HR Director, SPG

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Applied Materials is the global leader in materials science and engineering solutions that are at the foundation of virtually every new semiconductor chip and advanced display in the world. The equipment that we create and service is essential to advancing AI and accelerating the commercialization of next-generation semiconductor chips. Join us and push the boundaries of materials science and engineering in a company at the foundation of the electronics industry. The work we do together advances the world’s technology.

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The HR Director Business Partner is a senior human resources leader supporting Applied Material’s Semiconductor Products Group (SPG) business, based in Santa Clara, CA. This role sits at the center of the SPG HR leadership agenda, partnering directly with SPG business executives to shape organization design, talent strategy, and workforce decisions that enable current and future business performance.

This is an individual contributor HR leadership role requiring the ability to partner directly with general managers of businesses, influence senior stakeholders, and operate with credibility across a large, complex, and geographically distributed organization. The successful candidate will bring strength in strategic partnership, data-driven insight, organizational design, and enterprise influence, with the ability to translate business priorities into practical people and organization strategies.

• Serve as a core, trusted member of the SPG leadership team's talent agenda – proactively shaping business strategy through a people and organization lens rather than responding after decisions are made.
• Build strong, credible relationships with SPG executives and functional leaders, positioning HR as an equal contributor to business planning discussions.
• Partner directly with business general managers to understand growth priorities, pressure-test organization implications, and shape people strategies that advance business performance.

• Leverage enterprise-wide workforce and business data to generate insight, identify emerging risks, and anticipate organizational issues before they escalate.
• Bring fact-based, data-supported recommendations to executive discussions on workforce planning, organizational health, and talent decisions.

• Shape org design, global workforce planning, and succession strategy to ensure SPG has the structure, capacity, and capability to meet current and future business goals.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, and Talent Management COEs to build integrated talent strategies aligned to SPG's growth priorities.
• Lead organizational change initiatives, including restructuring, integration, and workforce transitions, with rigor and discipline.

• Provide candid, direct coaching to senior leaders, shifting how they think about and act on people decisions.
• Influence leadership behavior and decision-making without formal authority, building trust quickly across diverse stakeholders and adapting style to context, culture, and audience.

• Convert HR and business strategy into disciplined execution plans with clear ownership, milestones, and measurable outcomes across a large, distributed organization.
• Collaborate across the global HR organization, including regional HR partners and COEs, to align priorities, remove barriers, and deliver against business commitments with consistency and speed.
• Remain effective and clear-headed as scope, ambiguity, and organizational complexity increase, adjusting approach as priorities shift.

• Bachelor’s degree in human resources, Business, Organizational Psychology, or a related field; advanced degree (MBA or MS/MA in HR/OD) preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive HR experience, including significant experience as a strategic HR Business Partner to senior executives in a large, global, matrixed organization.
• Proven track record shaping organization design, workforce planning, and talent strategy in a technology, semiconductor, or advanced manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical capability, with experience using workforce and business data to drive executive-level decisions.
• Demonstrated ability to coach and influence senior leaders, including experience delivering candid feedback that changes leader behavior.
• Experience balancing enterprise-wide priorities against business unit or regional interests, with sound judgment on when and how to escalate tension.

• Prior HR leadership experience within a global semiconductor, capital equipment, or high-tech manufacturing company.
• Experience supporting a business group through significant growth, restructuring, or M&A integration.
• Experience operating within a shared-services or Center-of-Excellence HR model (e.g., partnering with Talent Acquisition, Total Rewards, People Analytics COEs).

To succeed in this role requires a capacity for complexity and temperament that includes:

• Manages multiple concurrent workstreams (org design, talent reviews, restructuring, executive coaching) without losing quality or follow-through.
• Adjusts approach in real time as business priorities, org structure, or leadership shift, without becoming reactive or losing strategic focus.
• Comfortable holding multiple, sometimes competing, stakeholder perspectives (SPG leadership, enterprise HR, regional teams) simultaneously and finding workable paths forward.
• Stays composed and even-keeled under pressure, including during layoffs, escalations, or leadership conflict.
• Brings candor without defensiveness — delivers difficult messages to executives directly, then moves forward constructively.
• Shows patience with ambiguity and organizational pace, while maintaining urgency on outcomes that matter.

Additional Information

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The salary offered to a selected candidate will be based on multiple factors including location, hire grade, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and with consideration of internal equity of our current team members. In addition to a comprehensive benefits package, candidates may be eligible for other forms of compensation such as participation in a bonus and a stock award program, as applicable.

For all sales roles, the posted salary range is the Target Total Cash (TTC) range for the role, which is the sum of base salary and target bonus amount at 100% goal achievement.

Applied Materials is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national origin, citizenship, ancestry, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran or military status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

In addition, Applied endeavors to make our careers site accessible to all users. If you would like to contact us regarding accessibility of our website or need assistance completing the application process, please contact us via e-mail at [email protected], or by calling our HR Direct Help Line at 877-612-7547, option 1, and following the prompts to speak to an HR Advisor. This contact is for accommodation requests only and cannot be used to inquire about the status of applications.