Founding People Business Partner

The posting, as Happyrobot Inc. wrote it

ABOUT HAPPYROBOT

HappyRobot is the infrastructure for enterprises to build and orchestrate AI workforces. Our AI workers don't just communicate through voice and email - they make decisions, take action, and run operations autonomously across entire enterprise systems. Born in Y Combinator (S23) and backed by a16z, Base10, Prysm Capital and Eurazeo with over $200M raised, we power critical operations for global enterprises worldwide.

Our platform is battle-tested in the most demanding environments, where AI has real consequences. We started in logistics, built our own voice stack, models, and orchestration layer from the ground up, and are now bringing that infrastructure to every enterprise that runs the real economy. Learn more about our vision in our manifesto. https://www.happyrobot.ai/blog/manifesto

About the Role
We are looking for an experienced People Business Partner to build and lead our HRBP function as we scale. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role for someone who will partner closely with leaders across the company to develop strong managers, run fair and effective performance and employee relations processes, and keep our organization healthy as we grow. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building from scratch, coaching leaders with candor, and eventually hiring and leading a team of People Business Partners.

What You’ll Do

• 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 that helps new and experienced leaders give feedback, run effective 1:1s, and develop their people.
• Own our Impact Review program end to end, including calibration, and build lightweight goal-setting and continuous-feedback practices so nothing comes as a surprise at review time.
• Lead employee relations, guiding managers through performance issues, PIPs, and exits with good judgment, fairness, and discretion, 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 through the transition.
• Keep a pulse on org health. Understand team structures, reporting lines, and how teams work together, spot risks early (attrition, burnout, team friction), and recommend changes to org design.
• Use people data to guide recommendations on performance, retention, and team health.

Must Have

• 7-10+ years of HR experience, including 3+ years as an HR Business Partner in high-growth or complex environments, with deep knowledge of performance management, employee relations, and org design.
• Experience building HRBP programs from scratch, not only running existing ones.
• A track record of designing and running performanc

[…]
hon — not a sprint with no strategy.

Talent Density and Meritocracy
Hire only people who can raise the average; ‘exceptional performance is the passing grade.’ Ability trumps seniority. We believe the best teams are built on talent density — every hire should raise the bar. We reward contribution, not titles or tenure. We give ownership to those who earn it, and we all hold each other to a high standard. A-players want to work with other A-players — that’s how we win.

First-Principles Thinking
Strip a problem to physics-level facts, ignore industry dogma, rebuild the solution from scratch. We don’t copy-paste solutions. We go back to basics, ask why things are the way they are, and rebuild from the ground up if needed. This mindset pushes us to innovate, challenge stale assumptions, and move faster than incumbents. It’s how we build what others think is impossible.

The personal data provided in your application and during the selection process will be processed by Happyrobot, Inc., acting as Data Controller.

By sending us your CV, you consent to the processing of your personal data for the purpose of evaluating and selecting you as a candidate for the position. Your personal data will be treated confidentially and will only be used for the recruitment process of the selected job offer.

In relation to the period of conservation of your personal data, these will be eliminated after three months of inactivity in compliance with the GDPR and legislation on the protection of personal data.

If you wish to exercise your rights of access, rectification, deletion, portability or opposition in relation to your personal data, you can do so through security@happyrobot.ai subject to the GDPR.

For more information, visit https://www.happyrobot.ai/privacy-policy https://www.happyrobot.ai/privacy-policy

By submitting your request, you confirm that you have read and understood this clause and that you agree to the processing of your personal data as described.