People Partner - Engineering

Wayve; London (KY); Hybrid; USD 86,000 - 119,000; Full time

Job summary

Wayve is seeking a People Partner for Engineering, driving a high-quality employee experience in a fast-paced, technical environment. You will work closely with the Senior People Partner for Engineering on performance, engagement, L&D, and day-to-day advisory work.

You will independently manage Employee Relations cases, coach managers, and support policy development while collaborating on broader People initiatives.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience as a People Partner or Advisory in a fast-paced, scaling org.
• Experience partnering with Engineering or technical teams.
• Strong knowledge of UK employment law; manage performance, grievance, investigations and absence.
• Ability to coach and influence managers and drive decisions in sensitive situations.
• Experience delivering initiatives across engagement, performance, change, L&D, reward or policy development.

Responsibilities

• Independently manage Employee Relations cases including documentation and investigations.
• Provide first-level coaching and advisory to Managers and Employees.
• Serve as first point of contact for policy, benefits, and system navigation queries.
• Collaborate on People initiatives and project work (engagement, retention, performance).
• Assist in data collection, analysis and reporting from People systems.
• Draft and update manager/employee resources for handbooks and intranet.
• Ensure People policies are up-to-date and compliant.
• Support offboarding processes and exit interviews.
• Prepare engagement reports and surface insights for leadership.
• Liaise with Talent Acquisition to support hiring efforts.

Skills

People partnering

Engineering partnership

UK employment law

Data & reporting

Communication

Coaching managers

Project work

HR systems

Tools

HR systems

Job description

The role

As a People Partner supporting Engineering, you'll play a key role in delivering a high-quality employee experience in a fast-paced, technical environment. Partnering closely with the Senior People Partner for Engineering, you'll support defined projects across areas like performance, engagement, L&D, and day-to-day advisory work, acting as a trusted first point of contact for employees and managers. You'll take ownership of routine processes, contribute to developing People resources, and support Employee Relations cases by preparing documentation, drafting communications, and guiding policy-aligned decisions. You'll also collaborate on broader People team and company-wide initiatives, helping to drive consistency, inclusion, and continuous improvement across the organisation. This role is ideal for someone with solid generalist People experience in a dynamic, scale-up setting, confident working with technically‑minded stakeholders and ready to deepen their impact.

Key responsibilities:

• Employee Relations: Independently manage ER cases, including documentation, note-taking during meetings, and following up on action points, escalating as needed. Support investigations, grievance handling, and performance management processes. Maintain the employee relations tracker to report on insights and areas of concern to inform recommendations for improvements. Maintain employee records with up to date case information.

• Local Coaching and Advisory: Provide first-level support in advising Managers and Employees, escalating when required.

• First Point of Contact: Serve as the first point of contact for employees and managers seeking support on People-related queries such as policies, benefits, and system navigation. Triage queries and elevate more complex issues to the relevant People Partner or people operations.

• Project Support: Collaborate with People Partners on People initiatives and project work, such as employee engagement, retention strategies, and performance management.

• Data and Reporting: Assist in data collection, analysis, and generating reports from People systems for analysis, compliance audits, or management requests.

• People Documentation: Support in drafting and updating manager and employee resources for handbooks and intranet platforms.

• Policy development: Ensure People policies and procedures are up-to-date, legally compliant, and easy to access for employees and managers.

• Offboarding: Support offboarding processes, including exit interviews and follow-up on necessary documentation.

• Engagement: Preparing engagement reports and insights, surfacing relevant themes and partnering with the Senior People Partner and business leaders on actions.

• Talent Team support: Liaise with Talent Acquisition and build relationships with local stakeholders to support hiring efforts where needed.

About you

In order to set you up for success as a People Partner at Wayve, we're looking for the following skills and experience.

Essential

• Demonstrated experience in a People Partnering or Advisory role within a fast-paced, scaling organisation, with a strong foundation across core People practices and the employee lifecycle.

• Experience partnering with Engineering or similarly technical teams, with the ability to adapt People practices and communication to suit technically minded stakeholders.

• Strong employee relations capability and working knowledge of UK employment law, including independently managing performance, grievance, investigation and absence cases from start to finish.

• Demonstrated ability to coach and influence managers, challenge constructively, clarify ownership and support effective decision-making in complex or sensitive situations.

• Experience delivering initiatives across several areas, such as engagement, performance management, organisational change, learning and development, reward, wellbeing or policy development.

• Strong independent judgement and problem-solving skills, with the ability to navigate ambiguity, balance competing priorities and drive work through to completion.

• Confidence using People data, employee feedback and HR systems to identify trends, surface risks and develop practical recommendations.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to build credibility and tailor advice for employees, managers and senior stakeholders.

Desirable

• Experience in a fast growth environment (preferably a start-up).

• Experience supporting people across multiple geographies.

• Proficiency in AI tooling to support workflows.

• UK Employment law knowledge and best practice.

This is a full-time role based in our office in King's Cross. At Wayve we want the best of all worlds so we operate a hybrid working policy that combines time together in our offices and workshops to fuel innovation, culture, relationships and learning, and time spent working from home.