HR Director, SPG

Applied Materials•Santa Clara, CA

4d•$172,000 - $237,000•Onsite

About The Position

The HR Director Business Partner is a senior human resources leader supporting Applied Material’s Semiconductor Products Group (SPG) business, based in Santa Clara, CA. This role sits at the center of the SPG HR leadership agenda, partnering directly with SPG business executives to shape organization design, talent strategy, and workforce decisions that enable current and future business performance. This is an individual contributor HR leadership role requiring the ability to partner directly with general managers of businesses, influence senior stakeholders, and operate with credibility across a large, complex, and geographically distributed organization. The successful candidate will bring strength in strategic partnership, data-driven insight, organizational design, and enterprise influence, with the ability to translate business priorities into practical people and organization strategies.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business, Organizational Psychology, or a related field; advanced degree (MBA or MS/MA in HR/OD) preferred.
12+ years of progressive HR experience, including significant experience as a strategic HR Business Partner to senior executives in a large, global, matrixed organization.
Proven track record shaping organization design, workforce planning, and talent strategy in a technology, semiconductor, or advanced manufacturing environment.
Strong analytical capability, with experience using workforce and business data to drive executive-level decisions.
Demonstrated ability to coach and influence senior leaders, including experience delivering candid feedback that changes leader behavior.
Experience balancing enterprise-wide priorities against business unit or regional interests, with sound judgment on when and how to escalate tension.

Nice To Haves

Prior HR leadership experience within a global semiconductor, capital equipment, or high-tech manufacturing company.
Experience supporting a business group through significant growth, restructuring, or M&A integration.
Experience operating within a shared-services or Center-of-Excellence HR model (e.g., partnering with Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, People Analytics COEs).
Manages multiple concurrent workstreams (org design, talent reviews, restructuring, executive coaching) without losing quality or follow-through.
Adjusts approach in real time as business priorities, org structure, or leadership shift, without becoming reactive or losing strategic focus.
Comfortable holding multiple, sometimes competing, stakeholder perspectives (SPG leadership, enterprise HR, regional teams) simultaneously and finding workable paths forward.
Stays composed and even-keeled under pressure, including during layoffs, escalations, or leadership conflict.
Brings candor without defensiveness — delivers difficult messages to executives directly, then moves forward constructively.
Shows patience with ambiguity and organizational pace, while maintaining urgency on outcomes that matter.

Responsibilities

Serve as a core, trusted member of the SPG leadership team's talent agenda – proactively shaping business strategy through a people and organization lens rather than responding after decisions are made.
Build strong, credible relationships with SPG executives and functional leaders, positioning HR as an equal contributor to business planning discussions.
Partner directly with business general managers to understand growth priorities, pressure-test organization implications, and shape people strategies that advance business performance.
Leverage enterprise-wide workforce and business data to generate insight, identify emerging risks, and anticipate organizational issues before they escalate.
Bring fact-based, data-supported recommendations to executive discussions on workforce planning, organizational health, and talent decisions.
Shape org design, global workforce planning, and succession strategy to ensure SPG has the structure, capacity, and capability to meet current and future business goals.
Partner with Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, and Talent Management COEs to build integrated talent strategies aligned to SPG's growth priorities.
Lead organizational change initiatives, including restructuring, integration, and workforce transitions, with rigor and discipline.
Provide candid, direct coaching to senior leaders, shifting how they think about and act on people decisions.
Influence leadership behavior and decision-making without formal authority, building trust quickly across diverse stakeholders and adapting style to context, culture, and audience.
Convert HR and business strategy into disciplined execution plans with clear ownership, milestones, and measurable outcomes across a large, distributed organization.
Collaborate across the global HR organization, including regional HR partners and COEs, to align priorities, remove barriers, and deliver against business commitments with consistency and speed.
Remain effective and clear-headed as scope, ambiguity, and organizational complexity increase, adjusting approach as priorities shift.