People Partner

Black Forest Labs seeks a Senior People Partner in Freiburg, CH, to support EU-based teams with people partnering, operations, and employee relations in a hybrid tech environment.

This position balances People Partnering and People Operations, gradually focusing more on partnering as the organization expands. The role reports to the Head of People, collaborates with an existing EU People team member, and supports engineers, researchers, and commercial teams within a technology setting.

Responsibilities

• Act as a primary People Partner for EU managers and staff, assisting with performance management, team dynamics, and organizational structure.
• Mentor and develop managers throughout the organization to strengthen leadership capabilities during growth.
• Manage compensation strategy inputs and oversee critical employee lifecycle events, including performance reviews, promotions, and challenging discussions.
• Handle employee relations issues in the EU, applying sound judgment and a solid understanding of German employment law.
• Establish high standards for People Operations quality in Europe, ensuring tasks are executed effectively rather than handling everything personally.
• Guide the EU Ops and People Partner, fostering their professional growth and maintaining execution quality.
• Leverage data, tools, and AI to streamline People Operations, identify inefficiencies, and implement solutions.
• Take ownership of the People roadmap, from initial design through final delivery.

Requirements

• At least 7 years of experience in People, Operations, Consulting, Programme Management, or a related field, with substantial HR exposure and a strong interest in developing the people function.
• Experience working in the tech sector, particularly in deep tech areas such as AI, infrastructure, developer tooling, or fintech.
• Proven startup or scale-up experience, with a track record of building new processes or significantly improving existing ones.
• Ability to seamlessly transition between strategic planning and hands-on execution.
• Strong coaching instincts with the credibility to influence senior stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills with fluency in both German and English.

Nice to have

• Formal HR qualification.
• Prior experience as a founding or lead People hire in an early-stage or scaling environment.
• Working knowledge of German employment law.
• Exposure to cross-border or multi-entity employment in Europe.
• Coaching qualification or structured leadership development experience.

What the company offers

• Reasonable travel costs will be covered.
• Base Annual Salary: €100,000 - €130,000 + Equity

About the company

Black Forest Labs operates as a distributed team with physical offices that employees actively use. The company's culture is built on four core values: Obsessed, Low Ego, Bold, and Kind.

• The team is distributed but utilizes physical offices.
• Core values include Obsessed, Low Ego, Bold, and Kind.