Director, Talent Development

Socket.dev; Novi (MI); On-site; USD 140,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Socket.dev is seeking a Director of Talent Development to lead the enterprise-wide strategy, align programs with business goals and workforce planning, and guide organizational growth in a fast-paced tech environment.

You will design and scale onboarding, role-readiness, learning journeys, and manager development while using AI and automation to personalize content, measure impact, and drive ROI; you will coach a high-performing team and partner with senior leaders to strengthen capability

Qualifications

• Eight or more years in talent development or related field.
• Three or more years of people leadership experience.
• Hands-on experience with AI tools for learning and development.
• Ability to influence senior executives and partner with leadership.
• Strong project management in remote, distributed environments.

Responsibilities

• Own enterprise-wide talent development strategy aligned with business goals and workforce planning.
• Partner with senior leaders to identify capability gaps and scalable solutions.
• Lead design of onboarding, role-readiness frameworks, learning journeys and new-manager programs.
• Identify and implement AI-powered tools and automated workflows for content creation and assessment.
• Build and develop a high-performing talent development team and manage budgets and vendors.
• Define measures of program effectiveness and ROI; use insights to improve programs.
• Advise executive leadership on talent development needs and innovative solutions.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Executive stakeholder influence

Learning strategy

Team leadership

Budget management

Project management

Communication skills

Time management

Tools

AI platforms

AI-enabled learning tools

Skills mapping tools

Learning management systems

Vendor management tools

Job description

The Director of Talent Development is responsible for building and leading the enterprise-wide talent development strategy in alignment with business goals, workforce planning, and organizational growth. This role designs and scales role-readiness, onboarding, manager development, and learning journey programs while using AI and automation to improve personalization, efficiency, and impact. The Director leads the talent development team and advises senior leaders and HR business partners on capability needs and development solutions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own the enterprise-wide talent development strategy and align programs with business goals, workforce planning, and organizational growth.
• Partner with senior leaders and HR business partners to identify capability gaps and develop scalable solutions that address business and workforce needs.
• Set the strategy and lead the design of foundational training, role-readiness frameworks, learning journeys, onboarding, and new-manager development programs.
• Identify and implement AI-powered tools and automated workflows that improve content creation, learning personalization, skills assessment, reporting, and program delivery.
• Champion responsible experimentation and adoption of emerging learning technologies based on organizational fit, value, and return on investment.
• Build, lead, coach, and develop a high-performing talent development team while managing priorities, budgets, learning platforms, and vendor relationships.
• Define and monitor measures of program effectiveness, engagement, promotion, retention, time-to-proficiency, and return on investment; use insights to continuously improve programs.
• Advise executive leadership on talent development needs, outcomes, and innovative solutions that strengthen organizational capability.
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Eight or more years of progressive experience in talent development, organizational development, or learning and development is required.
• Three or more years of experience leading people is required.
• Hands-on experience or strong working knowledge of AI tools and platforms applied to learning and development or talent functions is required.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and serve as a strategic partner to executive leadership is required.
• Strong project management experience managing multiple priorities in a remote, distributed environment is required.
• Experience managing budgets and external vendor relationships is required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in a high-growth or matrixed organization is preferred.
• Certification in leadership assessment tools, such as Hogan, DiSC, or MBTI, or a coaching certification is preferred.
• Experience building internal mobility or career-pathing programs is preferred.
• Experience evaluating or implementing AI and automation solutions within HR or learning and development technology is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strategic leadership and the ability to translate business goals and workforce needs into an enterprise talent development roadmap.
• Knowledge of adult learning, role readiness, leadership development, learning journeys, performance management, and succession planning practices.
• Working knowledge of generative AI, AI-enabled learning platforms, skills-mapping tools, automation, and responsible technology adoption.
• Ability to use data and AI-enabled analytics to evaluate program effectiveness, identify emerging needs, and communicate business impact.
• Ability to influence executives, partner across a matrixed organization, and facilitate effective decision-making.
• Strong team leadership, coaching, budget management, vendor management, and prioritization skills.
• Excellent customer service skills with both internal and external customers.
• Capable of working with frequent interruptions and changing priorities.
• Effective communication skills, written, verbal and interpersonal.
• Proficient time management, organizational skills and ability to meet established deadlines.