Senior Director, R&D HR Business Partnering

About Us At Cloudflare, we are on a mission to help build a better Internet. Today the company runs one of the world’s largest networks that powers millions of websites and other Internet properties for customers ranging from individual bloggers to SMBs to Fortune 500 companies. Cloudflare protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare all have web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company. At Cloudflare, we’re not looking for people who wait for a polished roadmap; we’re looking for the builders who see the cracks in the Internet that everyone else has simply learned to live with. We value candidates who have the instinct to spot a "normalized" problem and the AI-native curiosity to create a solution using the latest tools. Our culture is built on iteration, leveraging AI to ship faster today to make it better tomorrow, while ensuring that every improvement, no matter how small, is shared across the team to lift everyone up. If you’re the type of person who values curiosity over bureaucracy, and that AI is a partner in solving tough problems to keep the Internet moving forward, you’ll fit right in. Available Locations: • Austin, TX (preferred) • San Francisco, CA About the Role Cloudflare is scaling its global connectivity and security platform while transforming into an AI-native organization powered by our own AI harness and developer infrastructure. As Senior Director, R&D HR Business Partnering, you will lead a global team of embedded HRBPs supporting senior executives across Engineering, Product, Security, and Research. In this role, you serve as the strategic HR leader for R&D and the primary conductor bridging business leadership with our Centers of Excellence (Total Rewards, Talent Acquisition, Talent Development, People Operations). You will challenge and champion the business—architecting an organization built for AI-augmented velocity while protecting and evaluating the essential human elements of work: character, critical judgment, empathy, and leadership trust. Key Focus Areas & Responsibilities Business Acumen & COE Conduction • Partner directly with the Head of R&D and technical VPs to align talent strategy with Cloudflare’s product roadmap, platform architecture, and operational goals. • Act as the chief conductor across People Team COEs—synthesizing R&D’s operational realities to push COEs for tailored, high-impact talent programs while challenging R&D leaders to elevate their organizational standards. • Apply analytical rigor to people metrics, diagnosing organizational health, attrition trends, and productivity indicators to guide business decisions proactively. Organizational Design & AI Integration • Architect agile, high-velocity R&D structures designed for AI-native workflows, optimizing team size, spans of control, and cross-functional interfaces across platform and product teams. • Partner with engineering leadership to rethink operating rhythms and team structures as development shifts from traditional models to AI-assisted, agent-driven engineering. Talent Portfolio Management & Human Judgment • Evolve technical career frameworks, leveling, and role definitions to reflect the higher leverage expected in AI-native engineering environments. • Drive succession planning, critical-role mapping, and retention strategies for specialized technical talent across Cloudflare’s global hubs. • Establish clear boundaries between work optimized by AI and decisions requiring human judgment, ethical clarity, nuance, and character. Driving Change & Strategic Initiatives • Drive complex, continuous change initiatives across global R&D teams, equipping leaders to navigate structural evolution, technological pivots, and shifting priorities with clarity. • Deliver custom, service-oriented solutions tailored to business needs, providing high-trust coaching to senior technical leaders as they navigate complex team dynamics with empathy and results. • Team Leadership Lead a global team of HRBPs, setting a high standard for strategic partnership, business fluency, and execution speed. What You'll Bring • Leadership & Scale: 15+ years of progressive HR experience, including 5+ years leading an HRBP team supporting technical R&D, Engineering, or Product orgs in high-growth environments. • Core Pillar Excellence: Demonstrated expertise across all four functional buckets: business acumen, organizational design, talent portfolio management, and driving change. • AI & Human Acumen: Deep understanding of how AI tools reshape technical workflows, combined with strong character assessment and human judgment when evaluating leadership potential and organizational health. • COE Orchestration: Proven track record acting as an operational conductor between executive stakeholders and specialized People functions to deliver integrated talent solutions. • Executive Presence: Ability to advise, challenge, and coach VP+ technical leaders with confidence, empathy, and business fluency. Compensation Compensation may be adjusted depending on work location. • For San Francisco Bay area the estimated salary range is $304,000 - $380,000 Equity This role is eligible to participate in Cloudflare’s equity plan. Benefits Cloudflare offers a complete package of benefits and programs to support you and your family. Our benefits programs can help you pay health care expenses, support caregiving, build capital for the future and make life a little easier and fun! The below is a description of our benefits for employees in the United States, and benefits may var