VP, Talent & Organizational Development

Job Description

Job Description

What Cognite is: Relentless to achieve

Cognite operates at the forefront of industrial digitalization, building AI , and data solutions that solve the world's hardest, highest-impact problems. With unmatched industrial heritage and a comprehensive suite of AI capabilities, including low-code AI agents, Cognite accelerates the digital transformation to drive operational improvements.

We thrive in challenges. We challenge assumptions. We execute with speed and ownership. If you view obstacles as signals to step forward - not backwards - you'll feel right at home here.

Our Moonshot is bold: Unlock $100B in customer value by 2035, and redefine how global industry works. Join us in this venture where AI and data meet ingenuity, and together, we will forge the path to a smarter, more connected industrial future.

How you'll demonstrate Ownership

The VP of Talent & Organizational Development is a transformative executive role for a leader who will architect how Cognite builds human capability at scale, in an era where the boundary between human expertise and AI augmentation is being redrawn in real time.

This role demands a rare profile: a strategic People leader with deep conviction about where AI is taking the workforce, the technical literacy to engage credibly, and the organizational design expertise to build structures that thrive. You will lead the functions of Talent, Leadership Development, Learning, Succession, and Organizational Effectiveness — transforming each through AI-powered insight, tooling, and methodology.

Talent Strategy

• Define Cognite's global talent strategy — identifying where human capability must lead, where AI augments, and how the workforce of 2030 needs to be built today.
• Deploy AI-driven talent intelligence to map external talent markets, predict attrition risk, and identify capability gaps before they become business constraints.

AI-Augmented Leadership & Organizational Development

• Design leadership development programs explicitly built for an AI-augmented world — developing leaders who can direct, collaborate with, and critically evaluate AI systems, not just manage people.
• Introduce AI-powered coaching tools and continuous feedback platforms that give leaders real-time insight into their effectiveness and accelerate behavioral development at scale.
• Build succession planning frameworks powered by predictive analytics — moving from intuition-based talent reviews to data-driven readiness assessments with quantified risk and opportunity scoring.
• Drive organizational design initiatives — reimagining team structures, role definitions, and performance models for a world where AI agents are increasingly embedded in workflows.

AI-Enabled Learning & Capability Building

• Architect a next-generation learning ecosystem powered by AI — delivering personalized development paths that adapt to individual capability gaps, career goals, and real-time performance data.
• Integrate AI tutors, simulation environments, and intelligent practice tools into Cognite's learning infrastructure, enabling employees to build skills faster and with greater retention.
• Create structured reskilling and upskilling programs anticipating AI-driven role displacement and evolution — transforming potential workforce disruption into a retention and development opportunity.

Culture, Engagement & Human-AI Inclusion

• Champion a culture of human potential building psychological safety and growth mindsets that allow people to embrace AI as a collaborator.
• Position Cognite as a model of responsible AI adoption in the workplace — developing clear principles, communication strategies, and change programs that build trust in AI-powered people processes.

Talent Intelligence & Workforce Analytics

• Build a world-class people analytics capability, transforming raw HR data into predictive workforce intelligence that drives strategic business decisions.
• Develop dashboards and talent scorecards that give the executive team real-time visibility into leadership readiness, capability depth, engagement risk, and workforce trajectory.
• Use machine learning models to forecast hiring needs, succession gaps, retention risks, and skill obsolescence — enabling proactive rather than reactive talent decisions.

The Impact you bring to Cognite

• A visionary People leader with genuine conviction about the transformative impact of AI on human capability, talent strategy, and organizational design.
• Technical literacy that enables you to engage credibly with AI practitioners, evaluate tools critically, and distinguish genuine innovation from AI theater.
• A proven systems architect — able to connect talent strategy, AI tooling, organizational design, and culture into an integrated, self-reinforcing people architecture.
• Exceptional executive presence, with the credibility to lead the workforce transformation conversation at the most senior levels of a global AI company.
• A builder's mindset: as comfortable stress-testing a workforce planning model as you are presenting a board-level talent strategy.
• Relentless curiosity — someone who reads the research, experiments with new tools, and brings the outside in to keep Cognite's talent practices at the frontier.

Required Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in talent management, organizational development, or related HR leadership roles, with significant exposure to technology-driven transformation.
• At least 4–5 years in a VP-level or equivalent senior leadership role in a high-growth global technology company.
• Strong command of people analytics tools and platforms, with the ability to translate data into executive-level strategic recommendations.
• Experience navigating rapid organizational scaling, including workforce redesign in the context of automation and AI-driven role evolution.
• Location: Hybrid, based in Phoenix, Arizona

Preferred Experience

• Experience in SaaS, AI, or industrial technology environments — familiarity with engineering and technical talent markets is a strong plus.
• Background in companies navigating high-growth transitions or pre-IPO organizational maturation.
• Experience in industrial technology, SaaS, or AI-native companies — with familiarity in attracting and retaining engineering and applied science talent.
• Advanced degree (MBA, MS Organizational Psychology, MS Human-Computer Interaction, or similar) or relevant certification (SHRM-SCP, CIPD Level 7, ICF).

A snapshot of our many perks and benefits as a Cogniter

* Competitive compensation

* 401(k) with employer matching

* Competitive health, dental, vision & disability coverages for employees and all dependents

* Unlimited PTO

* Paid Parental Leave Program

* Employee Referral Program

Learn more about us

• Impact 2025
• Cognite's Industrial AI: Moonshot
• We're globally recognized domain experts with an international presence that spans Phoenix, Houston, Oslo Tokyo, Bengaluru, and Abu Dhabi.

Equal Opportunity

Cognite is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment at work and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive the same level of consideration for employment.