Senior People Business Partner - R&D

Employment Type: Full-Time Location Type: Remote Salary: [Salary information not provided]

Position Overview

Confluent is revolutionizing how data moves and what the world can do with it. Our platform enables near real-time data streaming, empowering companies to react faster, build smarter, and deliver dynamic experiences. We are seeking a Senior People Business Partner (PBP) to support our R&D organization. This role is crucial in aligning business objectives with people strategies, fostering an inclusive, results-oriented, and high-performance work environment. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in fast-paced tech companies, leveraging deep HR expertise and business acumen to drive manager coaching, team enablement, and organizational development initiatives. This is an exceptional opportunity to collaborate with leaders in building a new category of data streaming.

This position reports directly to the Senior Director, People Business Partners - R&D and will be based in Canada.

Responsibilities

• Partner with R&D (Product & Engineering) managers and leaders to assess business goals and deploy talent strategies that advance priorities and drive scale.
• Analyze data to identify key insights that inform talent strategies and advance business objectives.
• Support full-scale People programs and processes for client groups, including:
  • Performance management
  • Compensation program administration
  • Talent management
  • Workforce planning
  • Talent & leadership development
  • Employee engagement & retention
  • Org culture
  • Diversity & inclusion
• Collaborate with cross-functional People team members (compensation, recruiting, learning & development, benefits, mobility) to design and implement programs that attract, develop, and retain industry-leading talent.
• Design and lead initiatives to evolve and strengthen our culture, emphasizing openness and inclusion.
• Develop trusting, value-add, and credible relationships with business leaders, HR, and stakeholders.
• Act as a cultural steward to scale the Confluent culture as teams and locations grow.

Requirements

• BA/BS degree or equivalent working experience.
• 5+ years of Business Partner experience, with direct support for VPs.
• Prior experience partnering with R&D organizations.
• Previous experience in another HR specialization (e.g., Talent Acquisition, Employee Relations, L&D, HR Programs).
• First-hand experience working within an international, fast-growing organization with progressive HR practices.
• Demonstrable experience engaging managers on the thoughtful deployment of compensation programs (bonus, stock, merit) to recognize and reward top talent.
• Demonstrated competence in various HR functional areas, particularly career development, performance management, manager enablement, and change management.
• Demonstrated competence in managing complex employee relations and training managers on sensitive handling.
• Consultative mindset and ability to think critically as a thought partner to leaders at all levels.
• Proficiency in coaching and influencing practices to help leaders navigate challenges and identify solutions.
• Excellent written communication skills.

About Confluent

We’re not just building better tech. We’re rewriting how data moves and what the world can do with it. With Confluent, data doesn’t sit still. Our platform puts information in motion, streaming in near real-time so companies can react faster, build smarter, and deliver experiences as dynamic as the world around them.

It takes a certain kind of person to join this team. Those who ask hard questions, give honest feedback, and show up for each other. No egos, no solo acts. Just smart, curious humans pushing toward something bigger, together.

One Confluent. One Team. One Data Streaming Platform.