People Partner Lead (Engineering)

Join Gusto as a People Partner Lead (Engineering) and support our Engineering, Data Science, and Security/IT organizations. This role requires a high-ownership individual who can blend business partnership with hands-on execution. You will build trusted partnerships with leaders, synthesize People data, support core talent programs, and serve as the liaison between R&D and Gusto's broader People team. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of HRBP or People Partner experience, strong analytical instincts, and a bias toward action.

• Establish trusted partnerships with Engineering, Data Science, and Security/IT leaders to understand team dynamics and address performance management issues.
• Analyze People data to identify trends and provide actionable insights to R&D leaders, supporting core talent programs and performance cycles.
• Lead the execution of organizational changes, including transition planning, communication sequencing, and follow-through to ensure successful implementation.
• This role is designed for someone who operates with high ownership, has a strong bias toward action, and earns trust through follow-through — not decks
• You build credibility through follow-through. Leaders trust you because you do what you say you'll do
• 10+ years of HRBP or People Partner experience, with meaningful time supporting technical organizations — Engineering, Data Science, Security, or similar
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and hold a lot of detail without losing the thread
• Strong analytical instincts. You're comfortable in spreadsheets and can tell a story with People data without over-engineering it
• A strong bias toward action and a high speed of execution. You'd rather move and adjust than wait for the perfect answer — and when you decide to move, you move quickly
• Deep experience with performance management, calibrations, promotions, and organizational design
• AI-native mindset. You actively use AI to do your work better — synthesizing data, drafting communications, building lightweight workflows or agents to eliminate repetitive work. You know when to reach for AI, when to iterate on what it gives you, and when to keep the human in the loop. You don't just follow AI trends; you experiment with them
• Strong operator mindset. You've executed complex People work — not just advised on it. You know what a well-run reorg looks like from the inside
• Demonstrated ability to influence and partner with senior technical leaders. You have opinions, you share them, and you push back when something doesn't make sense — but you don't need to own the answer
• Sound judgment that accounts for Gusto, not just R&D. You make People decisions that hold up beyond your client group — ones your COE partners can build for and that don’t create one-off exceptions that ripple across the company. You proactively build COE relationships because you know that’s what makes the model work