Senior People Partner

Who We Are Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems—designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction. Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in. We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute. Our Values Move Fast : We act with speed and precision, breaking down big challenges into achievable steps. Focus : We complete one goal at a time with care, collaborating as a team to deliver features with precision. Balance : Sustained performance comes from rest and recovery. We ensure a healthy work-life balance to keep you at your best. Craftsmanship : Innovation through excellence. Every detail matters, and we take pride in mastering our craft. Minimal : Simplicity drives our innovation. We eliminate complexity through discipline and focus on what truly matters. What We're Looking For You’re a strategic People Partner who improves how organizations make people decisions as they scale. In this role, you’ll support our organization as a partner to senior leaders, bringing clarity, consistency, and strong judgment to org design, talent decisions, and complex people challenges. This role is not purely advisory. You will own high-impact situations end-to-end while helping leaders build the capability and systems needed to scale effectively. As a Senior People Partner at Lightning AI, you’ll join a small, high-impact team. This role combines strategic partnership with direct ownership across employee relations, performance, and scalable people operations in a distributed environment. You will be joining the People Team and report to our Head of People. This is a hybrid role based in our San Francisco office with in-office requirements of 2 days per week. The salary range for this role is $180,000-$200,000.  What You’ll Do Partner with leaders to drive clear, consistent decisions on org design, team structure, leveling, promotions, and compensation Own complex employee relations and performance situations end-to-end, coaching leaders through performance management, role transitions, and exits Build manager capability by improving how leaders give feedback, handle performance, and make talent decisions Partner with Talent to strengthen hiring quality through better role design, leveling, and evaluation practices Identify friction or risk in people processes and implement pragmatic, scalable improvements in collaboration with cross-functional partners (Legal, Total Rewards, Finance) What You’ll Need 8+ years of experience in People Partnering or HRBP roles Demonstrated success influencing senior technical leaders on org design, performance, and talent decisions Strong employee relations judgment with proven ability to own and resolve complex, high-impact situations Experience driving compensation, promotions, and leveling decisions in technical environments Experience supporting globally distributed teams and navigating multi-country complexity Comfort operating in fast-paced, ambiguous environments while building practical structure and clarity Excellent communication and influencing skills across senior and highly technical audiences Exposure to international employment models or global expansion work Nice To Have Deep familiarity with career frameworks and compensation models Experience building or evolving people systems in scaling organizations Experience supporting globally distributed engineering organizations SPHR or comparable certification Demonstrated success designing or improving compliance-focused programs that measurably reduce organizational risk Benefits and Perks We offer competitive base salaries and equity with a 25% one year cliff and monthly vesting thereafter. For our international employees, we work with our EOR to pay you in your local currency and provide equitable benefits across the globe. In the US, we offer: Medical, dental and vision Life and AD&D insurance  Flexible paid time off including winter closure Paid family leave benefits $500 one time home office stipend $1,000 annual learning & development stipend  100% Citibike membership (NYC only) $45/month gym membership  Additional various medical and mental health services At Lightning AI, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. We believe that diverse teams drive innovation and create better products. We provide equal employment opportunities to all empl