People & Culture Partner – NYC Office

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

Build the team and culture behind Lio’s next chapter.

Following our $30M Series A, we’re expanding internationally and building our New York office from the ground up. As our first People & Culture hire in the U.S., you won’t step into an established function, you’ll create it.

You’ll hire the exceptional people who will shape our U.S. organization and build the foundations for their performance, development, and engagement. Working closely with our Munich People team, U.S. team and founders you’ll help create one global company with shared values and ambitious standards.

This is your opportunity to do more than join a great culture, it’s your opportunity to help build one!

What You’ll Do

• 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

Your Profile

• 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

Why Lio?

• Build from the ground up: Establish the People & Culture foundation for our New York office

• Shape the team: Hire and develop the exceptional people who will drive our U.S. growth

• Strategic influence: Work closely with our People & Culture Lead, founders, and U.S. leadership

• One global team: Connect Munich and New York through shared values, standards, and experiences

• Visible impact: Every person you hire and every process you build will directly shape Lio’s future

This isn’t about creating a separate U.S. People function. It’s about building the New York arm of one global People team: one company, one culture, and two offices.