People & Culture Manager

About The Role

Juna AI is building the Agentic Factory OS: AI agents that plan, steer, and optimize industrial production end to end. We’re a Berlin-based team of ~20, backed by Kleiner Perkins and Norrsken VC, and on a clear trajectory to scale to 30–50 people over the coming 12-24 months.

As our first dedicated People & Talent hire, you will build the entire people function from scratch — owning recruiting, HR operations, culture, and light office management. This is a foundational role: you’ll shape how we hire, onboard, retain, and grow our team during the most formative phase of the company.
We’re looking for someone who has done this before and is excited to go back to the early stage, where you own everything and your decisions directly shape the company.

Core Responsibilities

Recruiting

• Own the full recruiting lifecycle end to end — sourcing, screening, interviewing, closing — across engineering, commercial, and operational roles.
• Build and manage our talent pipeline through direct sourcing, networks, job boards, and selective agency use.
• Partner with hiring managers to define roles, structure interviews, and create a standout candidate experience.

HR

• Set up and run core HR processes: contracts, onboarding, offboarding, payroll coordination, benefits, and compliance with German labor law.
• Be the go-to person for all people topics
• Help shape our culture as we scale: team rituals, values, and ways of working that keep the startup spirit alive.

Team & Office

• Keep our Berlin office running smoothly: supplies, equipment, vendors, and team events.

About You

Experience & Skills

• 3+ years experience in recruiting and/or HR, with at least part of that in a startup or high-growth tech environment.
• You’ve hired across multiple functions and built people processes from scratch — not just inherited existing structures.
• Solid understanding of German labor law and HR compliance basics.
• Fluent in English; German is a strong plus.

Personal

• High-ownership mentality: you see a gap, you fill it. No task is beneath you.
• Exceptional at building relationships — with candidates, hiring managers, and the broader team.
• Energized by early-stage chaos: you thrive when things aren’t figured out yet and you get to shape them.
• Pragmatic and results-driven, but you care deeply about people and culture.

What we offer

• Impactful Work: Shape the team behind groundbreaking AI technology that is decarbonizing heavy industry.
• Ownership: Equity participation, so you share in our growth as we scale.
• Foundational Role: Be the first People hire and build the function your way — with direct access to the CEO and founding team.
• Collaborative Environment: Work alongside experienced AI and manufacturing tech founders and a team of leading researchers, engineers, and entrepreneurs.
• Professional Growth: Grow into a senior People / HR leadership role as the company scales.
• Inclusive Culture: A commitment to equal rights, mutual respect, and the promotion of diversity in our workplace.

Life At Juna AI

We operate on the factory floor, not in slide decks. At Juna, you’ll solve high-stakes problems in the real world – chemical plants, paper lines, steel mills  – and cut emissions of the biggest polluting industries in the world. We move fast, work face-to-face, and care about outcomes and solving customer problems. Juna is the place where you’ll experience the most impactful and productive time of your career.