Lead, People Partner

Osmo•Elizabeth, NJ

1d•$141,000 - $162,000

About The Position

Osmo is a digital olfaction company focused on improving human health and wellbeing by giving computers a sense of smell. With applications spanning various industries, Osmo leverages automation and AI/ML to solve complex problems. The company is headquartered in Elizabeth, NJ, with an additional office in Somerville, MA. This role is crucial for building a high-trust, high-performing People function as Osmo enters its next growth phase. The People Partner will act as a senior operator and trusted advisor to business leaders, working closely with the CHRO to enhance systems, practices, and daily people support for scalable growth.

Requirements

7+ years of progressive People / HR experience, including meaningful HRBP, People Partner, People Operations, or People leadership experience in a fast-moving environment.
Experience operating in a company where the People function had to be both strategic and scrappy (startup, scale-up, technical, manufacturing, biotech, AI, hardware, or similarly complex environments).
Experience supporting both exempt and non-exempt populations.
Strong judgment in sensitive employee matters, including listening, documentation, risk identification, confidentiality, and appropriate escalation.
Comfort advising managers directly on performance concerns, interpersonal conflict, conduct issues, accommodations, leaves, terminations, and organizational change.
Working command of sponsorship and immigration processes (e.g., H-1B, visa transfers, permanent residency), acting as the internal point of judgment for managers and leaders.
Strong working knowledge of HR compliance across the employee lifecycle (FLSA, worker classification, leaves and accommodations, EEO, multi-state employment considerations), with the ability to spot risk and involve Legal.
Direct experience supporting wage and hourly (non-exempt) populations, including timekeeping, overtime, pay practices, and the specific manager support required for an hourly workforce.
Ability to build a tracker, clean up a process, write communications, run meetings, follow up with managers, and ensure documentation.
Ability to earn trust with senior leaders while being direct, objective, and employee-centered, coaching managers through difficult conversations.
Fluency in leveling, calibration, performance cycles, promotions, offer alignment, and the connection between job scope, pay, and organizational design.

Nice To Haves

Past partnership with Finance on headcount, compensation, payroll-adjacent processes, or workforce planning.
Experience building People programs from early-stage or messy foundations into repeatable, scalable processes.

Responsibilities

Partner with managers and leaders on employee matters, team dynamics, performance concerns, conflict resolution, and sensitive workplace situations, providing practical, values-aligned guidance and escalating when necessary.
Serve as a day-to-day People partner for employees and managers, ensuring fairness, consistency, confidentiality, and good judgment in handling issues.
Support performance and growth processes, including manager enablement, feedback cycles, calibration, performance documentation, and development conversations.
Contribute to the rollout and improvement of Osmo’s performance framework, ensuring it remains clear, lightweight, and scalable.
Partner with CHRO, Finance, recruiting, and hiring managers on disciplined intake for new roles, backfills, and headcount requests, clarifying scope, leveling, interview processes, and compensation alignment.
Support a clean requisition process tied to business priorities, budget, leveling, and org design.
Partner with CHRO and Finance on compensation, leveling, promotions, equity refreshes, and headcount planning, maintaining consistency in job architecture and supporting talent decisions.
Identify when roles, team structures, or compensation require deeper review.
Ensure core People processes like onboarding, offboarding, employee changes, policy administration, and manager communications run reliably.
Partner with internal stakeholders on systems, vendors, benefits, payroll-adjacent processes, compliance, and documentation.
Help Osmo scale its culture with clarity, kindness, and high standards, supporting leaders through organizational change, new operating rhythms, and employee communications.
Act as a pragmatic culture carrier, protecting trust while helping the company make difficult decisions.