Back to jobs
New

People Business Partner - Tech

United States - Remote

People Business Partner

About the role

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.

What we’re looking for

  • 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.

Base Salary Range

$111,000 - $140,000 USD

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.

Apply for this job

*

indicates a required field

Phone
Resume/CV

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf

Cover Letter

Accepted file types: pdf, doc, docx, txt, rtf


Select...

U.S. Standard Demographic Questions

We invite applicants to share their demographic background. If you choose to complete this survey, your responses may be used to identify areas of improvement in our hiring process.
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...
Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification

For government reporting purposes, we ask candidates to respond to the below self-identification survey. Completion of the form is entirely voluntary. Whatever your decision, it will not be considered in the hiring process or thereafter. Any information that you do provide will be recorded and maintained in a confidential file.

As set forth in Chainguard’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy, we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.

Select...
Select...
Race & Ethnicity Definitions

If you believe you belong to any of the categories of protected veterans listed below, please indicate by making the appropriate selection. As a government contractor subject to the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA), we request this information in order to measure the effectiveness of the outreach and positive recruitment efforts we undertake pursuant to VEVRAA. Classification of protected categories is as follows:

A "disabled veteran" is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A "recently separated veteran" means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran's discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An "active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran" means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An "Armed forces service medal veteran" means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.

Select...

Voluntary Self-Identification of Disability

Form CC-305
Page 1 of 1
OMB Control Number 1250-0005
Expires 04/30/2026

Why are you being asked to complete this form?

We are a federal contractor or subcontractor. The law requires us to provide equal employment opportunity to qualified people with disabilities. We have a goal of having at least 7% of our workers as people with disabilities. The law says we must measure our progress towards this goal. To do this, we must ask applicants and employees if they have a disability or have ever had one. People can become disabled, so we need to ask this question at least every five years.

Completing this form is voluntary, and we hope that you will choose to do so. Your answer is confidential. No one who makes hiring decisions will see it. Your decision to complete the form and your answer will not harm you in any way. If you want to learn more about the law or this form, visit the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) website at www.dol.gov/ofccp.

How do you know if you have a disability?

A disability is a condition that substantially limits one or more of your “major life activities.” If you have or have ever had such a condition, you are a person with a disability. Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Alcohol or other substance use disorder (not currently using drugs illegally)
  • Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV/AIDS
  • Blind or low vision
  • Cancer (past or present)
  • Cardiovascular or heart disease
  • Celiac disease
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
  • Diabetes
  • Disfigurement, for example, disfigurement caused by burns, wounds, accidents, or congenital disorders
  • Epilepsy or other seizure disorder
  • Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn's Disease, irritable bowel syndrome
  • Intellectual or developmental disability
  • Mental health conditions, for example, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD
  • Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
  • Mobility impairment, benefiting from the use of a wheelchair, scooter, walker, leg brace(s) and/or other supports
  • Nervous system condition, for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Neurodivergence, for example, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, other learning disabilities
  • Partial or complete paralysis (any cause)
  • Pulmonary or respiratory conditions, for example, tuberculosis, asthma, emphysema
  • Short stature (dwarfism)
  • Traumatic brain injury
Select...

PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENT: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. This survey should take about 5 minutes to complete.