Reward Principal (d/f/m)

Personio's intelligent HR platform helps small and medium-sized organizations unlock the power of people by making complicated, time-consuming tasks simple and efficient. Our team of 1,500 Personios is building user-friendly products that delight our 15,000+ customers and their 1.5 million employees. Ready to make an impact from day one?

This role requires 3 days per week in the office and is based in Munich, Berlin or London.

Working in HR within an organization that builds market-leading HR technology solutions offers a unique opportunity. As valued partners at Personio and thought leaders in the HR industry, our People, Workplace and IT team not only powers the growth of our company but also directly influences the future of the industry.

This role reports to our Head of Rewards.

As our Reward Principal, you'll be the architect of Personio's total rewards philosophy - designing compensation and equity programs that attract and retain top talent across Europe. This isn't about running a playbook; it's about writing one.

You'll own our equity strategy end-to-end, partner with leadership on critical decisions, and build scalable frameworks that support our journey from high-growth scale-up to IPO and beyond. If you want to shape - not just support - how a leading tech company rewards its people, this is your role.

Role Responsibilities: What you'll do

• Equity Strategy & Execution: You own Personio's equity programs (ESOP & RSUs) end-to-end - designing strategy, modeling scenarios, preparing board materials, managing grant issuance, and ensuring flawless execution across jurisdictions. You're the go-to expert and final escalation point for all things equity.

• Vendor & Compliance Management: You manage our equity platform provider, ensuring data integrity and seamless employee experience, while partnering with Legal, Tax, and Finance to maintain compliance across global regulatory requirements (409A, tax reporting).

• Strategic Business Partnering: You collaborate with Talent, People, and Finance to diagnose talent challenges, design reward solutions, and model budget impacts - acting as a trusted advisor to leadership on compensation strategy and market positioning.

• Compensation Cycles & Governance: You support annual performance and compensation review cycles, ensuring fairness, transparency and alignment with our talent philosophy while strengthening governance and reducing manual effort through smart automation.

• Ownership Culture & Education: You champion transparency by designing and delivering "Equity 101" sessions and communication initiatives that help employees understand their total rewards, driving retention and reinforcing our ownership culture.

Role Requirements: What you need to succeed

• Experience & Expertise: You bring 5+ years of progressive experience in compensation, equity or total rewards - ideally within a high-growth tech or multinational environment, with hands-on expertise designing and managing broad-based, international equity programs (options, RSUs, ESOP).

• Technical Fluency: You have deep knowledge of compensation benchmarking, equity administration and compliance requirements across jurisdictions, and financial modeling - with the ability to translate complex data into clear, strategic insights for leadership.

• Analytical & Strategic: You combine analytical rigor with strategic vision, using data to drive decisions, identify automation opportunities, and build scalable compensation frameworks while maintaining strong governance and data accuracy.

• Builder Mindset: You thrive in ambiguity and are a natural builder - comfortable designing processes from scratch, pivoting quickly in response to business needs, and balancing big-picture strategy with hands-on execution.

• Influential Communicator: You build trust and influence across all levels, communicating complex reward concepts clearly to stakeholders in Finance, Legal, People, and senior leadership - rallying cross-functional partners around shared goals without direct authority.

• Project Leadership: You have deep expertise in the reward field, and bring strong project management skills with a track record of owning initiatives from concept to completion with minimal supervision.

Why Personio

Personio is an equal opportunities employer, committed to building an integrative culture where everyone feels welcomed and supported. We embrace uniqueness and understand that our diverse, values-driven culture makes us stronger. We are proud to have an inclusive workplace environment that will foster your development no matter your gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, education level, or race.

At Personio, we value in-person collaboration while also offering flexibility. This role is office-based, with 3 days per week required in your contracted office location. The remaining days can be worked from home or in the office if you prefer. In addition, you’ll have 20 Flex Days per year to work remotely from other locations.

Aside from our people, culture, and mission, check out some of the other benefits that make Personio a great place to work:

• Receive a competitive reward package – reevaluated each year – that includes salary, benefits, and pre-IPO equity

• Enjoy 28 days of paid vacation, plus an additional day after 2 and 4 years

• Make an impact on the environment and society with 1 (fully paid) Impact Day

• Receive generous family leave, child support, mental health support, and sabbatical opportunities

• We enjoy gathering for meals, cultural initiatives, and events like local Summer Sessions and year-end celebrations. There's also healthy snacks, drinks, and a weekly catered lunch