Position Summary

The Director of Human Resources serves as the senior HR leader for Forward Edge-AI and acts as a strategic business partner to executive leadership, the Board of Directors and its committees, managers and employees across all divisions and departments. Operating as a hands-on sole practitioner, this role is responsible for the full employee lifecycle, workforce planning, public-company human capital governance, talent acquisition, employee relations, policy administration, organizational development, compliance, performance management and HR operations.

The Director leverages the company's Professional Employer Organization, TriNet, to support payroll, benefits, HRIS and employment-related compliance while maintaining ownership and accountability for Forward Edge-AI's people strategy, culture, workforce decisions and employee experience.

This position collaborates extensively with Corporate Operations, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Contracts, Internal Audit, Investor Relations, Information Technology, Quality, Security, Product Engineering, Customer Operations, Advanced Research and Technology, and other organizational functions to ensure human capital programs support profitable commercial growth, operational requirements, public-company controls and mission success.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Human Capital Leadership

• Serve as the principal advisor to executive leadership and, as requested, the Board and its committees on workforce strategy, organizational effectiveness, employee engagement, talent management and human capital risk.
• Align HR initiatives with commercial objectives, annual operating plans, growth targets, public-company commitments and operational requirements.
• Participate in leadership, Board and committee meetings and enterprise planning discussions, as requested.
• Develop workforce plans that support scalable commercial operations, revenue growth, government contracting requirements and public-company obligations.
• Advise leadership on organizational structure, role design, succession planning, acquisition integration and workforce optimization.

Talent Acquisition and Workforce Planning

• Lead the end-to-end recruiting process in partnership with hiring managers and available TriNet recruiting resources and systems.
• Manage requisition approvals, staffing plans, candidate screening, interview coordination, offer development and onboarding.
• Collaborate with department leaders to forecast workforce needs and validate hiring requests.
• Ensure positions align with approved headcount plans, annual budgets, internal controls, job descriptions, pay bands and compensation structures.
• Develop strategies to attract, engage and retain high-performing, commercially accountable talent.

Employee Relations

• Serve as the primary point of contact for employee concerns, workplace issues, conflict resolution and investigations.
• Advise managers and employees on employee relations matters and organizational policies.
• Conduct timely, objective and well-documented investigations involving complaints, misconduct, policy violations and workplace concerns.
• Guide performance improvement, coaching, counseling, corrective action and separation processes.
• Promote a workplace culture founded on accountability, professionalism and respect.

HR Operations and Compliance

• Maintain compliance with applicable federal, state and local employment requirements and partner with Legal, Finance, Accounting and Internal Audit on workforce-related public-company controls, reporting and governance requirements.
• Partner with TriNet on payroll, benefits, leave administration, workers compensation, HRIS support and employment compliance services.
• Oversee company responsibilities involving EEO, FLSA, ADA, FMLA, COBRA, USERRA, immigration and I-9 compliance, wage and hour requirements, workforce-related SOX controls, SEC human capital disclosure support, and relevant government contractor obligations.
• Develop, maintain and administer HR policies, procedures, templates and employee handbook provisions, including code-of-conduct, whistleblower, anti-retaliation and records-retention requirements within HR's remit.
• Maintain accurate personnel records, HR documentation and audit-ready files that support internal and external audits, financial reporting controls and regulatory review.
• Coordinate consistent onboarding and offboarding practices across HR, IT, Security, Quality, Finance, Accounting, Legal, Internal Audit, Investor Relations and operational stakeholders.

Performance Management and Employee Development

• Administer the company performance management program using TriNet or other approved systems.
• Guide managers in goal setting, feedback, performance evaluations, coaching, progressive discipline and employee development.
• Develop career progression frameworks, competency models and practical employee development programs.
• Support leadership development and manager training initiatives.

Compensation and Benefits Administration

• Partner with Finance, Legal, executive leadership and the Compensation Committee to administer workforce cost planning and compliant compensation programs, including executive, incentive and equity compensation.
• Conduct market benchmarking and compensation analyses using relevant commercial and public-company peer groups.
• Ensure job descriptions, job bands and salary administration practices support consistency, internal equity and market competitiveness.
• Coordinate the annual compensation calendar, incentive plan administration, equity award inputs and required leadership or committee approvals.
• Oversee benefits communication and employee education in partnership with TriNet.

