Director, HRBP — R&D Transformation & AI Strategy

Chainalysis; New York (NY); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Chainalysis is seeking a Director, HR Business Partner for its R&D organization. You will partner with the Head of R&D and senior leadership across engineering, research, product, design and support to shape a world-class, AI-enabled technology company.

You will drive organizational design, workforce planning, and talent strategies for R&D across NYC, Aarhus and Tel Aviv, balancing growth with cost discipline.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive HR/People experience, with at least 5 years as a strategic HRBP supporting engineering, R&D, or other deeply technical global organizations at high-growth technology companies with strong engineering cultures
• Experience scaling an R&D organization through a period of rapid growth; you’ve been part of the journey as a technical organization of 200+ grew meaningfully in size and complexity, supporting ambitious revenue targets; you know what breaks at each stage of scaling, how roles and structures need to evolve in real-time, and how to build the people infrastructure to support a business that’s growing fast
• A builder's mindset - you can collaborate and create frameworks, programs, and approaches from scratch rather than waiting for a playbook. You approach people systems with the same iterative, build-and-improve mentality as the engineers you support
• A deep understanding of how technical organizations operate and how AI is reshaping work; you can speak credibly about engineering workflows, product development lifecycles, platform vs. product team structures, and the distinct cultures of engineering, data science, and research. You have a point of view on how AI is changing the tech landscape, how it changes the nature of engineering work and team composition, to how it can be leveraged to reduce friction in people operations.
• Executive Presence, Analytics, and Influence; you demonstrate high-trust coaching and executive presence, holding the line on what’s right for the organization while challenging leaders constructively. You pair this with strong analytical capabilities, using people data and organizational diagnostics to drive action. As a senior individual contributor, you lead through influence, credibility, and the quality of your thinking rather than positional authority—proving equally adept at presenting to the executive team and sitting with a first-time engineering manager to navigate complex, high-stakes situations.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Head of R&D to embed a proactive people strategy that accelerates Chainalysis's transformation into an AI-enabled intelligence company
• Lead organizational design and change management across R&D as teams evolve to support new operating models and optimize velocity, ownership, autonomy, and cross-functional collaboration
• Drive the people side of AI transformation by evolving career frameworks, leveling, and talent pipelines to reflect AI-native development and increased ownership
• Own workforce planning and talent strategy for R&D, including succession planning, critical-role identification, and retention strategies across core tech hubs NYC, Aarhus, and Tel Aviv
• Coach senior technical leaders on organizational health, performance management, and employee relations with data-driven insights and empathy
• Reinforce a culture of execution, support OKR-driven planning, and maintain structured accountability across a global, hybrid organization

Skills

Strategic HRBP

Executive coaching

People analytics

Organizational design

Talent management

Cross-functional collaboration

Engineering/R&D knowledge

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR or related field

Job description

Chainalysis is seeking a Director, HR Business Partner for its R&D organization. You will partner with the Head of R&D and senior leadership across engineering, research, product, design and support to shape a world-class, AI-enabled technology company.

You will drive organizational design, workforce planning, and talent strategies for R&D across NYC, Aarhus and Tel Aviv, balancing growth with cost discipline.