Founding HRBP Leader for High-Growth Scale

happyrobot.ai; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare, dental, vision

Equity in a high-growth startup

Ownership and autonomy

Job summary

HappyRobot is seeking an experienced People Business Partner to build and lead our HRBP function as we scale. You will partner with leaders to develop strong managers, run fair performance and employee relations processes, and keep the organization healthy as we grow.

This role suits someone who enjoys building from scratch, coaching with candor, and eventually leading a small People Business Partner team. You will define how we partner with the business, set priorities, coach across levels, own

Qualifications

• 7-10+ years of HR experience, including 3+ years as an HR Business Partner in high-growth or complex environments.
• Experience building HRBP programs from scratch.
• Experience designing and running performance review cycles and manager development programs.
• Strong employee relations judgment with ability to balance care and business needs and legal risk.
• Credibility and executive presence; ability to coach with candor and challenge leaders when needed.
• Experience supporting teams across multiple countries (US and EU strongly preferred).
• Interest in leading a team; people management experience a plus.
• High ownership, comfort with ambiguity, bias toward building and simplifying.
• Familiarity with AI tools and modern HR technology to work more efficiently.

Responsibilities

• Build the HRBP function. Define how we partner with the business, set priorities as we scale, and grow into hiring and leading a team of People Business Partners.
• Coach and advise managers at every level, and build leadership training for feedback, 1:1s, and development.
• Own our Impact Review program end to end, including calibration and lightweight goal-setting and continuous feedback.
• Lead employee relations, guiding managers through performance issues, PIPs, and exits with good judgment in partnership with People Ops and Legal.
• Design and launch engagement and development programs that promote inclusivity, grow skills, and support career and leadership development.
• Build our leadership pipeline by assessing readiness for lead roles and supporting new managers.
• Keep a pulse on org health, understand team structures and reporting lines, and recommend changes to org design.
• Use people data to guide recommendations on performance, retention, and team health.

Skills

HRBP experience

Performance management

Employee relations

Org design

Coaching leaders

Executive presence

People leadership

US/EU experience

Job description

HappyRobot is seeking an experienced People Business Partner to build and lead our HRBP function as we scale. You will partner with leaders to develop strong managers, run fair performance and employee relations processes, and keep the organization healthy as we grow.

This role suits someone who enjoys building from scratch, coaching with candor, and eventually leading a small People Business Partner team. You will define how we partner with the business, set priorities, coach across levels, own