People & Talent Program Associate bei Bridgewater Associates LP

About Bridgewater 

Bridgewater Associates is a premier asset management firm, focused on delivering unique insight and partnership for the most sophisticated global institutional investors. 

Our investment process is driven by a tireless pursuit to understand how the world’s markets and economies work — using cutting-edge technology to validate and execute on timeless and universal investment principles. 

Founded in 1975, we are a community of independent thinkers who share a commitment to excellence. By fostering a culture of openness, transparency, and inclusion, we strive to unlock the most complex questions in investment strategy, management, and corporate culture. 

Explore more information about Bridgewater on our website here. 

Our Culture 

Our culture is anchored in excellence—meaning constant improvement—and it is deeply tied to our mission. Because markets are objective, competitive, and getting smarter everyday—we need to keep rapidly improving to have any chance of beating them. Truth is our most essential tool for engaging with the markets and constantly improving. Because once you know what's true about your problems and opportunities, you can determine how to get better. Valuing truth means being transparent about your decision-making and mistakes, giving and receiving feedback with humility, and fighting for the best answers over hierarchy, ego, or self-interest. Operating this way is hard—it's only possible because we build meaning in our work and relationships. The meaning comes from the audacity of the mission, and the joy of working alongside people who make you a better version of yourself. The culture, like Bridgewater itself, is always evolving. In 1997 our founder Ray Dalio wrote down his lessons, starting with a Philosophy Statement which remains our foundation. This later evolved into a set of 300+ Principles. In 2022, when Ray transitioned the company, we re-underwrote several of those principles and evolved others, with a specific focus on Meritocracy. Today the culture sits, alongside our people, as our most important edge. When we get it right, it’s the engine that powers everything else.

Explore more information about Bridgewater’s culture on our website here. 

About the Implementation Department 

The Investment Implementation department is a community of diverse investment professionals whose mission is to implement our investment strategies and client portfolios excellently. Our department is responsible for ensuring the excellent implementation of our systematic investment approach, from raw data to executed trades, with processes and logic that reflect the full richness of our investment insight, executed with a near-zero error rate, and engineered and orchestrated in a way that facilitates oversight and compounding. This is an investment department, owning the investment outcomes, and the mandate includes both the ‘run’ responsibility and the ‘transform’ responsibility, meaning daily operations as well as overtime renovation of our systems. 

We fulfill our mission by applying four operating principles: 

• Understand and deliver internal client needs. Partner with our internal clients to understand and offer implementation designs and deliver solutions, while proactively educating and communicating outcomes to ACLs (Asset Class Leads) and CIOs. 
• Own our investment intent. Own our investment intent in full, in letter and spirit. 
• Continuously improve. Have and evolve an investment pipeline to meet current and future internal client needs. 
• Systematically and relentlessly deliver quality outcomes. Apply our best logic systematically, discipline, expertise, and controls to every signal, position, and trade in every market. 

About the Team 

The People Team, part of the Implementation Department, is a leadership-driven function focused on architecting a high-performing, people-centered culture. We don’t just partner with leaders – we are leaders in shaping and executing a talent strategy that enables our business goals. Our work spans onboarding, career development, performance management, succession planning, and community building, all designed to cultivate excellence and long-term growth, all tightly aligned with the broader company talent strategy.  

In a world shaped by rapid technological change and evolving financial markets, we believe our edge lies in how we develop and empower our people, not just for today, but for the future. We design systems and experiences that foster agility, adaptability, and sustain performance. Our team plays a central role in translating organizational goals into talent outcomes, ensuring Implementation is structured and supported to thrive in a dynamic environment. 

About Your Role 

This role is ideal for someone who thrives at the intersection of strategy, execution, and human-centered design. You’ll bring a consulting mindset to problem-solving and a passion for creating meaningful employee experiences. 

You will work closely with the Senior Director of People, the Department Head, and other senior leaders to translate business strategy into talent programs that drive performance, engagement, and growth. You’ll independently lead workstreams, demonstrating strong judgment, initiative, and follow-through. 

We are seeking a strategic, collaborative, and highly organized People & Talent Associate to help drive our talent vision forward. This role is central to enhancing the employee experience, designing scalable development programs, and ensuring leadership excellence across our talent initiatives. 

You will be a great fit for this role if you: 

• Are passionate about talent development and creating exceptional employee experiences. 
• Thrive in dynamic environments and enjoy solving complex business challenges. 
• Have a strong attention to detail and a track record of driving high performance. 
• Communicate clearly and build strong relationships across diverse teams. 
• Are excited to contribute to strategic planning and organizational growth. 

Responsibilities: 

• Design and execute Talent Management Programs that foster growth, accountability, and continuous improvement. 
• Analyze data and engagement metrics to assess effectiveness and identify opportunities for enhancement. 
• Partner with stakeholders to ensure performance management, succession planning and talent development processes are aligned with business goals.
• Serve as a point of contact for employee engagement initiatives, ensuring a consistent and inclusive experience. 
• Collaborate on organizational design and role planning to ensure we are structured for long-term success. 
• Manage logistics and materials for training programs and internal meetings with precision and care. 
• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal stakeholders, providing clear communication and support across initiatives. 
• Drive cross-functional execution, providing structure, coordination, and project leadership in close partnership with the Sr. Director of People. 
• Operate with independence and sound judgment, resolving problems quickly and effectively while escalating when needed. 
• Contribute to strategic planning and organizational growth by bringing a consulting mindset and analytical rigor. 
• Design creative solutions to real-time talent problems and opportunities in partnership with the Sr. Director of People to maintain an engaging professional environment. 

We are looking for candidates with the following minimum qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent 
• 1-2 years of experience, either in consulting or in a talent management / leadership development role at an innovative company known for building future-focused, high-impact people programs
• Demonstrated interest in talent strategy, organizational development, or people analytics 
• Strong organizational and planning skills, with attention to detail and follow-through 
• Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, delivering on time and within scope 
• Enthusiasm for solving talent challenges and partnering with stakeholders to build effective solutions 
• Ability to operate autonomously in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and adapt as priorities shift 
• Proactive problem-solving mindset—able to anticipate and address obstacles before they arise 
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build trust and foster collaboration 
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft tools and operating systems 

This role offers a pathway to strategic program management within the Implementation department or transition into Bridgewater’s core Talent team, depending on interests and strengths. 

Physical requirements: 

The onsite requirement for this role is four days per week at our Westport, CT campus. 

Compensation band:  

The wage range for this role is $150K-$200K inclusive of base salary and discretionary target bonus. The expected base salary for this role is between 80%-90% of this wage range. 

Why Choose Bridgewater? 

It takes all types to make Bridgewater great. We seek a diverse group of innovative thinkers and push them to engage in rigorous and thoughtful inquiry. We develop people through an honest examination of their abilities and performance, enabling personal growth and professional development. We strive to provide you opportunities that will challenge you and unlock your potential. 

One of our core priorities at Bridgewater is to enable our employees to build a great life and career, and we believe our benefits are an important extension of that philosophy. As such, currently Bridgewater offers a competitive suite of benefits. Explore more information about Bridgewater’s benefits on our website here. 

Bridgewater reserves the right to change its current benefits program at any time, in a manner that is consistent with applicable federal and state regulations. 

This job description is not a contract and confers no contractual rights, privileges, or benefits on any applicant or potential applicant. Bridgewater has the right to change any and all terms of this job description, including, but not limited to, job responsibilities, qualifications and benefits. Nothing in this job description constitutes an offer or guarantee of employment. Please note that we do not provide immigration sponsorship for this position. 

Bridgewater Associates, LP is an Equal Opportunity Employer