HR Business Partner

Periodic Labs•Menlo Park, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Periodic Labs is growing rapidly and is seeking an HR Business Partner to support its engineering and research organization. This role will partner directly with technical leaders to build high-performing teams, address people-related challenges, and design talent systems. The position requires experience within engineering organizations, particularly in fields like AI, physical products, semiconductors, or hardware startups, with a deep understanding of how technical teams operate. The HR Business Partner will act as a trusted advisor to managers and individual contributors, applying strategic judgment and operational rigor to various HR functions. Key responsibilities include serving as an embedded HRBP for business, engineering, and lab teams, fostering trusted relationships. The role involves partnering with people managers on performance management, compensation calibration, career development, and organizational design. It also includes leading employee relations with professionalism, handling sensitive situations, investigations, and coaching managers discreetly. The position supports the design and execution of performance review cycles, promotion frameworks, and leveling guides tailored for a technical and scientific workforce. Collaboration with recruiting on workforce planning, headcount prioritization, and organizational design is essential. Proactive identification and mitigation of retention risks, alongside building engagement and career pathing frameworks, are also key. The role includes designing and operationalizing onboarding programs for new engineers and scientists, building people programs from scratch (manager training, feedback culture, compensation bands, career ladders), advising on organizational design and team scaling, and utilizing people data and analytics to drive evidence-based decisions.

Requirements

10+ years of HR or people experience, with at least 3 years in an HRBP role embedded in an engineering or technical organization
A background supporting teams in physical products, semiconductors, manufacturing, or a hardware-forward startup — you understand the operational rhythms and talent profiles of these environments
Experience navigating the intersection of research and engineering cultures — where intellectual rigor, speed, and hands-on problem-solving all coexist
Strong command of performance management, comp calibration, employee relations, and organizational design
A builder’s mindset — you’re comfortable in ambiguous environments where people programs are still being defined and you’ll often have to create the playbook from scratch
High EQ and communication skills — you build trust quickly with engineers and scientists, and you know how to navigate difficult conversations with directness and care
Sound judgment on sensitive matters — you handle employee relations and investigations with appropriate seriousness and discretion
Data fluency — you use people analytics to diagnose issues, identify trends, and support decisions with evidence
Ability to operate at multiple altitudes: you can advise a VP on org design in the morning and help a first-time manager handle a difficult conversation in the afternoon
Minimum education: bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and training or experience

Nice To Haves

Experience at an AI lab, deep tech company, or research institution where the talent profile is unusually specialized
Familiarity with compensation design for rare technical roles — physicists, materials scientists, ML researchers — where standard comp benchmarks don’t apply
Experience partnering with recruiting on technical hiring strategy, including sourcing for niche disciplines
A background in operations, finance, or program management that brings additional analytical depth to the people function
Experience scaling an HR function in a startup environment from early stage through a growth financing event

Responsibilities

Serve as the embedded HRBP for business, engineering and lab teams, building trusted relationships across disciplines
Partner with people managers on performance management, compensation calibration, career development, and organizational design as the company scales
Lead employee relations work with professionalism and sound judgment — handling sensitive situations, investigations, and manager coaching with discretion
Support the design and execution of performance review cycles, promotion frameworks, and leveling guides suited to a technical and scientific workforce
Work closely with recruiting to shape workforce planning, headcount prioritization, and organizational design
Identify and address retention risks proactively, partnering with leadership to build engagement and career pathing frameworks that match the ambition of our team
Design and iterate on onboarding programs that integrate new engineers and scientists quickly into the Periodic Labs culture and way of working
Help build and operationalize people programs from scratch — from manager training and feedback culture to compensation bands and career ladders
Advise on org design and team structure as we grow, including when and how to add management layers, form new functions, and scale specialized teams
Use people data and analytics to surface insights and drive evidence-based decisions on headcount, attrition, and team health