Principal, People Business Partner

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

This role is for a Principal People Business Partner 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 extensive HR business partner experience, particularly in high-growth tech environments, with a strong emphasis on strategic thinking, 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
  • Fluent in English

Nice to have

  • Technology industry experience preferred
  • Advanced degree preferred
  • Ability to travel within the U.S. approximately 10% of the time

What the JD emphasized

  • high-growth environments
  • scale
  • strategic partner
  • organizational effectiveness
  • future-proof workforce
  • critical functions scale
  • talent strategies
  • capability gaps
  • critical talent decisions
  • complex problems
  • ambiguous and complex situations
  • senior business partner
  • high-growth, or tech environment
  • influence and build credibility with senior executives quickly
  • Organizational Transformation Expertise
  • large-scale change management initiatives
  • Business Athlete Mindset
  • navigating and leading others through ambiguity
  • solving complex problems without a pre-existing playbook
  • Data-Driven Acumen
  • influence decisions
  • Execution Excellence
  • Systems Thinker
  • Resilience and a Growth Mindset
  • fast-paced environment
  • 10+ years of applicable HR Business Partner experience
  • partnering directly with C-suite executives
  • rapidly scaling organization
  • Technology industry experience preferred
  • Advanced degree preferred
  • lead with a creative mindset
  • very high self-awareness
  • act as a coach and mentor
  • Systems thinking
  • work effectively across multiple business areas, teams, and key leadership areas
  • fast-paced environment
  • breadth of diverse leadership experiences and capabilities
  • influence and collaborate with peers
  • develop and coach others
  • oversee and guide the work of other colleagues
  • achieve meaningful outcomes
  • create business impact
  • diagnosing long-term HR needs
  • shaping and leading initiatives
  • Strong communication skills (written and verbal)
  • address all organizational levels