People Partner

Normal Computing Corp.; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Normal Computing Corp. seeks a founding People Partner to help build teams and develop talent as we scale. You will partner with leaders across research, engineering, hardware and business units to strengthen performance and development, shaping how teams work together.

You will establish the People Partner function, balancing performance and development with early risk management, and you will own select initiatives informed by data and leadership input.

Qualifications

• HRBP experience across startups and larger tech/hardware companies.
• Proven ability to partner with leaders on talent and org design.
• Experience coaching managers through feedback and development.

Responsibilities

• Partner with leaders to align talent with business goals.
• Establish the People Partner function and lead key initiatives.
• Coach and develop managers with effective feedback and training.
• Guide performance reviews and development planning.
• Assess team health using employee conversations and data.
• Advise on employee relations, changes, and risk mitigation.
• Support cross-country teams and international entity setups

Skills

People partner

HRBP experience

Coaching managers

Employee relations

Data-driven HR

Education

HR certification

Tools

Rippling

Ashby

Lattice

Deel

Notion

Slack

Job description

• We’re looking for a founding People Partner to help Normal achieve its business goals by building effective teams and developing the talent we need as we grow. You’ll partner with leaders and employees across research, engineering, hardware and business teams to strengthen performance, development and how teams work together
• You’ll establish the People Partner function at Normal, balancing opportunities to strengthen performance and development with the need to address people challenges and risks early. You’ll bring clear recommendations to inform our priorities and use insights from your work with leaders and employees to shape our broader People programs, with ownership of specific initiatives
• Partner strategically with leaders. Understand business priorities, anticipate people needs, and advise leaders on talent, organizational change and the capabilities their teams need as we grow
• Coach and develop managers. Help managers set clear expectations, give useful feedback, delegate effectively and handle difficult conversations. Deliver coaching, team training and resources as we build out our leadership development work, drawing on the challenges you see across teams
• Guide performance and development. Support managers through performance reviews, helping them assess performance and turn feedback into development plans they follow through on. Bring recommendations as we continue to build our approach
• Understand and improve team health. Use employee conversations, pulse survey results, exit themes and people data to identify concerns and retention risks early. Facilitate discussions on role clarity and working relationships, and work with leaders to agree on actions and assess whether they help
• Advise on employee relations and change. Work with managers on performance concerns, employee issues and conflict, handling sensitive situations fairly and with care. Advise leaders on communicating and managing team changes, and involve People leadership and counsel in complex or high-risk matters

Sound judgment in employee relations, including fact-finding, confidentiality and knowing when to involve People leadership or counselExperience using employee feedback and people data to recommend a change and assess whether it helpedExperience supporting employees and managers across multiple countries; you know when to draw on local expertiseExperience coaching managers through feedback, performance and developmentExperience across early-stage startups and larger companiesExperience advising leaders as a People Partner, HRBP or in a comparable role within a tech or hardware companyExperience building practical People tools or delivering program componentsClear, candid communication, with examples of building trust and influencing leaders through difficult decisions or disagreementExperience using Rippling, Ashby, Lattice, Deel, Notion, SlackAn HR or project management certification such as SHRM-CP, SHRM-SCP, PHR, SPHR or PMPExperience supporting research or hardware teams, with an understanding of how their work shapes team structure, performance and developmentExperience supporting reductions in force, setting up or international entity arrangements, and PEO setups