Employee Relations Director

Blue Origin; Florida; On-site; USD 230,000 - 360,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation provided

Travel up to 30%

Job summary

Blue Origin seeks a Director of Employee Relations to architect and lead a modern, AI-enabled ER function across the enterprise. You will define strategy, operating models, and standards, and manage a two-tier team delivering thorough, defensible investigations with senior leadership collaboration.

You will partner with Legal, Security, and HR Business Partners to translate data into foresight and build a culture of safe, fair, and effective employee relations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, HR, or related field; or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of progressive HR and/or Employee Relations experience, including 6+ years leading ER teams and leaders of others.
• Experience building, scaling, or transforming an ER function in a complex, fast-paced, or high-growth environment.
• Expertise in workplace investigations, including executive and multi-party matters.
• Knowledge of federal and state employment law, with working knowledge of the NLRA.
• Labor relations exposure, whether in a represented environment, union campaign context, or close partnership with an LR team.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute a multi-year ER strategy aligned to Blue Origin's mission, growth, and risk profile
• Build the ER operating model end to end: intake, triage, risk tiering, investigation protocols, case management, quality assurance, and closure standards
• Establish service levels, KPIs, and dashboards that measure timeliness, quality, consistency, and outcomes
• Evaluate and implement ER case management technology, including responsible use of AI and analytics to strengthen insight while preserving human judgment
• Champion AI adoption across the ER lifecycle, such as intelligent intake and routing, investigation planning, interview summaries, documentation quality checks, and predictive trend analysis
• Lead, develop, and inspire a team spanning two levels
• Define role clarity, career pathways, calibration practices, and a coaching culture that builds deep investigative capability
• Build AI fluency across the team so ER professionals spend less time on administrative work and more time on judgment, coaching, and resolution
• Set a high bar for objectivity, documentation quality, and empathy in every interaction
• Oversee complex, sensitive, and executive-level investigations, ensuring thorough, timely, and defensible outcomes
• Develop crisis response protocols and lead ER's role in high-stakes incidents
• Identify enterprise-level ER risks and use data and AI-driven insights to spot emerging hotspots early and translate trends into prevention strategies, manager capability building, and policy improvements
• Own and evolve ER policies, playbooks, and manager toolkits, including AI-assisted guidance that helps managers get consistent answers faster
• Deliver training that equips leaders to address performance and conduct issues early, fairly, and confidently
• Present insights and recommendations to senior executives with clarity and influence

Skills

HR leadership

Employee relations

Workplace investigations

Employment law knowledge

AI in HR

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Juris Doctorate (JD)

Certifications: AWI-CH / SPHR / SHRM-SCP

Job description

Application close date: Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the requisition is closed.

At Blue Origin, we envision millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. We're working to develop reusable, safe, and low-cost space vehicles and systems within a culture of safety, collaboration, and inclusion. Join our team of problem solvers as we add new chapters to the history of spaceflight!

This role is part of Blue Origin corporate functions, providing centralized support across Blue Origin business unit teams, functions, and locations.

Build the future of work for the people building the future in space.

Blue Origin was founded on a vision of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. Our teams are designing, building, and flying the vehicles that will make that future real. The work is hard, the stakes are high, and the people doing it deserve a workplace defined by fairness, trust, and integrity. Gradatim Ferociter: step by step, ferociously.

As part of a hardworking team of HR and Employee Relations (ER) specialists, you will architect and lead a modern, high-trust, high-rigor, AI-enabled ER function as our Director of Employee Relations. This is a builder role. You will define the strategy, operating model, and standards for how Blue Origin addresses workplace concerns, and you will lead a two-tier team of ER professionals who carry that work out with excellence every day.

You will serve as a strategic advisor to senior leaders and a critical partner to Legal, Security, Labor Relations, and HR Business Partners. You will turn case data into foresight, use AI to work smarter and faster without losing the human judgment that defines great ER, help leaders make sound and defensible people decisions, and shape a culture where employees feel safe raising concerns and confident they will be handled well.

Special Mentions

• Travel expected up to 30% per quarter or as business need requires
• Relocation provided

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Design and execute a multi-year ER strategy aligned to Blue Origin's mission, growth, and risk profile
• Build the ER operating model end to end: intake, triage, risk tiering, investigation protocols, case management, quality assurance, and closure standards
• Establish service levels, KPIs, and dashboards that measure timeliness, quality, consistency, and outcomes
• Evaluate and implement ER case management technology, including responsible use of AI and analytics to strengthen insight while preserving human judgment
• Champion AI adoption across the ER lifecycle, such as intelligent intake and routing, investigation planning, interview summaries, documentation quality checks, and predictive trend analysis
• Lead, develop, and inspire a team spanning two levels
• Define role clarity, career pathways, calibration practices, and a coaching culture that builds deep investigative capability
• Build AI fluency across the team so ER professionals spend less time on administrative work and more time on judgment, coaching, and resolution
• Set a high bar for objectivity, documentation quality, and empathy in every interaction
• Oversee complex, sensitive, and executive-level investigations, ensuring thorough, timely, and defensible outcomes
• Develop crisis response protocols and lead ER's role in high-stakes incidents
• Identify enterprise-level ER risks and use data and AI-driven insights to spot emerging hotspots early and translate trends into prevention strategies, manager capability building, and policy improvements
• Own and evolve ER policies, playbooks, and manager toolkits, including AI-assisted guidance that helps managers get consistent answers faster
• Deliver training that equips leaders to address performance and conduct issues early, fairly, and confidently
• Present insights and recommendations to senior executives with clarity and influence

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, HR, or related and relevant field; or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of progressive HR and/or Employee Relations experience, including 6+ years leading ER teams and leaders of others
• Experience building, scaling, or transforming an ER function in a complex, fast-paced, or high-growth environment
• Expertise in workplace investigations, including executive and multi-party matters
• Knowledge of federal and state employment law, with working knowledge of the NLRA
• Labor relations exposure, whether in a represented environment, union campaign context, or close partnership with an LR team

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in aerospace, defense, advanced manufacturing, or technology
• Juris Doctorate (JD) Degree,
• Certifications/Designations: Association of Workplace Investigations (AWI-CH), or SPHR, or SHRM-SCP
• Hands-on experience implementing ER technology or deploying AI tools in HR, including change management and governance
• Familiarity with ITAR, export control, or security clearance environments
• Experience sup