Principal, People Business Partner

Aurora Innovation Aurora Innovation · Robotics · Mountain View, CA · People

This is a Principal People Business Partner role at Aurora Innovation, a self-driving technology company. The role focuses on aligning people strategies with business objectives, coaching senior leaders, driving organizational effectiveness, and building a future-proof workforce. It requires strategic HR partnership, organizational transformation expertise, business acumen, data-driven decision-making, and execution excellence.

What you'd actually do

  1. Work with senior leadership to align people strategies with business objectives, and execute high-quality solutions to ensure we have the talent and work environment necessary to achieve our most critical outcomes.
  2. Serve as a coach and strategic advisor to senior leaders, helping them navigate complex change and elevate their team's performance.
  3. Partner directly with executive leaders to proactively diagnose organizational systems, and design and implement organizational models that accelerate decision-making, enhance cross-functional collaboration, and scale for sustained growth.
  4. Lead workforce planning and implement talent strategies that ensure we have the right people in the right roles at the right time. Use data and insights to identify capability gaps and inform critical talent decisions to secure and develop capabilities needed for the future.
  5. Jump into challenges head-on—from organizational bottlenecks to change management initiatives—creating clarity and innovative solutions in ambiguous and complex situations.

Skills

Required

  • Strategic HR Partnership
  • Organizational Transformation Expertise
  • Business Athlete Mindset
  • Data-Driven Acumen
  • Execution Excellence
  • Systems Thinker
  • Resilience and a Growth Mindset
  • 10+ years of applicable HR Business Partner experience
  • proven experience partnering directly with C-suite executives within a rapidly scaling organization
  • Broad and progressive HR business partner experience in organizations recognized for best HR practices
  • Proven ability to lead with a creative mindset, very high self-awareness, and to act as a coach and mentor for other leaders and professionals
  • Systems thinking, proven ability to work effectively across multiple business areas, teams, and key leadership areas in a fast-paced environment
  • Demonstrates a breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities, including the ability to influence and collaborate with peers, develop and coach others, oversee and guide the work of other colleagues to achieve meaningful outcomes, and create business impact
  • Effectively diagnosing long-term HR needs, and shaping and leading initiatives to address them
  • Strong communication skills (written and verbal) to effectively address all organizational levels

Nice to have

  • Technology industry experience preferred
  • Advanced degree preferred

What the JD emphasized

  • high-growth environments
  • build, not just maintain
  • strategic partner
  • shape people strategies
  • drive organizational effectiveness
  • scale
  • trusted advisor
  • future-proof workforce
  • senior leadership
  • business objectives
  • critical outcomes
  • coach and strategic advisor
  • complex change
  • elevate their team's performance
  • executive leaders
  • organizational systems
  • accelerate decision-making
  • enhance cross-functional collaboration
  • scale for sustained growth
  • workforce planning
  • talent strategies
  • right people in the right roles at the right time
  • capability gaps
  • critical talent decisions
  • secure and develop capabilities needed for the future
  • complex problems
  • organizational bottlenecks
  • change management initiatives
  • ambiguous and complex situations
  • Collaborate closely
  • partners and stakeholders
  • Analyze internal and external data
  • evidence-based research
  • benchmarks
  • business metrics
  • diagnose issues
  • inform leadership decision making
  • senior business partner
  • high-growth, or tech environment
  • influence and build credibility with senior executives quickly
  • Organizational Transformation Expertise
  • design and implement effective organizational structures
  • leadership coaching
  • leadership team effectiveness
  • lead large-scale change management initiatives
  • Business Athlete Mindset
  • deeply knowledgeable about the business and industry
  • navigating and leading others through ambiguity
  • pivoting quickly to address new challenges
  • solving complex problems without a pre-existing playbook
  • Data-Driven Acumen
  • proactively diagnose issues
  • inform your recommendations
  • influence decisions
  • measure the impact of your work
  • Execution Excellence
  • deliver high quality results
  • leading projects and initiatives with milestones and delivery schedules
  • develop clear action plans with results-oriented goals for measuring success
  • Systems Thinker
  • connections across the organization
  • holistic approach to analyzing situations
  • developing solutions that are sustainable in the longer term
  • account for system interdependencies
  • Resilience and a Growth Mindset
  • resilience to thrive in a fast-paced environment
  • ability to energize those around you
  • 10+ years of applicable HR Business Partner experience
  • proven experience partnering directly with C-suite executives
  • rapidly scaling organization
  • Broad and progressive HR business partner experience
  • organizations recognized for best HR practices
  • Technology industry experience preferred
  • lead with a creative mindset
  • very high self-awareness
  • act as a coach and mentor for other leaders and professionals
  • Systems thinking
  • proven ability to work effectively across multiple business areas, teams, and key leadership areas
  • fast-paced environment
  • breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities
  • ability to influence and collaborate with peers
  • develop and coach others
  • oversee and guide the work of other colleagues
  • achieve meaningful outcomes
  • create business impact
  • Effectively diagnosing long-term HR needs
  • shaping and leading initiatives to address them
  • Strong communication skills (written and verbal)
  • effectively address all organizational levels