Associate Director, People Partner

The Opportunity

The unprecedented convergence of multi-modal data and AI has the potential to revolutionize drug discovery. insitro is harnessing this moment to redefine how medicines are developed for complex diseases. Our success depends on our ability to attract, develop, inspire, and retain amazing, diverse talent and build a collaborative, high-performing, inclusive, and equitable culture.

(Associate) Director, People Partner will be a key leader in bringing this people vision and strategy to life, aiming to set a new standard for the employee experience in our industry. You will coach and support our leaders, managers, and employees through varied situations, including employee relations, team and organizational design, and talent development.

In this role, you will report directly to insitro’s Chief People Officer/Interim Chief People Officer and be a key member of their leadership team. The role is based in South San Francisco and is required onsite most days, with flexibility to work remotely up to 2 days a week.

Strategic Partnership & Organizational Effectiveness

• Advise executives on how to align manager and employee capabilities to the mid‑to‑long‑term business needs

• Work with leaders across the company to translate our business strategy and priorities into people and organization‑related initiatives that accelerate our progress

• Support senior management in translating company mission and goals into sustainable people and organizational strategies, programs, practices, and behaviors

• Diagnose root causes of work environment issues, disruptive team dynamics, and ineffective organizational setups

Talent Development & Coaching

• Coach and advise leaders to make them self‑sufficient as strong managers in areas such as leadership team effectiveness, organizational planning, change management, and talent management

• Be a trusted partner to people managers and team members alike and proactively address issues that may be holding people and teams back from doing their best work

• Bring both best practices as well as fresh problem‑solving on issues of talent management and development, organizational design, retention, and engagement.

People Operations & Compliance

• Partner closely with our Legal team on employee relations issues and ensure we are always fully compliant with local, state, and federal laws and requirements

• Closely collaborate with other People team leaders to create and execute a holistic strategy in how we hire, engage, develop, and inspire team members

• Draw on and create new quantitative (employee surveys, people analytics) and qualitative (round tables, exit interviews) insights to shape and strengthen our priorities

Work Experience & Functional Competence

• 12+ years of People function experience including experience in high‑growth environments building People processes and structures from the ground up

• 5+ years specifically in a HRBP / People Partner role working directly with leaders at the Director‑ and VP‑level to support them on organizational and employee issues

• Biotech/Pharma experience is required, ideally including in a company with a strong Data Science or Machine Learning element to their business model

• Demonstrated functional competence across core People areas, including organizational design, talent and performance management, employee relations, change management, and strategic workforce planning

• Experience leading small teams of HR professionals and coaching them to success

Technical Skills & Business Acumen

• Respected just as much for your business judgment as for your HR expertise

• Deeply responsible and accountable with a strong attention to detail and organization
  , meaning your team never drops the many things you are juggling

• Always looking for more information and data to strengthen your work and impact

Personal Attributes

• Emotionally intelligent and able to build strong trust and relationships with leaders and employees of diverse backgrounds at all levels

• An exceptional communicator in both written and verbal interactions; clear, concise, and courageous in giving tough but supportive and respectful feedback when needed

• At your best leading through ambiguity…