People Partner Lead, Engineering

About the Role:

We're looking for a high-ownership People Business Partner to support our Engineering, Data Science, and Security/IT organizations at Gusto. This role reports into Gusto's Head of People and serves as a trusted partner to leaders across some of our most technically complex teams.

This role blends high-trust business partnership with hands-on execution. You'll partner with leaders through organizational changes, drive core People programs and operating rhythms, and act as the connective tissue between R&D and the broader People team. The leaders you'll support have strong points of view and deep context — you add value by stress-testing their thinking, then making it happen.

The ideal candidate is equally comfortable analyzing gPulse data to surface a team health trend, running a clean reorg end-to-end, and building a lightweight process that makes a program actually land. 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.

We are in an active build phase — this role requires someone who arrives ready to construct, not inherit.

About the Team:

• Build trusted partnerships with Engineering, Data Science, and Security/IT leaders — understanding what's happening in their teams, surfacing friction early, and navigating performance management, promotions, leveling, and employee relations matters with good judgment.
• Synthesize People data — gPulse results, Gustofied performance cycles, attrition signals, headcount trends — into clear, actionable reads for R&D leaders before they have to ask.
• Support and operationalize core talent programs including performance cycles, calibration discussions, promotion processes, and manager enablement.
• Reinforce high performance standards, accountability, and clarity around expectations, feedback, and growth across Engineering, Data Science, and Security/IT.
• Serve as the liaison between R&D and Gusto's broader People team (Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, L&D, People Ops), translating company-wide programs into what they mean specifically for technical orgs — and surfacing R&D context back to the center.
• Proactively identify risks, friction points, and opportunities for improvement using People insights and organizational data.
• Build lightweight but scalable People frameworks, operating mechanisms, and repeatable processes that improve consistency across the business.
• When org changes are decided, own end-to-end execution — transition planning, communication sequencing, Workday updates, leader enablement, and follow-through until nothing is left unresolved.

Here’s what you’ll do day-to-day:

• Build trusted partnerships with Engineering, Data Science, and Security/IT leaders — understanding what's happening in their teams, surfacing friction early, and navigating performance management, promotions, leveling, and employee relations matters with good judgment.
• Synthesize People data — gPulse results, Gustofied performance cycles, attrition signals, headcount trends — into clear, actionable reads for R&D leaders before they have to ask.
• Support and operationalize core talent programs including performance cycles, calibration discussions, promotion processes, and manager enablement.
• Reinforce high performance standards, accountability, and clarity around expectations, feedback, and growth across Engineering, Data Science, and Security/IT.
• Serve as the liaison between R&D and Gusto's broader People team (Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, L&D, People Ops), translating company-wide programs into what they mean specifically for technical orgs — and surfacing R&D context back to the center.
• Proactively identify risks, friction points, and opportunities for improvement using People insights and organizational data.
• Build lightweight but scalable People frameworks, operating mechanisms, and repeatable processes that improve consistency across the business.
• When org changes are decided, own end-to-end execution — transition planning, communication sequencing, Workday updates, leader enablement, and follow-through until nothing is left unresolved.

Here’s what we're looking for:

• 10+ years of HRBP or People Partner experience, with meaningful time supporting technical organizations — Engineering, Data Science, Security, or similar.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Deep experience with performance management, calibrations, promotions, and organizational design.
• Strong analytical instincts. You're comfortable in spreadsheets and can tell a story with People data without over-engineering it.
• You build credibility through follow-through. Leaders trust you because you do what you say you'll do.
• Ability to thrive in ambiguity and hold a lot of detail without losing the thread.
• 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.
• 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.

Our cash compensation amount for this role is between $158,300 - $195,237/year in Denver and between $185,955 - $229,345/year for New York/San Francisco. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate location, experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.