VP, People - Backblaze

About Backblaze

Backblaze (Nasdaq: BLZE) is the object storage leader in the open cloud movement, helping customers break free from restrictive legacy solutions. Today, the world's leading AI infrastructure providers, neoclods, and data-intensive businesses run on Backblaze. We are a public, remote-first company scaling rapidly and expanding internationally.

The Role

Reporting to the CHRO, we need a builder to run People at a public, remote-first company scaling through roughly the 500-1000 range while expanding internationally. You’ll design the systems that make Backblaze a great place to work when there’s no office doing that job for us—engagement, culture, communications, retention, succession, and manager development—and you’ll run a small HR Operations and strategic HRBP team to do it.

This isn't a maintenance role. The operational foundation is already in place; you'll build the next layer on top of it, with your team, using AI agents as part of how the work gets done.

What You Will Own

Build

• Culture & Connection: Making Backblaze an even better place to work when there is no office carrying it for us. Designing connection, belonging, and teamwork into how the company operates.
• Engagement: Engagement as a leader-owned discipline with outcomes, building the system that helps people connect their work to company strategy.
• Communications: Strategic employee and leader communications giving people line of sight to strategy across geographies and time zones.
• Remote Working Excellence: One company, many geographies, ensuring the same expectations, development, and voice in the room wherever someone sits.
• Retention & Succession: Proactively tracking retention risks, building a bench underneath key roles, and strengthening organizational resilience.
• Learning & Development: Rebuilding manager capability for distributed teams, internal mobility, cross-functional movement, and navigating AI-reshaped team structures.
• AI Transformation: Partnering with our AI Transformation Leader on how AI changes work design, job architecture, and team structure.

Own

You will run a small, high-impact HR Operations and strategic HRBP team, evolving the existing operational foundation as we scale internationally.

What You Will Personally Build in Year One

• The engagement program and operating rhythm, designed so leaders own the outcomes
• Remote working frameworks and global recognition programs
• The employee and leader communications cadence
• The retention model and succession plan
• Manager development approaches for distributed, remote teams
• Design of in-person moments, offsites, and team gatherings

What We Are Looking For

Required

• Experience operating teams outside the United States (EOR or owned entities)
• Track record of scaling a company through the 500-1000 range with international expansion
• A hands-on builder mentality who develops people through work and builds with their team
• Active use of AI agents in daily work (we use Claude Enterprise)
• People leadership experience combined with close proximity to execution
• Expertise in fostering culture, connection, and belonging in distributed environments

This Is Not the Role for You If

• Your strength is running an established function and you want a bigger version of that
• You need a large team to be effective
• You do not default to building and running POCs
• You want to spend most of your time on executive comp and board work
• You think culture is a benefits problem or an office problem rather than a design problem

What We Offer

• Competitive compensation and equity package
• Full benefits including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) with matching
• RSU grants and ESPP program
• Flexible vacation policy and maternity/paternity leave
• MacBook and generous workstation personalization stipend
• Childcare bonus and fertility treatment support
• Learning & development program and commuter benefits