Director, HR Business Partner - Studios

Why Play Station?

Play Station isn’t just the Best Place to Play — it’s also the Best Place to Work. Today, we’re recognized as a global leader in entertainment producing The Play Station family of products and services including Play Station®5, Play Station®4, Play Station®VR, Play Station®Plus, acclaimed Play Station software titles from Play Station Studios, and more.

Play Station also strives to create an inclusive environment that empowers employees and embraces diversity. We welcome and encourage everyone who has a passion and curiosity for innovation, technology, and play to explore our open positions and join our growing global team.

The Play Station brand falls under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly‑owned subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.

Director, HR Business Partner – Play Station Studios
Seattle (preferred) or Los Angeles – will require 3 days in the studio per week

At Play Station, we believe that play has no limits—and neither does our people strategy. We are looking for a Director, HR Business Partner to join the Play Station Studios People team and lead the HR function for some of our premier 1st‑party game studios. In this role, you’ll be a strategic partner to the Head of Production who oversees these studios and studio leadership to shape the future of our teams and help bring world‑class games to life.

As a key member of the Play Station Studios People leadership team, you’ll guide a talented team of HR Managers and deliver people strategies that strengthen our studios, enable creativity, and drive business results. You’ll play a critical role in workforce planning, talent development, organizational design, and leading change in a fast‑moving, global environment.

This is a unique opportunity to influence the culture and employee experience at the heart of Play Station game development.

• Develop and execute people strategies that directly support business objectives, with measurable impact on engagement, retention, and leadership effectiveness.
• Partner with leaders to evolve organizational design that connects capabilities to business strategy and future workforce needs.
• Serve as a credible thought partner and member of the Play Station Studios senior leadership team.

• Lead workforce planning, collaborating with talent acquisition and talent enablement to anticipate business needs.
• Partner with leaders to identify capability gaps and implement targeted initiatives to close them.
• Build succession plans for critical studio leadership and creative roles.

• Own the people‑side of transformation projects, including large‑scale change management and communications.
• Anticipate industry trends (e.g., AI, remote/hybrid models, evolving creative workforce needs) and evolve HR strategies accordingly.

• Link business strategy to inclusion and belonging goals, embedding inclusion into workforce planning, hiring, and talent development.
• Challenge the status quo and advocate for initiatives that create more inclusive studio environments.

• Provide 1:1 coaching to senior leaders to enhance leadership effectiveness.
• Mentor and develop HR Managers, building a strong HRBP bench for the future.
• Act as a culture carrier for Play Station Studios HR.

• Leverage data and evidence‑based insights to identify trends, inform decisions, and proactively address risks.
• Create compelling narratives from analytics to drive senior leader alignment.

• Partner cross‑functionally with Legal, Finance, IT, and Global HR Shared Services to ensure alignment and compliance.
• Ensure HR policies and practices meet legal and regulatory requirements across the studios.
• Handle escalated issues from studio HR teams and Studio Heads.

• 15+ years of progressive HRBP experience across multiple organizations/industries, with proven ability to apply insights in new environments.
• Direct HRBP experience influencing senior executives (VP+) in a global, matrixed organization.
• Experience in game development studios or with game…