Associate People & Culture Business Partner

Pay Rate: $48 - $57 per hour
Location: Santa Clara, CA - Onsite
Contract-to-Hire (W2)

About the Role

As an Associate People and Culture Business Partner, you will serve as a trusted advisor to department leaders across the organization—helping translate business strategy into people practices. You will own a broad range of business partnering responsibilities while building deep expertise in a high-growth, mission-driven medical device environment.

Responsibilities

• Build trusted advisor relationships with managers and leaders, helping them navigate complex people challenges with confidence.
• Partner with Finance on offer approvals and compensation budgeting.
• Align talent strategies to business goals by collaborating across functions.
• Serve as a knowledgeable resource on policies, procedures, and compliance, escalating to legal counsel when needed.
• Advise on job leveling, role design, and internal mobility to support long-term workforce planning.
• Conduct fair, thorough, and timely workplace investigations—from intake through resolution and documentation.
• Guide managers through performance improvement plans (PIPs), disciplinary actions, and terminations with professionalism and compliance rigor.
• Proactively identify employee relations trends and recommend systemic solutions before issues escalate.
• Support the design and execution of performance management cycles.
• Coach managers on setting clear goals, delivering effective feedback, and fostering accountable teams.
• Support managers in identifying and addressing talent needs, developing key talent, and managing talent gaps.
• Support compensation reviews and benchmarking processes to ensure market-competitive pay practices.
• Guide and support managers through the annual performance and merit cycle review.
• Champion our culture by partnering on employee engagement surveys and action planning.
• Contribute to programs that make our company a recognized best place to work in medtech.
• Maintain a visible, approachable presence across the business.
• Develop and conduct training programs for employees as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
• 5+ years of progressive People & Culture experience, with at least 3 years in a Generalist or equivalent advisory capacity, preferably in a startup medical device environment.
• Demonstrated experience across multiple HR disciplines: talent acquisition, compensation, employee relations, investigations, performance management, DEI, and talent development.
• Background in medical device, biotech, or other regulated industries strongly preferred.
• Experience thriving in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where priorities shift, and ambiguity is the norm.
• Solid understanding of employment law, leave administration, and benefits fundamentals.
• Proficiency with HRIS and ATS platforms—experience with ADP Workforce Now and Greenhouse a plus.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Exceptional communication and influencing skills—able to adjust style from frontline employee to senior executive.
• Analytical mindset: comfortable using data and metrics to drive decisions and tell a compelling people story.
• Proven project management skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.

Skills

• Human Resources Business Partnering
• People & Culture
• Employee Relations
• Workplace Investigations
• Performance Management
• Talent Acquisition
• Talent Development
• Compensation Benchmarking
• Compensation Budgeting
• Job Leveling
• Role Design
• Internal Mobility
• Workforce Planning
• Performance Improvement Plans
• Disciplinary Actions
• Terminations
• Employment Law
• HR Compliance
• Leave Administration
• Benefits Administration
• DEI
• Employee Engagement
• Manager Coaching
• Leadership Advising
• Training Development
• Succession Planning
• HR Analytics
• HR Metrics
• Project Management
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Communication
• Influencing