VP, People

Backblaze External Website

1d•$210,000 - $230,000•Remote

About The Position

Backblaze is seeking a VP, People to lead the People function at a public, remote-first company that is scaling through the 500-1000 employee range and expanding internationally. This role will design and implement systems focused on engagement, culture, communications, retention, succession, and manager development, as there is no physical office to facilitate these aspects. The VP will manage a small HR Operations and strategic HRBP team. This is a hands-on building role, not a maintenance position, and will involve leveraging AI agents in daily work. The ideal candidate is a builder who collaborates with their team, develops people through work, and has experience operating teams outside the United States and scaling a company through a similar growth stage. The company emphasizes a collaborative, transparent culture with a healthy work-life balance and is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Requirements

Experience operating teams outside the United States (EOR or owned entities count).
Experience scaling a company through the 500-1000 employee range, with international expansion occurring partway through.
Proven ability to build with people, not around them; experience writing frameworks, running sessions, and building systems hands-on.
Experience developing people through work.
Daily use of AI agents in personal work.
Ability to lead a team while remaining close enough to the work to ensure quality.
Experience making a company a great place to work in a distributed, global environment.
Comfortable operating in a public company environment.
Experience building in conditions of scarcity, preferably from a mid-sized technology company.
Strong communication skills, with a tendency to over-communicate.
Experience as a first-time VP ready to step up or a second-time VP focused on building rather than administering.

Nice To Haves

Experience running an established function and wanting a larger version of it.
Experience needing a large team to be effective.
Defaulting to building and running POCs.
Desire to spend most time on executive comp and board work.
Belief that culture is a benefits or office problem rather than a design problem.

Responsibilities

Design and implement systems for engagement, culture, communications, retention, succession, and manager development in a remote-first environment.
Lead and develop a small HR Operations and strategic HRBP team.
Build the next layer of People systems on top of an existing operational foundation.
Leverage AI agents as part of how work gets done.
Design connection, belonging, and teamwork into company operations.
Develop an engagement program where leaders own outcomes.
Establish strategic employee and leader communications with a consistent rhythm and global reach.
Design and budget for onboarding, team rituals, and in-person moments.
Ensure remote working excellence with consistent expectations, development, and voice across all geographies.
Develop a retention model and succession plan, identifying at-risk employees and building a talent bench.
Foster a learning organization by rebuilding manager capability for distributed teams, promoting internal mobility, and supporting development.
Partner with the AI Transformation Leader on how AI impacts work design, job architecture, and team structure.
Maintain and evolve the HR Operations function as the company scales internationally.
Build the engagement program and its operating rhythm, ensuring leaders own outcomes.
Document and implement remote team working practices and recognition programs.
Establish the employee and leader communications cadence for strategic alignment.
Develop the retention model and succession plan.
Create the manager development approach for distributed teams and evolving management roles.
Design the company's in-person moments, such as offsites and team gatherings.