Senior Employee Relations Manager

Crusoe is on a mission to accelerate the abundance of energy and intelligence. As the only vertically integrated AI infrastructure company built from the ground up, we own and operate each layer of the stack — from electrons to tokens — to power the world's most ambitious AI workloads. When you join Crusoe, you join a team that is building the future, faster.We're in the midst of the greatest industrial revolution of our time. The demand for AI compute is boundless, and power is a bottleneck. We're solving that — with an energy-first approach that makes AI infrastructure better for the world and faster for the people innovating with AI.We're looking for problem-solving, opportunity-finding teammates with a sense of urgency, who believe in the scale of our ambition and thrive on a path not fully paved — people who want to grow their careers alongside a team of experts across energy, manufacturing, data center construction, and cloud services.If you want to do the most meaningful work of your career, help our customers and partners advance their AI strategies, and be part of a high-performing team that believes in each other, come build with us at Crusoe.About the Role:As our Senior Employee Relations Manager, you will handle workplace concerns, conflict resolution, and internal investigations across the company. We are looking for someone who relies on empathy, strong listening skills, and personal connection to resolve issues—rather than leaning on rigid bureaucracy or formalized playbooks.Because a significant portion of our workforce or operations interfaces with California’s complex regulatory environment, deep expertise and a strong working knowledge of California labor law is a strict requirement for this role. You will ensure that our investigation, compliance, and resolution processes are fair, timely, thorough, and legally airtight. Your goal is to keep our workplaces safe and respectful while managing risk and protecting the business.This is a fully onsite position, requiring five days a week at our San Francisco, CA office.What You'll Do:Conduct Investigations: Personally run the majority of internal investigations across the company regarding workplace complaints or concerns. Ensure everything is documented accurately, handled fairly, and completed in a timely manner.Manage Sensitive Matters: Act as a trusted point of contact for employees and leaders dealing with sensitive, confidential, or emotionally charged situations.Protect Peer Focus: Handle cases discreetly so that cross-functional peers (like Employee Success Partners) can stay focused on their core responsibilities.Consistency: Partner with Legal, Compliance, and People Operations to ensure our workplace policies are clear, fair, and compliant with both federal and state labor laws—with particular attention to California-specific mandates. Track historical cases to make sure similar issues receive consistent outcomes.Manager Advisory: Act as a sounding board and advisor to managers and People Success Partners, coaching them through tough employee situations, difficult conversations, and complex policy questions.California Law Guidance: Provide clear guidance to leadership on California-specific nuances, such as mandatory harassment prevention training, meal/rest break compliance issues, and independent contractor guidelines.Collaboration & Education: Work with teammates to deliver practical training for managers on conflict resolution, documentation best practices, and spotting early ER risks.Identify Risks: Pay close attention to workplace dynamics, using regular communication and observation to spot early signs of morale issues or cultural strain.Trend Reporting: Share regular insights and trend data from your observations with leadership to help guide proactive culture improvements or policy adjustments.Core Strengths You'll Bring:California Labor Law Expertise: Comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge of California employment law, state compliance frameworks, and wage-and-hour regulations.Strong Relationship Builder: A gifted listener who reads team dynamics easily and builds trust with people at all levels.Pragmatic Problem Solver: Comfortable navigating ambiguous, sensitive situations and resolving issues in real-time without needing a step-by-step playbook for every scenario.High Emotional Intelligence: Calm and objective when handling high-stress or emotionally charged employee conflicts.Execution & Detail-Oriented: Focused on keeping cases moving forward, meeting tight deadlines, and maintaining airtight documentation.What You Won’t Be Expected to Do:Corporate-Level Strategy: You are focused on the hands-on execution and tracking of the ER function, rather than long-term, data-driven corporate planning.Own General HR Compliance: People Operations owns general handbook documentation, operational workflows outside of ER, and core compliance tracking.Run Other HR Functions: You will not own organizational design, talent development programs, acquisition due diligence, payroll, benefits, or immigration.Qualifications:HR Generalist Leadership & Advisory: 8+ years of deep HR generalist experience with a proven ability to act as a trusted advisor to leaders on complex performance management, compensation, benefits, and talent management issues. You know how to connect the dots between individual employee relations cases and broader organizational health.Fast-Scaling Environment (Bonus): Experience working in a fast-growing, scaling, or volatile business environment is highly preferred; comfort adapting ER processes dynamically as the company grows is a major plus.Employment Law Expertise: Proven, deep knowledge of employment law and regulatory environments across multiple U.S. states. Specific, hands-on experience navigating California’s complex labor laws, wage-and-hour regulations, and CRD compliance frameworks is a strict requirement for this role.Interpersonal Strength & Trust Building: Exceptional communication and conflict resolution skills, with a proven ability to listen deeply and build immediate trust with employees and leaders alike. You excel at reading team dynamics and emotional cues , navigating high-stress or sensitive situations with absolute discretion, composure, and empathy.Travel: Willingness to travel periodically as needed; 25%Location: Must be based in Sunnyvale or San Francisco, CABenefits:Competitive compensation and equity packagesRestricted Stock UnitsPaid time off, paid holidays & leave of absence programsComprehensive health, dental & vision insuranceEmployer contributions to HSA accountPaid parental leavePaid life insurance, short-term and long-term disabilityProfessional development & tuition reimbursementMental health & wellness supportCommuter benefits (parking & transit)Cell phone stipend401(k) Retirement plan with company match up to 4% of salaryVolunteer time offGlobal travel insurance & emergency assistanceDaily meals allowanceAdditional perks & programs specific to locationCompensation RangeCompensation will be paid in the range of up to $195,000 -$230,000 + Bonus. Restricted Stock Units are included in all offers. Compensation to be determined by the applicant's knowledge, education, and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data.Crusoe is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship, marital status, sex/gender, sexual preference/ orientation, gender identity, age, veteran status, national origin, or any other status protected by law or regulation.LocationSan Francisco, CA - USEmployment TypeFull timeLocation TypeOn-siteDepartmentPeople