Senior People Partner

Genesis•San Carlos, CA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Genesis brings together AI research, simulation, and robotics to build general-purpose robots that can work in the real world. Its mission is to unlock unlimited physical labor. The Senior People Partner will work closely with leaders and teams to establish clear expectations, strengthen management, support honest feedback, and build an organization that helps people do their best work. The role combines organizational design and strategic partnership with practical support for sensitive employee situations. The Senior People Partner will advise leaders on business priorities, teams, capabilities, and headcount; coach managers; develop and operate performance and career practices; support organizational change; handle employee concerns and performance issues; use employee feedback and people data to identify risks and friction; and coordinate with Recruiting, People Operations, Finance, and Legal to create a coherent employee experience. The position is hybrid, with 3–4+ days per week in the office.

Requirements

Experience independently partnering with senior leaders as a People Partner or HR Business Partner in a demanding, fast-growing environment.
Ability to earn trust with technical teams through preparation, direct communication, and consistent follow-through.
Experience coaching managers through performance, development, and employee relations situations.
Ability to build a people practice from scratch and take responsibility for operating it.
Ability to balance empathy with clear expectations and address difficult issues early.
Ability to use data to inform judgment while considering the context behind the numbers.
Good judgment about when to act independently and when to seek specialist advice.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting engineering, research, AI, robotics, or other deeply technical teams.
Experience working across France, the UK, and the US.
Experience helping a startup introduce its first performance, career, or manager development frameworks.
Experience supporting a company through rapid international growth.

Responsibilities

Partner with leaders, understand their priorities, challenge their thinking when appropriate, and translate business goals into decisions about teams, capabilities, and headcount.
Coach managers on expectations, feedback, development, team dynamics, and difficult conversations, providing practical support.
Build and run lightweight approaches to goal setting, performance reviews, calibration, and career development.
Support organizational design, changing responsibilities, leadership transitions, and communication as the company scales.
Handle employee concerns, conflict, and performance issues fairly and discreetly, consulting Legal or local specialists when needed.
Use employee feedback, people data, and business knowledge to identify retention risks and organizational friction early.
Work with Recruiting, People Operations, Finance, and Legal to connect hiring, onboarding, development, compensation decisions, and employee transitions.