HR Business Partner - Engineering

forwardnetworks; California; On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Forward is seeking an HR Business Partner to serve as a strategic partner to our Sales organization, aligning people strategy with revenue goals and scaling a quota-driven workforce. You will work directly with CRO, VPs of Sales, and Directors to design org structure, compensation alignment, and talent programs that drive performance while maintaining a strong culture.

This role demands deep credibility with commercial leaders, a data-driven mindset, and hands-on coaching to develop sales talent

Qualifications

• 7-10+ years of progressive HR Business Partner experience focused on Sales or quota-based groups.
• Experience partnering with CRO, VP, and Director-level sales leaders.
• Deep understanding of sales structure, compensation plans, quota methodology.
• Strong org design, workforce planning, and change management in a fast-growth environment.
• Excellent coaching skills with credibility to influence senior leaders.
• Data-driven approach with dashboards for attrition, ramp, productivity.
• Sound judgment handling employee relations tied to quota attainment.
• Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion in sales teams.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Talent Acquisition, Legal, Sales Enablement.

Responsibilities

• Serve as trusted advisor to Sales senior leadership on organizational design, territory/quota structure, workforce planning.
• Translate revenue targets into people strategies, including org design and role architecture as the sales org scales.
• Lead full-cycle talent management for the client group: performance management, calibration, promotions, and career pathing.
• Use data analytics to diagnose organizational health and recommend proactive interventions.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition on sales-specific hiring strategy and headcount planning.
• Lead org design and change management during territory realignments, restructures, and market launches.
• Coach sales managers on leadership, performance conversations, and motivation.
• Collaborate with Compensation on commission plan design and pay-for-performance alignment.
• Manage employee relations within the client group, including terminations tied to quota attainment.
• Champion DEI initiatives in sales teams.
• Work cross-functionally to design programs for a revenue-oriented organization.
• Act as a culture carrier to promote high performance and accountability.

Skills

HRBP

Sales partnership

Org design

People analytics

Coaching leadership

Job description

Forward was founded in 2013 by four Stanford Ph.D.s, building the industry's first network digital twin: a mathematically accurate model of the production network. It's the foundation for autonomous networking, giving engineers and AI agents the ability to know the impact of every change before it touches production. That founding instinct still defines how we work. We're accurate and evidence-driven, relentless about clarity, and we'd rather be certain than comfortable, building a groundbreaking platform that transforms how teams run and secure networks across every major cloud and vendor environment.

Global leaders like Goldman Sachs, PayPal, S&P Global, IBM, and Dell trust Forward, alongside fast-growing enterprises and government agencies, realizing an average of $14.2 million in annual benefits, according to IDC. Backed by top-tier investors, including A. Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Goldman Sachs, MSD Partners, Omega Venture Partners, Section 32, and Threshold Ventures, and headquartered in Santa Clara, we're most proud of our team: curious people who'd rather build what doesn't exist than accept how things have always been done.

About the Role

Forward is looking for a HR Business Partner (HRBP) to serve as a strategic partner to our Sales organization. This role sits at the intersection of business strategy and people strategy, working directly with senior sales leaders (CRO, VPs of Sales, and Regional/Sales Directors) to build high-performing revenue teams, shape organizational design, and drive talent, culture, and change initiatives that scale with an evolving go-to-market motion. This role requires deep credibility with commercial leaders and fluency in the unique dynamics of a quota-carrying, commission-driven workforce.

What You'll Do

• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to Sales senior leadership, providing coaching and counsel on organizational design, territory/quota structure, workforce planning, and leadership effectiveness.
• Partner with sales leaders to translate revenue targets and go-to-market strategy into people strategies, including org design, span of control, and role architecture as the sales org scales or restructures.
• Lead full-cycle talent management for the client group: performance management, calibration, succession planning, promotion processes, and career pathing tailored to sales career ladders (RSD/AE, SDR/BDR, sales management, and sales enablement tracks).
• Use data and analytics (attrition, ramp time, quota attainment, rep productivity, pipeline health as it relates to headcount, promotion equity) to diagnose organizational health and recommend proactive interventions.
• Partner closely with Talent Acquisition on sales‑specific hiring strategy, headcount planning, and workforce composition, including seasonal/quarterly hiring cycles tied to sales capacity planning.
• Lead or co‑lead org design and change management efforts tied to territory realignments, reorganizations, M&A integration, or new market/segment launches.
• Coach sales managers and directors on leadership skills, performance conversations, managing underperformance in a quota‑driven environment, and team motivation.
• Partner with Compensation on commission plan design, quota setting implications, and annual compensation planning cycles (merit, equity, promotions) to ensure competitiveness and pay‑for‑performance alignment.
• Own employee relations matters within the client group, including performance improvement plans and terminations tied to quota non‑attainment, ensuring fair, consistent, and legally sound resolution.
• Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives specific to the challenges of building diverse sales teams.
• Partner cross‑functionally (Talent Acquisition, Legal, Sales Enablement) to design and deliver programs that meet the unique needs of a revenue organization.
• Act as a culture carrier, helping sales leaders build and reinforce an environment of high performance, accountability, and inclusion.

What We're Looking For

• 7-10+ years of progressive HR Business Partner experience, with a significant portion spent directly supporting Sales, Revenue, or other quota‑carrying/commission‑based client groups.
• Proven experience operating at a senior level, partnering directly with CRO, VP, and Director‑level sales leaders.
• Deep understanding of sales organizational structures, compensation plan design (base/commission/OTE), quota methodology, and the specific talent dynamics of hiring and retaining sales talent.
• Strong track record leading org design, workforce planning, and change management in a fast‑paced, target‑driven, high‑growth environment.
• Excellent coaching skills with the credibility and presence to influence senior commercial leaders.
• Data‑driven approach to HR - comfortable building and interpreting people analytics dashboards (attrition, ramp, productivity) to inform decisions.
• Sound judgment and experience navigating complex employee relations issues, including