Head of People Technology

Director of People Technology
Experience: 15–20 Years
Location: San Diego, California, USA
Industry: Software / Technology
Employment Type: Full-Time
Level: Director / Senior Leadership
About HummingBird
HummingBird, an AI-powered Total Talent Workforce Platform, helps enterprises transform how they attract, engage, manage, and develop their workforce.
Built for complex enterprise environments, HummingBird combines AI-powered talent matching, workforce intelligence, recruitment workflows, analytics, and automation to help organizations build scalable and technology-enabled people strategies.
HummingBird is hiring on behalf of its client, a growing software company, for a senior leadership position as Director of People Technology, based in San Diego, California.
About the Role
We are looking for an experienced Director of People Technology to lead the strategy, architecture, implementation, and optimization of the organization's HR technology ecosystem.
The role will be responsible for aligning People Technology, HR processes, data, automation, and business requirements to create a modern, scalable, and employee-centric technology environment.
The Director will partner closely with HR leadership, IT, Finance, Security, Legal, Talent Acquisition, Payroll, business leaders, and executive stakeholders to drive People Technology transformation across the employee lifecycle.
Key Responsibilities
People Technology Strategy
Develop and execute the organization's People Technology strategy and multi-year roadmap.
Align HR technology investments with business growth, workforce strategy, and employee experience objectives.
Evaluate the current HR technology landscape and identify opportunities for modernization and optimization.
Establish technology standards, governance frameworks, and operating models for People Technology.
Develop business cases and investment priorities for HR technology initiatives.
HR Systems & Architecture
Own the organization's HR technology ecosystem, including HRIS, HCM, Talent Acquisition, Performance Management, Learning, Compensation, Workforce Management, and Employee Experience platforms.
Lead the evaluation, selection, implementation, integration, and optimization of HR technology platforms.
Manage integrations between HR systems and enterprise applications.
Ensure HR systems are scalable, secure, reliable, and aligned with business requirements.
Establish appropriate system architecture and data standards.
HR Digital Transformation
Lead enterprise-wide HR technology transformation and process modernization initiatives.
Identify opportunities to automate manual HR processes and improve operational efficiency.
Leverage AI, analytics, automation, and emerging technologies to improve employee and HR experiences.
Partner with HR leaders to redesign processes around digital-first employee experiences.
Drive continuous improvement across the employee lifecycle.
AI & People Analytics
Develop strategies for responsible adoption of AI and automation within HR.
Identify use cases across recruiting, talent management, workforce planning, employee engagement, and HR operations.
Establish People Analytics capabilities to support data-driven workforce decisions.
Develop dashboards and insights covering workforce trends, talent, retention, productivity, and HR operations.
Partner with Data and IT teams to establish appropriate data governance and analytics capabilities.
Program & Portfolio Management
Lead a portfolio of People Technology projects from strategy and requirements through implementation and adoption.
Establish project governance, milestones, budgets, risks, dependencies, and success metrics.
Manage internal teams, implementation partners, consultants, and technology vendors.
Ensure successful delivery of technology initiatives within agreed timelines and budgets.
Establish change-management and adoption strategies for major technology transformations.
Vendor & Commercial Management
Manage strategic relationships with HR technology vendors and implementation partners.
Lead vendor evaluations, RFPs, contract negotiations, renewals, and performance reviews.
Establish vendor KPIs, SLAs, and governance frameworks.
Optimize the People Technology portfolio and identify opportunities for cost efficiency.
Data Privacy, Security & Compliance
Partner with IT Security, Legal, Privacy, and Compliance teams to ensure HR technology platforms meet organizational requirements.
Establish appropriate controls for sensitive employee and workforce data.
Ensure HR technology processes align with applicable privacy and data-protection requirements.
Maintain strong data quality, access controls, auditability, and governance.
Stakeholder Leadership
Serve as a strategic advisor to the CHRO and senior HR leadership on People Technology.
Partner with CIO/CTO, IT, Finance, Legal, Security, and business leadership.
Translate complex technology concepts into clear business outcomes for executive stakeholders.
Build strong relationships across HR and technology organizations.
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Business Administration, HR Technology, or a related discipline.
Master's degree / MBA preferred.
15–20 years of progressive experience in HR Technology, People Technology, HRIS, Enterprise Applications, or related technology leadership roles.
Proven experience developing and executing enterprise HR technology strategies.
Strong experience managing HCM/HRIS ecosystems and enterprise HR applications.
Experience leading large-scale HR technology implementations and transformations.
Strong understanding of HR processes and the employee lifecycle.
Demonstrated experience managing technology vendors, implementation partners, and complex programs.
Strong executive communication and stakeholder-management capabilities.
Preferred Experience
Experience in a software, SaaS, technology, or high-growth enterprise environment.
Experience with platforms such as Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, UKG, ADP, or similar solutions.
Experience integrating HR systems with payroll, finance, identity, benefits, recruiting, and other enterprise platforms.
Exposure to AI, automation, People Analytics, and employee experience technologies.
Experience leading global HR technology programs.
Strong knowledge of HR data governance, privacy, and security.
Experience building or transforming People Technology Centers of Excellence.
Leadership Competencies
Strategic technology leadership
Business and HR acumen
Digital transformation mindset
Strong program and portfolio management
Data-driven decision-making
Executive communication
Vendor and commercial management
Change-management leadership
Cross-functional collaboration
Strong people leadership
Why This Opportunity
Lead the People Technology strategy for a growing software organization.
Shape the organization's future HR technology architecture and digital employee experience.
Work closely with senior HR, IT, and executive leadership.
Drive transformation through AI, automation, analytics, and modern HCM technologies.
Build scalable technology capabilities to support a growing global workforce.

Work arrangement
No