People Business Partner

Harness•San Francisco, CA

11d•Hybrid

About The Position

Harness is a rapidly growing global tech company focused on the AI Software Delivery Platform. We are seeking a People Business Partner (PBP) to support leaders in the United States. This role is crucial for driving organizational effectiveness, leadership capability, talent planning, and performance management in a high-growth environment. The ideal candidate will be proactive, willing to contribute directly to building and scaling high-performing teams, and fostering an engaged culture. You will collaborate with Global People Business Partners and senior leaders to align business objectives with people strategies, ensuring the attraction, development, and retention of top talent.

Requirements

3+ years of People Business Partner experience
Proven ability to influence front-line and mid-level managers
Ability to manage ambiguity
Excellent communication, judgment, and problem-solving skills
Has experimented with building AI-assisted workflows

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting teams within a global organization preferred
Experience in tech, SaaS, or high-growth environments preferred

Responsibilities

Provide coaching to managers on performance management, team dynamics, career development, and employee retention and engagement.
Offer data-driven insights on workforce trends, retention signals, and talent risks within assigned client groups.
Support organizational changes, including team growth, restructuring, and manager transitions.
Act as the primary point of contact for employee relations matters, including ER cases, performance concerns, PIPs, and exits.
Conduct exit interviews and synthesize themes for leaders and the People team.
Partner with the Legal team to manage investigations, disciplinary actions, and grievances with discretion and sound judgment.
Ensure compliance with federal and state employment laws, partnering with Legal on complex cases and risk mitigation.
Execute cyclical People programs such as mid-year reviews, year-end performance cycles, quarterly talent sales reviews, and compensation planning.
Own communications and project management for cyclical People programs.
Partner with Total Rewards, L&D, and People Operations to ensure consistent global program implementation.
Support talent planning and succession conversations, escalating risks and themes to Senior PBPs.
Build and maintain AI-powered agents and automated workflows for repeatable HR tasks.
Create self-serve employee resources, templates, and toolkits to reduce high-volume inquiry load.
Collaborate closely with People Operations, Total Rewards, Workplace, and Learning & Development teams on cross-functional projects.
Contribute to team-wide People initiatives as a peer, sharing methodology, tools, and project work.
Support consistent application of global People programs with thoughtful, locally relevant execution.