People Lead
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Posted on:
18 hours ago
Vacancies:
1 Vacancy
Job Summary
About Apheris
AtApheris we are building the future of how AI is applied in pharmaceutical R&D.
Our federated computing technology enables global pharma companies to collaborate securely on large AI models that accelerate drug discovery without ever sharing their proprietary data. By powering multi-partner data networks across small molecules antibodies and protein folding Apheris is redefining how science and AI intersect.
We currently host two flagship networks: the AI Structural Biology (AISB) Networkfocusedon protein co-folding and binding affinity prediction and theADMET Networkfocusedon small-molecule property addition we havejustlaunchedApherisFold an enterprise co-folding application that enables pharma teams to deploy cutting-edge models such as OpenFold 3 and Boltz-2 directly within their own environments.
We are scaling rapidly and are now at a stage where professional well-structured people processes are critical to sustaining execution quality team health and culture as we grow.
Our federated computing technology enables global pharma companies to collaborate securely on large AI models that accelerate drug discovery without ever sharing their proprietary data. By powering multi-partner data networks across small molecules antibodies and protein folding Apheris is redefining how science and AI intersect.
We currently host two flagship networks: the AI Structural Biology (AISB) Networkfocusedon protein co-folding and binding affinity prediction and theADMET Networkfocusedon small-molecule property addition we havejustlaunchedApherisFold an enterprise co-folding application that enables pharma teams to deploy cutting-edge models such as OpenFold 3 and Boltz-2 directly within their own environments.
We are scaling rapidly and are now at a stage where professional well-structured people processes are critical to sustaining execution quality team health and culture as we grow.
About the role
We are hiring a People Lead to own and evolve Apheris people function end to end for Apheris as a whole and particularly for Apheris engineering organization.
This is a hands-on individual contributor role combining strategic people leadership with day-to-day execution. You will design implement and continuously improve our people processes across hiring onboarding performance management professional development and organizational effectiveness. A core mandate is to ensure that engineering teams operate smoothly communicate effectively and scale sustainably while actively supporting engineers in their (soft skills) career development and growth into team lead roles.
You will work closely with the CEO CTO and the broader leadership team acting as a trusted partner on team structure capacity planning capability development and performance. By taking ownership of people-related topics you will free up senior technical leadership to focus on product science and delivery.
This role is ideal for someone who has operated as a senior people partner in engineering-heavy scientifically minded organizations and who enjoys building structure without unnecessary bureaucracy. To clarify this is not a role that will build and lead a large People team; instead this role is highly hands-on.
This is a hands-on individual contributor role combining strategic people leadership with day-to-day execution. You will design implement and continuously improve our people processes across hiring onboarding performance management professional development and organizational effectiveness. A core mandate is to ensure that engineering teams operate smoothly communicate effectively and scale sustainably while actively supporting engineers in their (soft skills) career development and growth into team lead roles.
You will work closely with the CEO CTO and the broader leadership team acting as a trusted partner on team structure capacity planning capability development and performance. By taking ownership of people-related topics you will free up senior technical leadership to focus on product science and delivery.
This role is ideal for someone who has operated as a senior people partner in engineering-heavy scientifically minded organizations and who enjoys building structure without unnecessary bureaucracy. To clarify this is not a role that will build and lead a large People team; instead this role is highly hands-on.
What you will do
- Build and run people processes
- Designownand continuously improve pragmaticpeopleprocesses across the full employee lifecycle from hiring and onboarding to performance management development and retention.
- Establish clear pragmatic performance management frameworks that support accountability growth and feedback.
- Drive professional development and upskilling initiativeswith a focus on soft skills behavioral growth and leadership capabilities while partnering with engineering leadership on technical career paths.
- Ensurepeopleprocesses scale effectively while keeping themlightweight and startup-friendlyas the company grows fromroughly 40to 70 employees.
- People operations and execution
- Take hands-on ownership of people-adjacent operational topics as they arise including employment-related legal policy compliance and coordination with external advisors.
- Drive execution on cross-cutting people and organizational topics that fall between functions or lack clear ownership ensuringtimelyresolution as the company scales.
- Support CEO effectiveness in people and organizational matters by structuring decisions translating direction into concrete actions and ensuring follow-through.
- Enable the CEO CTO and functional leads to stay focused on their core responsibilities by independently progressing people- and organization-related operational topics and escalating only when decisions are.
- Close partnershipwith engineering leadership
- Act as a people partner to the CTO the product functionand engineering managers.
- Conducttargetedone-on-ones with key team members whereappropriate especially during periods of change or growth while primarilyoperatingas an unbiased third-party coach
- Hiring and workforce planning
- Ownearly-stagerecruiting executionuntil we potentiallyplace an in-houserecruiter as we further increase our growth.
- Create and refine job descriptions in collaboration with functional leads.
- Select manage and evaluate external recruiters where neededand act as a hands-on hiring manager for specific roles when there are capacity constraints.
- Assess organizational capacity and capability gaps and translate them into concrete hiring and development plans.
- Support leadership in headcount planning and prioritization.
- Culture and organizational effectiveness
- Actively shape and strengthenApheris culture as a remote-first organization.
- Ensure strong connectivity trust and collaboration across distributed teamsincluding supporting team rituals and organizing team get-togetherswherehelpful.
- Continuously assess and improve how the organization worksbalancingspeed clarity and sustainability.
- Serve as a trusted sparring partner to the C-level on people team health and organizational topics.
What we expect from you
- 6 years of experience in people HR or organizational roles withinbest-in-class andhighly engineering-focused organizations ideally with scientifically or technically minded teams.
- Demonstrated experience supporting organizational growth in startups or scaleups for example from 40 to 100 employees at Series A to C stage.
- Strongtrack recordof partnering with senior technical leaders and earning trust at C-level.
- Deep understanding of performance management team dynamics and professional development in engineering environmentswith strength in coaching behavioral topics and people dynamics rather than technical skill development itself.
- Comfortoperatingin a remote-first organization and addressing the associated challenges around culture communication and collaboration.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-changing startup environment with shifting priorities.
- Strong operationalskillsto translatepeoplestrategy into concrete repeatableand pragmaticprocesses (e.g. hiring performance cycles career frameworks) run them hands-on and continuously improve them in a fast-changing startup environment.
- Excellent communication skills and strong judgment when dealing with sensitive people matters.
- Fluent English; German optional.
Nice to have
- Experience in life sciences AI or drug discovery environments.
- Background in building or significantly improving culture in distributed or remote organizations.
- Experience setting up earlypeoplefunctions or professionalizing existing ones.
- Exposure to scaling engineering organizations specifically including career frameworks and role definitions.
What we offer you
- Industry-competitive compensation includingearly-stage virtual share options
- Remote-first working work where you work best whether from home or a co-working space near you
- Great suite of benefits including a wellbeing budget mental health benefits a work-from-home budget a co-working stipend and a learning and development budget
- Generous holiday allowance
- Office Daysat our Berlin HQ or a different European location(3x a year)
- A fun diverse team of mission-driven individuals withexperience across leadingorganizationsanda drive to see AI and ML used for good
- High impact significant ownership and the opportunity to shape howApherisscales its people and culture over the next phase of growth
Key Skills
- Administrative Skills
- Facilities Management
- Biotechnology
- Creative Production
- Design And Estimation
- Architecture
About Company
Build ML-powered products using data that spans organizational or geographical boundaries, while ensuring compliance with regulation.
