NYC People & Culture Architect

Lio; New York (NY); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Lio is expanding its New York office and seeks the first U.S. People & Culture hire to design and lead our people functions from the ground up. You will build the local presence, partner with Munich leaders, and shape a unified global people strategy.

You will own the NYC employee journey—from recruiting to offboarding—and drive end-to-end hiring for U.S. roles while scaling a fast-growing startup into a global company with aligned values.

Qualifications

• You have at least three years of experience in People & Culture, HR, Talent Acquisition, People Operations, or a related role
• You have worked in a fast-growing startup or scale-up and understand what it takes to build while a company is scaling
• You bring strong recruiting experience and are comfortable owning critical searches end to end
• You understand the fundamentals of U.S. employment practices and know when to involve external experts
• You have supported managers and employees across performance, development, and engagement topics
• You combine strategic thinking with hands‑on execution and are excited to establish People & Culture in a new location
• You are proactive, structured, and comfortable making progress without an established local playbook
• You communicate clearly, exercise sound judgment, and handle sensitive topics with care
• You enjoy collaborating across cultures, offices, and time zones
• You are based in New York City and excited to work closely with the team in person

Responsibilities

• Establish Lio’s local People & Culture presence in New York as an extension of our Munich-based People team
• Act as a strategic sparring partner to our People & Culture Lead, helping shape a unified global people strategy
• Own the NYC employee journey, including recruiting, onboarding, engagement, performance, development, and offboarding
• Lead end-to-end hiring for U.S. roles and help build a high-performing New York team
• Serve as the trusted local point of contact for employees and managers
• Support managers with team development, feedback, performance, and employee-related topics
• Adapt global initiatives and processes to the U.S. market while ensuring consistency across both offices
• Build scalable local structures that support our growth while remaining closely connected to the global People strategy
• Use employee insights and people data to continuously improve the employee experience
• Strengthen the connection between Munich and New York: one company, one People team, and one shared culture

Skills

People & Culture experience

Talent Acquisition

HR strategy

People Operations

Strategic thinking

Cross-cultural collaboration

Tools

HRIS

Job description

Lio is expanding its New York office and seeks the first U.S. People & Culture hire to design and lead our people functions from the ground up. You will build the local presence, partner with Munich leaders, and shape a unified global people strategy.

You will own the NYC employee journey—from recruiting to offboarding—and drive end-to-end hiring for U.S. roles while scaling a fast-growing startup into a global company with aligned values.