Talent Business Partner

Humanoid; Cambridge; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

PTO 23 days

401(k) match

Stock options

Free catered lunch

Collaborative team

Job summary

Humanoid in Cambridge is building leading humanoid platforms and growing the team. As HR Business Partner, you will work with Engineering, Hardware and Software leaders to scale people practices that are rigorous and fair while enabling fast execution.

Reporting to the Chief HR Officer, you’ll shape people strategy for the technical org, coach leaders, align career frameworks, and ensure high‑quality performance conversations and effective org design.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of HRBP experience supporting technical teams (Engineering, Hardware, Software, AI/ML).
• Experience partnering directly with managers on performance management and people decisions.
• Strong capability in org design, workforce planning, manager coaching, performance management and employee relations.
• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and influence skills. You communicate clearly, practically and confidently with employees and leaders.
• Strong execution skills: able to run cycles, manage detail and deliver consistently.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary HR partner for Engineering, Hardware, and Software leaders.
• Help technical leaders navigate scale moments (new layers, new managers, evolving leadership expectations).
• Coach technical managers on setting expectations and operating rhythms (goals, execution cadence, feedback loops).
• Support performance differentiation (high/medium/low performance) and ensure managers address issues early and fairly.
• Enable consistent, high‑quality 1:1s, feedback, and career conversations.
• Partner with leaders to evolve career frameworks/levels for technical roles (e.g., SWE, robotics, embedded, firmware, electrical, mechanical).
• Clarify dual tracks (IC vs management), promotion readiness, and growth expectations.
• Spot retention risks in critical technical roles and implement targeted plans.
• Support leaders through difficult moments with empathy, directness, and legal/compliance awareness.
• Align with Talent Acquisition on technical hiring strategy, interview process health, candidate experience, and hiring manager enablement.
• Partner with People Ops to ensure smooth execution of core people processes and a strong employee experience

Skills

HRBP experience

Manager coaching

Org design

Workforce planning

Employee relations

Stakeholder management

Communication

Job description

Here at Humanoid, we believe in a future where robots amplify human potential. That’s why we’ve set out on a mission to build the world’s most capable, commercially-scalable, and safe humanoid robots. We’re bringing that mission to life with HMND‑01 - our rapidly developed humanoid platform being deployed in real industrial environments - and we’re growing the team to take it even further.

About the Role

As HR Business Partner, you'll work side by side with leaders across Engineering, Hardware, and Software to build stronger managers, sharpen organizational effectiveness, and create people practices that scale in a deep-tech environment. You'll be a trusted advisor on everything from performance and employee relations to culture - helping the business move fast while staying rigorous and fair.

Reporting closely to our Chief HR Officer, you'll help shape and deliver the people strategy for our technical organization.

This is a hands‑on role: part strategic partner, part operator. You'll set direction and roll up your sleeves to make it happen.

What You’ll Do

• Serve as the primary HR partner for Engineering, Hardware, and Software leaders.

• Help technical leaders navigate scale moments (new layers, new managers, evolving leadership expectations).

• Coach technical managers on setting expectations and operating rhythms (goals, execution cadence, feedback loops).

• Support performance differentiation (high/medium/low performance) and ensure managers address issues early and fairly.

• Enable consistent, high‑quality 1:1s, feedback, and career conversations.

• Partner with leaders to evolve career frameworks/levels for technical roles (e.g., SWE, robotics, embedded, firmware, electrical, mechanical).

• Clarify dual tracks (IC vs management), promotion readiness, and growth expectations.

• Spot retention risks in critical technical roles and implement targeted plans.

• Support leaders through difficult moments with empathy, directness, and legal/compliance awareness.

• Align with Talent Acquisition on technical hiring strategy, interview process health, candidate experience, and hiring manager enablement.

• Partner with People Ops to ensure smooth execution of core people processes and a strong employee experience

What We're Looking For

• 7+ years of proven HRBP experience supporting technical teams (Engineering, Hardware, Software, AI/ML).

• Experience partnering directly with managers on performance management, employee relations and people decisions.

• Strong capability in org design, workforce planning, manager coaching, performance management and employee relations.

• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and influence skills. You communicate clearly, practically and confidently with employees and leaders.

• Strong execution skills: able to run cycles, manage detail and deliver consistently.

Mindset

• High judgement and confidence handling sensitive matters, balancing empathy with high standards.

• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and driving clarity where processes are still evolving.

• Able to own problems independently and drive them through to resolution.

• A process‑improvement mindset and a natural tendency to simplify and automate.

Nice to Have

• Experience in deep-tech, robotics, embedded systems, or hardware and software organizations.

• Experience building or refining leveling frameworks and IC/manager career tracks.

• Familiarity with engineering operating models (on‑call, incident management, postmortems).

What We Offer

• Comprehensive health coverage for US‑based employees, including fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, with virtual care and employee assistance resources.

• Meaningful time off to rest and recharge: 23 days of PTO (accrued), separate sick leave, and paid company holidays.

• 401(k) retirement plan with 4% employer match.

• Competitive equity: stock options with meaningful upside as we scale.

• Free daily catered lunch, snacks, and drinks in‑office.

• Collaboration with top‑tier engineers, researchers, and product experts in AI and robotics.