Performance and Development Specialist

applied; Sunnyvale (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition in Sunnyvale, CA is looking for a Performance & Development Specialist to design and scale company-wide performance and development initiatives, including manager training models, aligned with our values. You will partner with leaders and the People Center of Excellence to ensure programs work in practice, not just on paper.

You will own L&D platform selection, translate gaps into scalable training content, and ensure compliance with labor and employment requirements,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in HR, Business, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience in people operations, HR generalist, or people program management.
• Proven track record designing and scaling company-wide performance or training programs.
• Experience building tools and resources with technology to improve program efficiency for leaders and employees.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and scale performance and development programs across the company.
• Build simple, intuitive mechanisms that still provide rigor and measurable signal.
• Ground programs in the company’s performance philosophy and operations.
• Create scalable manager training covering compliance, interview, and development.
• Own the selection and use of L&D platforms to deliver and track training.
• Collaborate with People Partners and other CoEs to identify skill gaps and translate to content.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and Engineering to align programs with objectives and regulations.
• Own policy design, interpretation, and compliance related to performance and development.

Skills

Performance management

Program design

L&D analytics

Stakeholder management

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree in HR or related field

5+ years HR/people ops experience

Tools

LMS platforms

People analytics tools

HRIS systems

Job description

About Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments.

About the Role:

Applied Intuition is looking for a Performance & Development Specialist to design and scale the systems that help employees and managers grow and do their best work. You will build intuitive performance and development initiatives, along with supporting manager training models, ensuring they remain highly execution-oriented and consistent with our corporate values. You will have the autonomy to revise and build what is needed from the ground up, with the judgment to know when a program needs more rigor and when it needs to get out of people’s way.

You’ll sit within the People Center of Excellence and partner closely with business leaders and People Business Partners to make sure every program you design actually works for the teams using it, not just on paper.

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Design, implement, and scale performance and development programs - from goal-setting through reviews and calibration — as a cohesive, company-wide system rather than a set of disconnected processes

• Think creatively about program design: build mechanisms that are simple, intuitive, and a light lift for leaders to run, while still generating the rigor and signal the business needs to measure performance

• Ground every program in Applied Intuition’s broader performance operations and philosophy, so performance and development feel like a natural extension of how the company already works — not an added layer of process

• Build a repeatable yet flexible model to train managers, covering compliance training, interview training, and manager development, that can flex to different team needs without losing a consistent core.

• Own the selection and use of L&D platforms to deliver, track, and report on manager training completion and effectiveness across the People team.

• Partner with People Business Partners and other Centers of Excellence to identify manager skill gaps and translate them into targeted, scalable training content.

• Partner cross-functionally with Legal, Finance, internal applications, and Engineering teams to ensure programs align with business objectives and regulatory requirements.

• Own performance and development policy design, interpretation, and compliance, including labor and employment law requirements that impact day-to-day operations

What We’re Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years of experience in people operations, HR generalist, or people program management roles with demonstrated stakeholder management experience, ideally including performance management or L&D program ownership

• Proven track record of designing and scaling performance and development or training programs that were adopted company-wide, including manager training models delivered and tracked through an L&D platform

• Successful experience building tools and resources using technology to increase program efficiency and ease of use for leaders and employees

• Strong program management background with the ability to design and optimize processes, integrate feedback, and communicate outcomes across all levels

• Experience partnering closely with business leaders, People Business Partners, and other Centers of Excellence to design programs that hold up in practice, not just in theory

• Solid understanding of HR policies, labor and employment law, and compliance requirements as they relate to performance management

• Strong analytical mindset with experience using data to drive program improvements and decision-making

Nice to Have

• Experience in high-growth technology companies, particularly in automotive or autonomous vehicle industries.

• Direct involvement in scaling startups from early-stage to larger organizational structures.

• Hands-on experience with performance management systems, LMS/L&D platforms, and people analytics tools.

• Background in change management or organizational development

• Experience working with large datasets

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor or subcontractor. Consequently, the parties agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of 41 CFR 60-1.4(a), 41 CFR 60-300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60-741.5(a) and that these laws are incorporated herein by reference. These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. These regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status or disability. The parties also agree that, as applicable, they will abide by the requirements of Executive Order 13496 (29 CFR Part 471, Appendix A to Subpart A), relating to the notice of employee rights under federal labor laws.