Principal HR Business Partner (R&D)

Toast

3d•$125,000 - $254,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Toast is seeking a Principal People Success Partner, commonly referred to as an HR Business Partner, to serve as the strategic HR partner for its 2,000+ person R&D organization across Engineering, Product, and Design. Reporting directly to the Senior Director, PSP, this high-impact individual contributor will advise senior leaders and help shape how Toast builds, develops, and sustains its product and technology organization. The role requires navigating organizational complexity, influencing without authority, and translating people strategy into practical outcomes, from advising on organizational design to supporting performance calibrations and difficult performance conversations. Toast prioritizes candidates located near its hubs in Boston, New York City, Toronto, San Francisco, and Omaha. The position follows a hybrid work model that encourages in-person collaboration while recognizing individual needs; office expectations vary by region.

Requirements

10+ years of HR Business Partner experience.
Demonstrated expertise leading organizational design and restructuring initiatives.
Experience serving as a trusted partner to VP- and SVP-level leaders, with a strong ability to influence and coach.
Strong analytical skills, including comfort using AI tools and working with employee data, engagement metrics, and headcount models.
Excellent judgment, including knowing when to push, listen, or escalate.
High emotional intelligence and the ability to build trust quickly across a diverse, technically oriented workforce.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a high-growth SaaS or fintech company.
Experience supporting a globally distributed R&D organization.

Responsibilities

Partner with R&D SVPs, VPs, and senior directors to design and evolve scalable organizational structures.
Advise leaders through reorganizations and structural changes, helping them navigate people impacts with care and clarity.
Lead organizational design initiatives end-to-end, including diagnosis, stakeholder alignment, change communication, and implementation.
Drive consistent, high-quality performance calibrations across Engineering, Product Management, and Design; build leader capability and support fair, differentiated outcomes.
Promote clear expectations and candid feedback, helping leaders understand what raising the bar means in practice.
Adopt and test AI solutions to address challenges at scale and cultivate an AI Builder approach.
Use engagement data, pulse surveys, and qualitative signals to identify organizational health risks and partner with leaders on action plans.
Represent R&D in the design and rollout of company-wide people programs, ensuring compensation cycles, leveling frameworks, and engagement initiatives are implemented effectively.
Use data to shape decisions, measure outcomes, and communicate coherent recommendations to senior stakeholders.