People Operations Partner

Role Overview

Kombo is hiring a People Operations Partner to take full ownership of daily people operations during the company’s next stage of growth. The goal of the role is to build the operational foundation that supports the team as it expands from 75 to 150 people, while protecting the speed, culture, and employee experience that have helped the company succeed so far.

This is the first dedicated owner of the People function, so the role is central to keeping Kombo a strong place to work as the organization grows, without adding unnecessary bureaucracy. The position is very hands-on and combines process ownership, employee support, and continuous improvement of people workflows.

Rather than acting like a conventional HR manager, this role is more of a builder’s role: you will identify friction points, design practical fixes, implement them, and refine them over time. Over the next 12 to 24 months, you will help shape the people operations base of one of Europe’s fastest-growing software companies.

About Kombo

Kombo is developing a unified API for ATS, HR, and payroll platforms. Instead of companies spending months connecting to many different systems, they can integrate once with Kombo and access 100+ platforms right away. The product abstracts away the complexity of different data formats, authentication methods, and API quirks.

• After joining Y Combinator in 2022, the company grew from zero revenue to more than 10 million in ARR and now serves hundreds of customers, placing it in roughly the top 5% of VC-backed startups.
• It processes data at a scale comparable to 20% of Germany’s workforce.
• It has raised over $30M from Y Combinator, 468 Capital, and other leading investors.
• The team has grown to 60+ people across Berlin and New York City.

What You Will Do

You will own the people operations that help the team work effectively every day. The role is highly visible and has a direct influence on how employees experience working at Kombo.

• Manage the full employee lifecycle in a compliant way, from offer to exit, including onboarding, offboarding, HR policy maintenance and improvement, and the handling of employee data, records, and documentation in line with German and US regulations.
• Act as a go-to partner for employees and managers by answering questions, helping leaders navigate people processes, gathering feedback, and supporting development initiatives.
• Improve people processes by finding inefficiencies and recurring pain points, automating repetitive administrative work, and strengthening HR workflows, tools, and documentation.
• Support the office and team experience by helping shape a workplace where people enjoy working together, including office operations, workplace experience, off-sites, company celebrations, and culture-building initiatives across teams.

What We’re Looking For

The company is less focused on whether you have worked in a large HR department and more interested in whether you want to build and scale systems in a fast-moving environment.

• You bring 3 to 6+ years of experience in People Operations, HR Operations, or HR Generalist roles.
• You have experience in B2B SaaS startups or other fast-growing tech environments.
• You can work fluently in both German and English.
• You understand German employment law and HR operations; familiarity with US employment practices is an advantage.
• You like creating processes from the ground up and improving existing ones.
• You prefer practical solutions that work well over overly complex approaches, and you value strong execution today over perfection tomorrow.
• You are highly organised, detail-oriented, and able to manage many moving parts without letting things slip.
• You have a natural eye for inefficiencies and think in terms of system improvement.
• You are comfortable working independently and making decisions in ambiguous situations.
• You take ownership of outcomes, not just tasks, and move proactively when something needs to be solved.
• People trust you, enjoy working with you, and feel that you make their lives easier.
• You communicate clearly and handle sensitive topics with maturity, balancing empathy and pragmatism as needed.
• You actively look for ways to use AI and automation to improve quality, speed, and scalability.

What It’s Like To Work At Kombo

The culture is built on two pillars: strong ambition and high performance, paired with a fun and supportive environment. The team aims to maintain the momentum of a top-tier VC-backed startup while keeping a relatively small group of highly capable people.

• The company’s growth rate places it among the top 5% of VC-backed startups, and the team intends to keep moving at that pace.
• The organization aims to stay small, with few but very high-performing team members, similar in spirit to companies like Ashby or Netflix.
• The team usually comes together for a company-wide celebration about once a week for reasons such as a major feature launch, a big customer win, an anniversary, or a birthday.
• The company also has a strong meme culture.

Benefits

For team members based in Berlin, the company offers:

• Subsidised gym membership
• Breakfast and snack foods
• Public transport ticket
• Regular company events and off-sites
• Learning and development budget
• Equity

Hiring Process

The hiring process is designed to be efficient and respectful of candidates’ time, and can be completed in under two weeks if schedules allow.

• An initial talent screen with a recruiter to confirm the key baseline requirements for the role.
• A deep-dive conversation with the hiring manager to discuss the company, the role, and whether expectations align on both sides.
• A paid on-site day, during which candidates work in the office on a real challenge and get a genuine feel for the company; this time is compensated in case holiday leave would otherwise be needed.

Additional Information

This is an opportunity to build the people operations foundation of a company that is scaling quickly while still being small enough for your work to have a visible impact. Every process you create, every friction point you remove, and every HR improvement you make will affect the experience of every employee.

Candidates are encouraged to apply even if they do not meet every single requirement.

Work Style and Environment

The role is described as highly hands-on, collaborative, and visible across the business. It suits someone who enjoys bringing order to fast-moving environments, simplifying complexity, and improving the way a company runs behind the scenes.

Location

This position is based in the Berlin Metropolitan Area and is an onsite role.