---
title: 'Employee Relations Lead at Formenergy'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/employee-relations-lead-formenergy-weirton-b79dcyjcm78z'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-06'
---

# Employee Relations Lead at Formenergy

- **Company:** [Formenergy](https://feeny.ai/companies/formenergy)
- **Location:** Weirton, WV
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-09-17
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-06
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/formenergy/45e3eb09-ba0b-43a9-b86f-202365534a9c

## Job description

Are you ready to build America’s energy future? Form Energy is an American manufacturing and energy technology company. We’re revolutionizing energy storage with cost-effective, multi-day technology designed to keep the electric grid secure and reliable, even during extended periods of stress. By strengthening the electric system and reimagining what’s possible, we’re giving clean energy a whole new form!

In recent years, Form Energy has earned a number of accolades, including being named by TIME as a “Best Invention”, MIT Technology Review as a “Top Climate Tech Company To Watch”, and Fast Company as “One of the Next Big Things In Tech”. We are making rapid progress on our mission of delivering energy storage for a better world, and our team is growing just as rapidly to meet demand. We have signed contracts with leading electric utilities across the United States and production of our iron-air batteries is underway at our first high-volume manufacturing facility in West Virginia.

Working for Form Energy is more than just a job, it’s a chance to be part of something extraordinary. And now - right as we significantly scale up battery manufacturing -  might be the most exciting moment in the company’s history to join. We are assembling a team of highly talented and driven individuals across the country. Driven by our core values of humanity, excellence, and creativity, our team is determined to deliver on our mission and transform the energy landscape for the better.

Feeling energized to make a meaningful impact on the world? Then keep reading - you’ve come to the right place.

## Role Description

This position, reporting to the SVP, People, is both a high-level strategic force and a hands-on operational leader, responsible for building and running Employee Relations as a new function at Form Energy. A successful individual in this role will define our ER strategy, frameworks, and infrastructure from the ground up, while personally carrying a significant, complex caseload from day one. This individual will be a player-coach: equally comfortable advising senior leaders on ER risk and precedent, and rolling up their sleeves to conduct sensitive investigations, coach managers through difficult conversations, and close out cases fairly and efficiently. They will be excited by the opportunity to build something durable in a fast-paced, evolving environment — creating the playbooks, policies, and systems that don't yet exist, while never losing sight of the people at the center of every case. This role will require working from our Weirton, WV Somerville, MA location at least 3 days per week. The role requires travel to all locations.

This is a hybrid role, which will require working onsite from one of our offices 4 days per week. Relocation assistance is available.

What you'll do:

- Employee Relations Casework & Investigations: Own and manage a complex, high-volume caseload spanning the full spectrum of ER issues — including harassment, discrimination, misconduct, performance-related disputes, and interpersonal conflict. Conduct thorough, timely, and legally sound investigations, and drive cases to fair, well-documented resolution.
- ER Function Build-Out: Design and stand up Form Energy's ER function from the ground up — including intake processes, investigation methodology, case management tooling, escalation pathways, and documentation standards. Establish the frameworks, templates, and playbooks that will scale with the organization.
- Strategic Advisory: Serve as a trusted advisor and coach to senior leaders and People Partners on ER strategy, risk, and precedent. Translate case patterns and trends into proactive recommendations that reduce risk and improve the employee experience before issues escalate.
- Manager Coaching & Enablement: Equip people managers with the skills, judgment, and confidence to identify and address ER issues early — through training, real-time coaching, and clear guidance on when and how to escalate.
- Policy & Compliance: Develop, maintain, and continuously improve HR policies and practices to ensure fair, consistent application across the company and compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws. Partner with Legal on complex or high-risk matters.
- Data-Driven Insights: Build the reporting infrastructure to track case trends, cycle times, and outcomes. Use ER data and analytics to identify systemic risks, inform policy decisions, and report on the health of the function to senior leadership.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with People Partners, Legal, EHS, and other People Team Centers of Excellence (COEs) — including Talent Acquisition and Total Rewards — to ensure ER guidance is embedded consistently across the employee lifecycle.

What you'll bring:

- 8+ years of progressive Employee Relations experience, including direct ownership of complex investigations and casework
- Proven experience building or significantly scaling an ER function, program, or infrastructure from an early stage — a builder's mindset, with the ability to create new processes and tools from scratch
- Deep knowledge of federal and [state] employment law, investigation methodology, and documentation standards
- Strong judgment and discretion in handling sensitive, high-stakes situations with empathy and objectivity
- Exceptional communication and influencing skills, with the ability to build trust and credibility with senior leaders while also connecting authentically with employees at every level
- Demonstrated ability to balance strategic program-building with a high-volume, hands-on caseload simultaneously
- Resilience and adaptability to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment
- Experience partnering cross-functionally with Legal, People Partners, and business leaders

Form Factory 1:

Form Factory 1 in in Weirton, WV—an easy commute from the city of Pittsburgh, PA. This 550,000-square-foot facility is our hub for high-volume battery production and a leader in the new era of American energy manufacturing. Relocation assistance is available.

#LI-Hybrid

Humanity is a cornerstone of Form Energy’s culture, and we make sure our compensation and benefits reflect that. Form Energy offers competitive salaries, stock options, and a holistic benefits package to ensure all employees have what they need to thrive while working here.

When it comes to you and your family’s health, we cover 100% of medical, dental, and vision premiums for full-time employees - and 80% of healthcare premiums for dependents. This starts from day one. We also offer at least 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents (up to 20 weeks for birthing parents), and generous vacation policies to give employees time to recharge when needed.