Organizational Development and Culture

• Lead employee engagement, recognition and culture-building initiatives.
• Facilitate organizational change management and workforce communications, including communications coordinated with Legal and Investor Relations.
• Support commercial scaling, acquisitions and integrations, restructuring efforts, public-company transformations and workforce transitions as required.
• Develop practical retention strategies and recommend improvements based on workforce trends and employee feedback.

Reporting and Analytics

• Develop decision-useful HR metrics, workforce analytics, executive dashboards and Board-ready reporting tied to workforce cost, productivity, retention and human capital risk.
• Monitor recruiting effectiveness, staffing, turnover, retention, employee engagement and compliance indicators.
• Provide data-informed recommendations to executive and departmental leadership and, when requested, the Board and its committees.
• Maintain disciplined tracking of approved positions, requisitions, workforce changes, equity-eligible roles and rolling workforce forecasts.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Finance, Accounting and Internal Audit on workforce budgeting, headcount forecasting, compensation, payroll controls, benefits costs and relevant SOX control evidence.
• Partner with Legal, the Corporate Secretary and Contracts on labor and employment matters, Board and committee materials, human capital disclosures, contractual requirements and risk mitigation.
• Partner with IT on HR systems, employee access, equipment coordination and onboarding and offboarding processes.
• Partner with Security on clearance-related personnel processes and required personnel security actions.
• Partner with Quality, Compliance and Internal Audit teams on audits, policy control, training, remediation and process improvement.
• Partner with commercial, sales, operational, engineering, research and customer-facing leaders to address workforce planning and talent requirements.
• Act as a trusted, responsive business partner across all departments and organizational levels.

Supervisory and Vendor Responsibilities

The Director operates as the primary internal HR practitioner and may coordinate the work of HR generalists, recruiters, interns, temporary staff, external consultants or future HR team members as approved. The Director serves as the principal business liaison to TriNet and other approved HR service providers, compensation advisors, benefits partners and auditors and remains accountable for internal HR decisions and outcomes.

Required Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership or a related field.
• Master's degree preferred.

Experience

• Eight or more years of progressive Human Resources experience.
• Five or more years in an HR leadership, management or senior business partner role.
• Demonstrated experience independently managing multiple HR disciplines in a lean operating environment.
• Experience advising executives, Board members and committees and collaborating across divisions and departments.
• Experience working with a PEO strongly preferred; TriNet experience is preferred.
• Experience supporting a publicly traded commercial organization strongly preferred; experience in technology, defense, government contracting, engineering, manufacturing or professional services is also valued.

Preferred Certifications

• SHRM-SCP
• SPHR
• SHRM-CP
• PHR
• CCP or another relevant Human Resources credential

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Strong working knowledge of employment laws, employee relations practices, public-company governance, workforce-related SOX controls, executive compensation administration, SEC human capital disclosure support and HR operational standards.
• Ability to balance strategic leadership with detailed, hands-on execution.
• Experience with HRIS, applicant tracking and performance management systems, preferably within a TriNet-supported environment.
• Excellent executive and Board-ready communication, consultation, facilitation and interpersonal skills.
• Strong organizational, project management and process-improvement capabilities.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and respond effectively in a fast-paced, evolving organization.
• Advanced financial and workforce analytical, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
• High standards of integrity, professionalism, confidentiality and documentation.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and build trusted relationships across organizational levels.
• Proficiency with Microsoft 365, advanced spreadsheet-based workforce analysis and dashboard or business-intelligence tools.

Working Conditions

• Primarily an office or approved hybrid work environment.
• Periodic travel may be required.
• Extended hours may occasionally be necessary to meet operational or employee-relations needs.
• The position routinely handles sensitive, confidential and legally significant information.

Measures of Success

• Builds trusted partnerships with executive leadership, managers and employees.
• Creates scalable, controlled HR processes that support profitable commercial growth, public-company readiness and operational consistency.
• Uses TriNet effectively while maintaining clear ownership of Forward Edge-AI people strategy and decisions.
• Improves workforce planning, recruiting discipline, onboarding, performance management and employee support.
• Maintains compliant, consistent and audit-ready HR practices, records and workforce-related control evidence suitable for a publicly traded company.
• Provides timely, practical, commercially grounded and risk-aware guidance across departments, divisions and Board-level forums.
• Balances employee experience, commercial performance, public-company accountability, long-term shareholder value and organizational values.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Forward Edge-AI is committed to providing equal employment opportunities in accordance with applicable law. Employment decisions are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications. Reasonable accommodations will be considered for qualified individuals as required by applicable law.