Are you energized by supporting teams in rocketship mode—where learning outpaces process manuals, and each day brings new puzzles? At Chainguard, we’re rewriting how organizations build secure, scalable, people-centric cultures—one Chainguardian at a time.
As our People Business Partner, you’ll be a champion for our people and a strategic thought partner to our leaders. You’ll build trusted relationships, design high-impact programs, and coach a community that moves fast and cares deeply about the work we do (and how we do it). You’ll be a sounding board for executives, guide managers through sticky challenges, and help set the foundation for a truly inclusive, fun, and high-performing workplace. You’ll play a pivotal role in scaling our People practices while keeping empathy and excellence at the center.
What you’ll do- Coach, mentor, and provide timely feedback to Chainguardians, helping them grow and thrive.
- Guide people leaders through performance management (think: quarterly/annual reviews, continuous feedback, and clear growth paths).
- Deliver practical, real-talk training to managers on People policies, talent development, and all the quirky things that pop up in a scaling start-up.
- Collaborate with the broader People and Talent teams to deliver programs that attract, retain and engage talent.
- Investigate and resolve employee relations concerns thoughtfully and swiftly, always protecting trust and psychological safety.
- Foster an inclusive work culture (because representation, belonging, and good vibes matter).
- Collaborate with leaders on promotion processes, compensation cycles, and talent planning—making sure every Chainguardian feels seen and valued.
- Interpret and apply People policies with consistency and common sense, keeping us compliant wherever our Chainguardians sit.
- Use data, not guesswork—track, report, and analyze People metrics to inform decisions and drive better outcomes.
- Bring fresh ideas to People programs and never shy away from challenging the status quo.
- 6+ years of progressive HR/People experience, including at least 2–4 years in a true Business Partner role (supporting managers/leaders directly).
- Sound judgment, able to assess risk while moving the business forward.
- Hands-on experience with performance management, employee relations, and People analytics/reporting in high-growth, high-change environments.
- Project management and change management skills; you run programs (not just meetings).
- Adaptability and resilience—you stay steady under pressure and bring creativity to challenges.
- Experience operating in a tech start-up (bonus points for scaling global teams).
- Influence and strategic problem-solving chops; you’re comfortable having tough conversations and shaping solutions.
- Relationship-building superpowers—people trust you, and you earn it.
- Strong working knowledge of employment laws and regulations across multiple states.
- Communicates with clarity and empathy across all formats—written, verbal, or digital
- Brings analytical rigor and pragmatism—decisions are grounded in data as well as context.
About Us
Chainguard is the secure foundation for software development and deployment. By providing guarded open source software, built from source and updated continuously, Chainguard helps organizations eliminate threats in their software supply chains.
Founded by the industry's leading experts on open source software, security and cloud native development, Chainguard has built the largest library of open source software that is secure by default.
Chainguard’s mission is to be the safe source for open source.
We live and breathe our company values:
We are customer obsessed - We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
We have a bias for intentional action - We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
We don’t take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) - We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
We trust each other and assume good intentions - We’re transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well informed decisions.
A few of the benefits we offer:
- Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone and internet costs.
- Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!).
- 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck.
- ∞ Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need – to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset.
- 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year.
If your experience is close but doesn’t fulfill all requirements, please apply. We’re building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring “Chainguardians'' with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.
Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.
By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Chainguard will process your personal data in accordance with Chainguard’s Privacy Policy.
©2025 Chainguard. All Rights Reserved.
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