Most people come to Eightfold looking for a better way to understand their workforce. Mahima Sharma, Senior Director, People Business Partner — Engineering and Product, did too. She just didn’t expect that journey to result in her helping build it.
Before joining Eightfold, Mahima spent years as an HR Business Partner at two of the most talent-forward companies in tech. At Netflix, she supported Finance and Operations. At Twilio, she partnered with the R&D organization.
At both companies, she used Eightfold to solve one of HR’s most persistent challenges: making career growth visible, accessible, and meaningful at scale.
She wasn’t looking for a new job. She was looking for a better answer. And somewhere between the product conversations and the vision behind them, she found it.
The first impression: Intelligence, not just automation
Much HR technology is designed to speed up processes. It automates workflows, digitizes paperwork, and keeps the trains running. Eightfold struck Mahima differently from the start.
“Throughout my career, I’ve always been interested in the intersection of HR and technology,” she says, “but what stood out about Eightfold was that it wasn’t simply automating HR workflows. It was trying to bring intelligence to talent decisions.”
Understanding skills, potential, career paths, and opportunities in ways that weren’t always visible before. “That felt fundamentally different to me.”
As an HR practitioner, she had worked with plenty of systems. Eightfold was one of the few trying to solve a different problem entirely: how do you help organizations see the full picture of their people, not just track them?
The turning point: From user to builder
There wasn’t a single moment that changed Mahima’s mind. It was a slow accumulation of conversations with leaders like Meghna Punhani, Chief People Officer and Ashutosh Garg, CEO and Co-Founder — each one reinforcing that this was a company with genuine clarity of vision and the passion to back it up.
“The transparency, vision, and passion I saw from the leadership team reinforced that this was a place where I could not only contribute as an HR leader but also help shape products that could impact the broader HR community.”
The opportunity she saw was rare: she had experienced the challenges HR teams face in understanding skills and career paths at scale. The chance to help solve those challenges, rather than simply navigate them, was hard to pass up.
The reality: More influence than expected
Every career move comes with unknowns. Mahima’s biggest question wasn’t about the role, it was about reach. Would she have real influence beyond her core HR responsibilities?
“What surprised me most was how much influence employees can have on the product. I expected to contribute as an HR leader. I didn’t expect to have opportunities to help shape products like Talent Forge and Workforce Readiness.”
That combination of customer-side experience and employee-side ownership proved to be one of the most valuable things she brought to the table and one of the most rewarding parts of her time at Eightfold.
What works here: Trust as the operating system
Ask Mahima what works at Eightfold, and she doesn’t hesitate. Trust. Not in the abstract, feel-good sense, but in the practical, daily sense of people genuinely wanting each other to succeed.
“There is a strong sense of partnership across teams,” she says. “That trust creates an environment where people can take ownership, challenge ideas, and do their best work.”
The people who thrive here don’t wait for permission. They lean into problems, challenge assumptions, and build better solutions.
“If you’re excited by innovation and comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to make an impact.”
The mission: The right career for everyone
Since joining, Mahima has been promoted to senior director and now supports the global engineering and product organization. She has partnered on Talent Forge, Workforce Readiness, and other product initiatives that put her in the rare position of helping build tools she once relied on to do her own job well.
What keeps her going?
“The people and the mission,” she says. “I have the privilege of supporting incredibly talented leaders and teams who are passionate about what they do. Combined with the company’s focus on the right career for everyone, there is always something new to learn, build, and improve.”
That mission, the belief that every person deserves a career path that fits their real potential, isn’t just a tagline at Eightfold. It’s the work.
“I’ve sat on both sides, as a customer and now as an employee. As a customer, you experience the product. As an employee, you get to understand the thinking, innovation, and problem-solving behind it. If you’re passionate about shaping the future of work and want the opportunity to help build solutions rather than simply use them, it’s a unique experience.”
Ready to build the future of work? Eightfold is building talent intelligence for organizations around the world. If you’re curious, driven, and ready to do work that matters, we’d love to meet you. Explore open roles at eightfold.ai/careers.