To build America’s energy future, we need everyone at the table. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply to our open jobs.

If you may require reasonable accommodations to participate in our interview process, please contact accommodations@formenergy.com. Requests for accommodations will be treated with discretion.

Form Energy is committed to maintaining the privacy of our applicants. Please be aware that we will never solicit sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers or bank account details during the recruiting or hiring process.

## About Formenergy

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Energy storage / Clean energy technology / Battery manufacturing
- **Target customers**: Electric utilities, grid operators, large-scale energy developers, and industrial energy users (B2B, enterprise)
- **Mission/purpose**: To reshape the global electric system by creating a new class of low-cost, multi-day energy storage systems that strengthen the grid and enable a sustainable energy future.

## Products & Services
- **Iron-Air Battery System**: A proprietary battery that stores energy for up to 100 hours at a fraction of the cost of lithium-ion. Designed for grid-scale applications to firm renewable energy and replace peaker plants. [formenergy.com](https://formenergy.com/)
- **Formware™**: An advanced software tool that helps utilities and grid operators model the value of multi-day energy storage in their portfolios. [formenergy.com/about](https://formenergy.com/about/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised > $1.2 billion (as of Series F in 2024)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: T. Rowe Price (led Series F), Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Prelude Ventures, The Engine, TPG Rise, Coatue Management, ArcelorMittal’s XCarb fund, Eni Next, Capricorn Investment Group. [formenergy.com/about](https://formenergy.com/about/)
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Commercial pipeline exceeds 750 MW / 75 GWh under agreement.
  - Announced 300 MW / 30 GWh project with Xcel Energy to power a Google data center in Minnesota.
  - Selected by U.S. DOE for an 85 MW / 8,500 MWh project in Maine – the largest energy storage project by energy capacity announced globally at the time.
  - First international deployment: 10 MW / 1,000 MWh system with FutureEnergy Ireland.
  - Strategic supply agreement with Crusoe (AI data center company) for 12 GWh of iron-air batteries.
  - Manufacturing facility (Form Factory 1) in Weirton, WV – 550,000 sq ft, employing ~400 people, now in trial production. [formenergy.com/about](https://formenergy.com/about/)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Technology moat**: Iron-air chemistry is fundamentally low-cost (using abundant materials) and safe (no thermal runaway, passed UL9540A).
- **Duration leadership**: 100-hour storage fills a critical gap between short-duration lithium-ion and seasonal storage, enabling true 24/7 renewable power.
- **Manufacturing scale**: First high-volume factory built on a former steel mill site in the U.S., leveraging domestic supply chains and skilled labor.
- **Proven field performance**: Over 34,700 sub-scale cells, 6,200 full-scale cells, 170 modules, and 10+ grid-connected systems tested. [formenergy.com/about](https://formenergy.com/about/)

## Strategic Focus
- Rapidly scaling manufacturing at Form Factory 1 and expanding commercial deployments with major utilities.
- Entering new international markets (Ireland, and exploring others).
- Supporting the energy needs of AI data centers and other high-demand loads through long-duration storage.
- Continuing R&D to improve cell performance and reduce costs further. [formenergy.com/about](https://formenergy.com/about/)

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Driven by core values of Humanity, Excellence, and Creativity. Emphasis on inclusion, empathy, pragmatic optimism, and tackling hard challenges.
- **Locations**: R&D in Somerville, MA; engineering in Berkeley, CA; manufacturing in Weirton, WV; remote/hybrid options available for some roles.
- **Benefits**:
  - 100% of medical, dental, and vision premiums covered for employees; 80% for dependents.
  - Health insurance starts day one.
  - Up to 12 weeks paid parental leave (more for birth parents).
  - Stock options granted to all employees.
  - Company-sponsored 401k.
  - Annual professional development budget.
  - Employee Resource Program (financial/legal guidance).
  - Mental health counseling services.
  - Life insurance, short- and long-term disability.
- **Team size**: Nearly 1,000 employees as of early 2025, with plans to grow. [formenergy.com/careers](https://formenergy.com/careers/)
- **Awards**: Recognized as a Breakthrough Energy company; multiple industry accolades for innovation.

## Sources
1. [formenergy.com](https://formenergy.com/)
2. [formenergy.com/about](https://formenergy.com/about/)
3. [formenergy.com/careers](https://formenergy.com/careers/)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/form-energy)
5. [crunchbase.com](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/form-energy)

## Other roles at Formenergy

- [Associate Manager, Facilities Maintenance](https://feeny.ai/job/associate-manager-facilities-maintenance-formenergy-berkeley-pahn7jm5g0c6) — Berkeley, CA
- [EHS Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ehs-engineer-formenergy-weirton-4fva01hwkxsg) — Weirton, WV
- [Director, Supplier Industrialization Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/director-supplier-industrialization-engineering-formenergy-berkeley-hwavx46rcd1s) — Berkeley, CA
- [Mechanical Engineer II, R&D](https://feeny.ai/job/mechanical-engineer-ii-r-d-formenergy-somerville-yyf7y2y1qpx1) — Somerville, MA
- [Contract Recruiter](https://feeny.ai/job/contract-recruiter-formenergy-united-states-e3z3c36jjqjs) — United States
- [Equipment Reliability Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/equipment-reliability-engineer-formenergy-weirton-kxysd9c8jg90) — Weirton, WV
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- [Test Engineer II](https://feeny.ai/job/test-engineer-ii-formenergy-berkeley-kn16hmqeek09) — Berkeley, CA