Senior HR Business Partner - Engineering & Data

Senior HR Business Partner, Engineering & Data

Kikoff is looking for a Senior HR Business Partner to support Engineering and Data — a 50+ person team at the center of a profitable, pre-IPO consumer fintech — and to lead the AI-driven evolution of how we run the People function. This is not a traditional HRBP role. You will operate as a product manager for the employee experience, designing, building, and maintaining AI-powered workflows and agents across the full employee lifecycle. You will also be the embedded People partner to the CTO's Chief of Staff, engineering and data leaders, and the managers who run our day-to-day delivery.

Your success will be measured through quantifiable improvements in talent outcomes, the quality and reliability of the AI workflows and agents you build, and your ability to influence culture and organizational effectiveness through data-driven insights. This role reports to the VP of People and works in close partnership with CTO and his Chief of Staff. You'll also collaborate with Recruiting, People Analytics, and People Operations on the systems that run underneath this work. This is a senior individual contributor role — no direct reports — with significant ownership over how Engineering and Data operate as a team.

What You'll Do

• Operate as a product manager for the employee experience. Own the build, launch, and maintenance of AI-powered workflows and agents across the lifecycle moving us from multi-week HR cycles to fast, automated ones
• Architect the foundational talent systems for Engineering and Data: career ladders, and promotion criteria, including the technical and behavioral expectations at each level
• Drive comp planning end-to-end (merit, equity refresh, promotion increases, out-of-cycle adjustments) and coach managers through the full performance lifecycle, including the harder calibration and feedback conversations
• Build automated dashboards and predictive analytics that let leadership make evidence-based decisions on engagement, attendance, learning ROI, retention risk, and high-potential identification
• Own employee relations for the Eng and Data populations — investigations, performance management, accommodations, and sensitive transitions — coordinating with Legal and the VP of People
• Partner with Recruiting on workforce planning, role architecture, leveling decisions, and offer construction for senior technical roles, and support immigration cases (H-1B, green card, wage-weighted lottery) with our external counsel
• Use data to shape policies on remote work, time off, and professional development, and build manager development and skill-gap-driven programs for Eng and Data leaders
• Support IPO readiness workstreams that touch the Eng and Data populations, including workforce compliance, equity education, and SEC-required disclosures

About You

• 5+ years of progressive HR experience, including at least 3 years in an HRBP role at a venture-backed tech company, with deep experience partnering with technical functions — ideally Engineering, Data, or Product. An advanced degree in Industrial & Organizational Psychology, HR, Business Analytics, or a related field is a plus
• A builder with a product mindset — comfortable writing PRDs, managing a backlog, and iterating on tools and agents. You ship, learn, and improve rather than wait for perfect conditions
• An AI-forward practitioner who has moved past using AI to answer questions and is actively building automation into the way HR work gets done
• Strong analytical and statistical skills, with hands-on experience in HR analytics tooling. Comfortable building models that go meaningfully beyond survey averages and headcount reports
• Fluent in technical comp and engineering leveling frameworks (IC ladders, management tracks, dual-track architectures), with a point of view on what makes them hold up under real-world calibration
• A first-principles thinker — comfortable challenging traditional HR "best practices" when data or technology suggests a better path
• Direct experience partnering with senior technical leaders (CTO, VPE, Director-level engineering managers) as a trusted partner, not a service provider, including the judgment calls that come with employee relations work — investigations, accommodations, terminations
• You read situations the way a good manager would — you can tell when an ER case is really about a manager problem, when a comp request is really about a title problem, and when a "process" complaint is really about something else

💰 US salary range: $170,000 – $210,000 base + equity

🏥 Medical, dental, vision — Kikoff covers the full cost for employees, 50% for dependents

📈 RSU's

🛃 Visa sponsorship available

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement: At Kikoff, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all applicants and employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, or any other classification protected by applicable law.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

## NOTICE TO RECRUITING AGENCIES

Kikoff does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiting agencies or search firms. Any resume or candidate profile submitted without a signed agreement and approved job order will be considered the property of Kikoff, and no fee will be owed.

Base Range 170000 - 210000 USD