HR AI and Automation Lead (all genders)

Stark; Berlin; On-site; EUR 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

STARK is a defence technology company seeking a HR Technology & Automation Lead to own practical AI applications across HR. You will reduce administrative work, improve data quality, and provide faster, reliable support for employees and managers in a security-sensitive, international environment.

Working with HR leadership, IT, Legal and Finance, you will build and deploy AI-based workflows for recruiting, onboarding and workforce planning, ensuring data protection and proper escalation when

Qualifications

• Around five years or more in HR technology, HR operations, business systems or automation, with ownership of projects from problem definition through implementation.
• Evidence of AI or automation solutions you have deployed and maintained, including the problem solved, adoption achieved and measurable operational results.
• Practical ability to build integrations using workflow platforms, APIs and webhooks. You can troubleshoot data flows and work with technical colleagues on more complex requirements.
• Experience applying language models to business workflows, including knowledge retrieval, output evaluation and appropriate escalation when answers are unreliable.
• An understanding of recruiting and employee lifecycle processes, HR data and the care required when handling confidential candidate and employee information.
• Strong project ownership and clear communication. You can turn an HR problem into a delivery plan and explain priorities, costs and tradeoffs to senior stakeholders.
• Professional fluency in English and the judgment to work effectively in a security sensitive, international environment.

Responsibilities

• Own the HR AI and automation roadmap. Prioritise projects by business value, process readiness, data sensitivity and implementation effort, with a clear owner and success measure for each.
• Build and maintain workflows for recruiting handovers, onboarding, employee changes, approval routing and reporting. Select standard automation or AI according to the task and reliability required.
• Develop an HR knowledge assistant using approved policies and guidance. Ensure answers reference current sources, respect access permissions and escalate uncertain or sensitive questions to the right person.
• Connect HR systems and collaboration tools through approved integrations. Improve data consistency, resolve failed handovers and preserve the authoritative source for each record.
• Improve workforce reporting with reliable headcount, hiring and process data. Help HR and Finance reconcile position approvals, recruitment activity and employee records.
• Evaluate tools and vendors with IT, Security and Legal. Define access controls, data handling, retention and monitoring before deployment, with accountable human review for decisions affecting candidates or employees.
• Test output quality, permissions and failure scenarios. Maintain documentation, alerts and recovery procedures so deployed workflows remain dependable as systems and policies change.
• Train HR colleagues and managers, support adoption and report results through time saved, turnaround times, error rates, usage and operating cost.

Skills

HR technology

Automation

APIs & webhooks

Language models in business

Project ownership

Data confidentiality

English fluency

Tools

Workflow platforms

APIs

Webhooks

SQL

Python

Job description

About Us STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionising the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop and manufacture high performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost effective. This provides our operators with a decisive edge in highly contested environments.

We’re focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems - not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe - today.

Your mission

You will own the practical application of AI and automation across HR at STARK. Your goal is to reduce administrative work, improve data quality and give employees and managers faster access to reliable support. You will identify opportunities, build and deploy solutions, and measure their impact across recruiting, people operations and workforce planning.

Working with HR leadership, IT, Security, Legal and Finance, you will make these solutions reliable enough for everyday use in a defence technology environment.

Responsibilities

• Own the HR AI and automation roadmap. Prioritise projects by business value, process readiness, data sensitivity and implementation effort, with a clear owner and success measure for each.
• Build and maintain workflows for recruiting handovers, onboarding, employee changes, approval routing and reporting. Select standard automation or AI according to the task and reliability required.
• Develop an HR knowledge assistant using approved policies and guidance. Ensure answers reference current sources, respect access permissions and **escalate** uncertain or sensitive questions to the right person.
• Connect HR systems and collaboration tools through approved integrations. Improve data consistency, resolve failed handovers and preserve the authoritative source for each record.
• Improve workforce reporting with reliable headcount, hiring and process data. Help HR and Finance reconcile position approvals, recruitment activity and employee records.
• Evaluate tools and vendors with IT, Security and Legal. Define access controls, data handling, retention and monitoring before deployment, with accountable human review for decisions affecting candidates or employees.
• Test output quality, permissions and failure scenarios. Maintain documentation, alerts and recovery procedures so deployed workflows remain dependable as systems and policies change.
• Train HR colleagues and managers, support adoption and report results through time saved, turnaround times, error rates, usage and operating cost.

Qualifications

• Around five years or more in HR technology, HR operations, business systems or automation, with ownership of projects from problem definition through implementation.
• Evidence of AI or automation solutions you have deployed and maintained, including the problem solved, adoption achieved and measurable operational results.
• Practical ability to build integrations using workflow platforms, APIs and webhooks. You can troubleshoot data flows and work with technical colleagues on more complex requirements.
• Experience applying language models to business workflows, including knowledge retrieval, output evaluation and appropriate escalation when answers are unreliable.
• An understanding of recruiting and employee lifecycle processes, HR data and the care required when handling confidential candidate and employee information.
• Strong project ownership and clear communication. You can turn an HR problem into a delivery plan and explain priorities, costs and tradeoffs to senior stakeholders.
• Professional fluency in English and the judgment to work effectively in a security sensitive, international environment.

Nice to have Personio, Greenhouse, Google Workspace, Slack or Confluence; SQL or Python; German language skills; and experience in defence, aerospace, manufacturing or another regulated sector. Equivalent systems and relevant implementation experience are welcome.

What success looks like in your first six months:

• An agreed roadmap with baseline measures and accountable owners for the highest value opportunities.
• At least three priority workflows in regular use, with documented controls, support ownership and measurable reductions in manual effort or processing time.
• An HR knowledge assistant piloted with an agreed user group and validated for answer quality, source accuracy and access permissions.
• A monthly view of adoption, time saved, error rates and operating costs, supported by practical guidance that enables the HR team to use the solutions confidently.

Why this role:

You will shape how HR supports a growing defence technology business, with direct ownership of solutions used by employees, managers and the HR team. Your work will make hiring and employee operations easier to run as the company scales.