in a clear, relatable way.

Educational Background: BA/BS degree required; Advanced degree (MBA or Master’s in HR/Organizational Development) or high-level HR certification (SHRM-SCP/SPHR) preferred.