Lead and scale the HR Business Partner function during hypergrowth. Own company-level HR programs, partner with People Ops and Recruiting, solve organizational challenges, influence senior leadership, and foster an empathetic, feedback-driven culture.
About Harbinger
Harbinger is an American commercial electric vehicle (EV) company on a mission to transform an industry starving for innovation. Harbinger’s best-in-class team of EV, battery, and drivetrain experts have pooled their deep experience to bring a first-of-its-kind EV platform to support the growing demand for medium-duty EVs and Hybrids. Harbinger: Familiar Form, Revolutionary Foundation.
Role Overview
As the Director, HR Business Partner, you will play a critical role in scaling our HRBP function from the ground up during a period of hypergrowth. You will act as the strategic bridge between our business objectives and our people, taking absolute ownership of business-critical HR programs. Joining our People team and reporting directly to the VP People, you will partner closely with People Ops and Recruiting to ensure a seamless employee experience. We are looking for an empathetic, humble leader who leads with extreme ownership, understands the granular programmatic needs of the business, and has the influence to solve complex organizational challenges.
Key Responsibilities
- Own company level programs as a top priority which includes designing, launching, and measuring impact
- Be the main HR Business Partner for multiple organizations as the team scales (later becoming the leader of the group)
- Collaborate closely with the People Ops and Recruiting teams to ensure we are attracting, retaining, and developing top-tier talent efficiently.
- Solve business-critical issues by demonstrating extreme ownership and utilizing deep HR expertise to navigate organizational roadblocks.
- Influence outcomes and drive change management across the organization by building deep trust and relationships with senior leadership on the executive team
- Foster a culture of empathy, continuous feedback, and humility, ensuring our teams evolve alongside the business.
Required Skills & Experience
- 10–15 years of experience in progressive HR roles, with a heavy emphasis on HRBP, People Ops, L&D, and program launches.
- Proficiency in translating high-level business goals into actionable, scalable HR programs from scratch.
- Strong understanding of hypergrowth environments and the unique scaling challenges faced by fast-paced startups.
- Excellent emotional intelligence, humility, and communication skills; you must be highly receptive to feedback and lead with deep empathy.
- Strong desire and acumen for getting deep into Harbinger’s business and building programs from those principles.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working with commercial EV, automotive, or hardware manufacturing organizations.
- Familiarity with the distinct challenges of scaling technical, engineering, and manufacturing teams.
- Proven track record of strategic pedigree—you have either scaled successfully with a high-growth startup OR you have navigated company downfalls and possess a deep, analytical understanding of why things go wrong and how to prevent it.
Key Benefits & Perks:
- Comprehensive Health, Dental & Vision (HDV) – 100% employee covered
- Early-stage Stock Options
- Robust Retirement Savings (401k, HSA, FSA)
- Generous Paid Time Off (PTO) & Parental Leave
- Annual Vacation Bonus
- Wellness & Fertility Benefits
- Cell Phone Stipend
- Complimentary Meals & Stocked Kitchens
California Pay Range
$180,000—$220,000 USD
Equal Opportunity
Harbinger is an equal opportunity employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local fair employment practices laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information or characteristics, physical or mental disability, marital/domestic partner status, age, military/veteran status, medical condition, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Harbinger is committed to ensuring that our hiring process is accessible for persons with disabilities. If you have a disability or limitation, such as those covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, that requires accommodations to assist you in the search and application process, please email us at [email protected].
Candidate Data Privacy
Harbinger may collect, use and disclose your personal information or personal data (within the meaning of the applicable data protection laws) when you apply for employment and/or participate in our recruitment processes (“Candidate Personal Data”). This data includes contact, demographic, communications, educational, professional, employment, social media/website, network/device, recruiting system usage/interaction, security and preference information. Harbinger may use your Candidate Personal Data for the purposes of (i) tracking interactions with our recruiting system; (ii) carrying out, analyzing and improving our application and recruitment process, including assessing you and your application and conducting employment, background and reference checks; (iii) establishing an employment relationship or entering into an employment contract with you; (iv) complying with our legal, regulatory and corporate governance obligations; (v) recordkeeping; (vi) ensuring network and information security and preventing fraud; and (vii) as otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.
Harbinger may share your Candidate Personal Data with (i) internal personnel who have a need to know such information in order to perform their duties, including individuals on our HR, legal, and finance teams, and the team(s) with the position(s) for which you are applying; (ii) Harbinger affiliates; and (iii) Harbinger’s service providers, including providers of background checks, staffing services, and cloud services.
Harbinger may transfer or store internationally your Candidate Personal Data, including to or in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and in the cloud, and this data may be subject to the laws and accessible to the courts, law enforcement and national security authorities of such jurisdictions.
Please note that we are currently not accepting applications from third party application services. Any unsolicited resumes or candidate profiles submitted in response to our job posting shall be considered the property of Harbinger and are not subject to payment of referral or placement fees if any such candidate is later hired by Harbinger unless you have a signed written agreement in place with us which covers the applicable job posting.
Harbinger Garden Grove, California, USA Office
12821 Knott St, Garden Grove, CA, United States, 92841
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