Director, Human Resources Business Partner, R&D

We believe that 10x's success is due to the talented and diverse people that we hire, develop, and retain. Our People team paves the way for the organization to own the culture, live true to our values, and drive the execution of our mission.

We are looking for a Director, Human Resources Business Partner to own the people strategy for our R&D function and to help shape how 10x thinks about talent and organization across the company. You will build the trust and credibility to become the person R&D senior leaders turn to on the decisions that matter most: how we structure the organization, how we build and develop leadership, and how we create the conditions for our people to do their best work. You will also show what great HR partnership looks like at 10x, through how you work and how you show up, and actively invest in the capability of the HRBP team around you. 

The right person for this role is equally comfortable working through ambiguity, challenging a senior leader's thinking, and coaching a leader or colleague through a difficult situation. You are grounded in data, decisive under pressure, and focused on solving for the long term, not just the immediate ask. This role reports to our Sr. Director, Global HR Business Partners. 

Because the R&D team primarily works onsite, being present in our Pleasanton, CA office most of the time is important for this role, with flexibility built in when it makes sense.

What you will be doing:

• Build and drive a people strategy for R&D that connects directly to the function's business priorities, reflecting the unique talent dynamics and complexity of a multidisciplinary organization, including science, software, hardware, manufacturing and quality.
• Partner with R&D senior leaders on org design, workforce planning and change management to shape the thinking and influence the direction rather than just running the process
• Build trust and credibility with R&D leaders, becoming the person they turn to when the situation is sensitive, complex, or genuinely unclear
• Coach and challenge senior leaders in a way that makes them better, identifying leadership gaps early and partnering on development that is specific and actionable
• Own the talent strategy for R&D: partnering with TA to attract specialized scientific talent, and leading how we develop, retain, and make hard calls when performance needs to be addressed
• Ground every people recommendation in data and business context, bringing commercial and financial discipline to decisions and advocating for what the business needs over the long term
• Maintain a genuine pulse on the R&D organization, surfacing what's driving engagement and what leaders may not be seeing
• Investigate employee relations issues with care and sound judgment, addressing them early and consistently with our values
• Partner with fellow HR leaders to ensure the people strategy is coherent across 10x, bringing the R&D perspective into company-wide conversations
• Mentor and develop other HRBPs, building capability across the function through how you work and the judgment you share

Skills and Background 

• 12+ years as a senior HRBP in a fast-paced, global technology or life science environment, with direct experience supporting R&D, Engineering, or scientific and technical organizations
• A demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders on the decisions that matter, org design, workforce planning, leadership effectiveness and a track record of building the credibility to be in those conversations
• Strong commercial acumen, you understand the business well enough to push back on it, and you bring financial and strategic discipline to every people recommendation
• Fluent in data and comfortable with AI tools, you use both to bring sharper, more actionable insights to complex organizational questions
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity and competing priorities in a matrixed environment, and experienced at building capability in the HR function around you
• Experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, or integrations is a plus
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
• Limited travel required, approximately 5%