People Operations Lead

About us

Smallpdf was founded in 2013 with one simple belief: working with documents shouldn’t be complicated. Today, we’re an industry leader in digital document solutions, trusted by millions of users across 195+ countries. We build intuitive, powerful tools that help individuals and businesses work smarter with their documents. From compressing and converting files to editing and e‑signing, our platform makes complex document workflows simple, secure, and accessible.

As a product‑led company headquartered in Switzerland and powered by a diverse, global team of 110+ people (across the group), we combine product excellence with a strong focus on user experience, data‑driven decision‑making and continuous innovation. We operate at the intersection of simplicity and performance, building scalable solutions that power everyday productivity for individuals and businesses alike. Our team is driven by ownership, experimentation and a shared commitment to delivering meaningful impact at scale.

We are seeking for a People Operations Lead to ensure that our people systems run reliably, compliantly, and consistently across two group entities and multiple European markets. You translate People & Culture strategy into clear, scalable processes that work across borders, while providing practical support so managers can lead effectively and make sound people decisions in an international environment.

You work closely with the VP People and Talent Acquisition to ensure alignment across hiring, performance, and engagement — balancing local compliance requirements with a cohesive, company‑wide employee experience.

Success means seamless, cross‑entity employment operations, smooth and well‑aligned performance and engagement cycles, and a People function that feels responsive, structured, and genuinely enabling — making Smallpdf and PDFtools a great place to work across all locations.

• Lead People operations

  Own and continuously improve the operational backbone of the People function.

  Own onboarding, offboarding, payroll, and HR administration

  Govern HRIS structure, data integrity, and workflows

  Standardize and simplify processes across both entities

  Reduce operational noise through automation and clear documentation

  Take end‑to‑end ownership of operational excellence, partnering closely with the People Ops Specialist to ensure consistent execution

• Ensure compliance and risk control

  Maintain strong governance while enabling business agility.

  Ensure Swiss labor law compliance and international employment standards

  Act as escalation point for complex employment matters, coordinating with external advisors when needed

  Handle sensitive cases and maintain audit‑ready HR controls

• Enable managers and performance

  Drive clarity, fairness, and consistency in how performance is managed.

  Own the design and execution of the performance cycle across both entities

  Provide structured, practical guidance on feedback, development, and people decisions

  Support complex performance situations as a pragmatic sparring partner

• Strengthen culture and employee experience

  Help create a consistent, high‑quality employee experience.

  Ensure engagement cycles and follow‑up mechanisms run effectively

  Operationalize culture initiatives in partnership with the VP People

  Shape company‑wide gatherings and events to strengthen alignment and connection

• Oversee workplace experience

  Provide direction and oversight to local Office Manager (CH)

  Set guardrails and priorities for office operations and local initiatives

  Ensure alignment between workplace experience and broader engagement goals

  Serve as escalation point for complex workplace topics while empowering Office Managers to run day‑to‑day logistics

• Bamboo
  
  HR (HRIS)

• Culture Amp (performance & engagement)

• Oyster
  
  HR (EOR)

• Google Workspace

• Slack

• Notion

• 6+ years in People/HR Operations

• Experience owning a People function or leading a small team

• Strong Swiss labor law expertise

• Confident handling sensitive and complex cases independently

• Strong service orientation with a genuine interest in creating a high-quality employee experience

• Structured, pragmatic, and detail‑oriented

• T…