Founder Associate

Humaans is building the next generation of infrastructure for the workplace; software designed for companies that are scaling fast, operating globally, and pushing into new boundaries.
What started as a system of record has evolved into a broader platform for operating people globally. With Athena, our agentic AI layer, Humaans moves beyond data management into intelligent orchestration, connecting workflows across HR, IT, Finance, and Operations so organisations can act faster and with greater confidence, redefining how work gets done.
We work with ambitious teams across Europe and the US, from AI-native companies like Lovable, Poolside, Fyxer AI, and Tandem Health, to established, high-growth organisations scaling internationally and through acquisition, including Quantexa, Sellpy, Manychat, Gigs, Croud, and Threecolts. These teams don’t buy software for features,they buy leverage. The ability to run faster, cleaner, and with more control as complexity compounds.
To date, we’ve raised $20m in venture funding from some of the most respected founders, operators, and funds in technology: Lachy Groom (Physical Intelligence), Stewart Butterfield (Slack), Tobias Lütke (Shopify), Dylan Field (Figma), Jeff Weiner (LinkedIn), Claire Johnson (Stripe), Oliver Jay (OpenAI), Jay Simmons (Bond) as well as Y Combinator, Moonfire, Frontline Ventures, Pathlight Ventures, and Exor.
If you have massive ambition and want to work on a hard problem, with a small team that moves fast, at a moment when the category is genuinely up for grabs - this is it.

We’re hiring a Founder Associate to work directly with our Co-Founder and CEO, Giovanni, and act as a force multiplier across decision-making, execution, and company-wide problem-solving.

This is a high-trust, high-intensity role at the centre of a scaling business. You’ll help turn ambiguous problems into clear decisions and ensure important initiatives move forward. You’ll be expected to think clearly, write exceptionally well, and operate with urgency.

You’ll act as an extension of Giovanni’s capacity: informing decisions, preparing context, driving follow-through, and raising the quality bar across how we operate. The scope is broad and will evolve over time based on where you can create the most leverage.

You’ll be exposed to a high volume of context, frequent context-switching, and time-sensitive decisions. We’re looking for someone comfortable operating under pressure, prioritising ruthlessly, and delivering high-quality output quickly.

• Partner closely with the CEO on mission-critical initiatives and problems

• Turn strategy and discussion into clear next steps, owners, and outcomes

• Drive follow-through on priorities that span Customer Success, Sales, Product, Engineering, Marketing, and RevOps

• Surface risks, misalignment, and gaps early, and propose clear ways forward

• Turn messy, incomplete inputs into clear, structured recommendations

• Write concise internal memos outlining options, trade-offs, and decisions

• Synthesise context, data, and perspectives to prepare the CEO for key decisions

• Act as a second brain on complex topics that cut across the business

• Support commercial discussions and decision-making

• Help prepare business cases, ROI narratives, and clear decision context for customers and internal stakeholders

• Sense-check commercial consistency and flag edge cases as the business scales

• Support hiring where it creates leverage for the CEO and leadership team

• Help shape role briefs, interview loops, and candidate evaluation where needed

• Produce clear written assessments to support hiring decisions

• Represent and liaise with internal and external stakeholders on behalf of the CEO when appropriate

• Proactively gather inputs and prepare materials for all-hands communications, key updates, board and investor discussions, and strategic partner touchpoints

• Help surface key issues, risks, and decision points in complex or sensitive situations

• Coordinate inputs with internal teams and external advisors when needed to keep momentum

• Decisions are made faster and with better preparation

• Important initiatives move without constant CEO involvement

• The CEO spends less time on coordination and more time on direction and decisions

• The business operates with consistency, alignment, and urgency

You may come from:

• Management consulting (MBB or equivalent), ideally with startup or operating exposure

• Business Operations, Strategy, or similar roles in a fast-growing, VC-backed B2B SaaS company

• Venture capital or growth equity roles with strong written analysis and operating exposure

• Early-stage startup or founder roles with real ownership and accountability

What matters most:

• Unreasonably high standards and ambition

• Exceptional written communication and structured thinking

• High ownership, low ego, and intellectual honesty

• Strong analytical ability and comfort working with complexity

• Ability to operate in ambiguity and switch context quickly

• Confidence to challenge assumptions and defend a point of view clearly

This is an in-person role. Our GTM team comes together in the office Monday through Thursday, while most of the team collaborates in person on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.

Early stage startups can be messy – we know that. We're putting effort in providing you with the best employee experience and a quality driven environment in exchange for trusting us.

• Market-leading compensation that reflects your value

• 25 days paid time off each year plus public holidays

• Share Options with 5-year exercise window so you don’t feel pressure to exercise if you leave

• Free Thursday lunches at HQ, quarterly team events, and company offsites.

• Top tier private coverage for health, vision and dental care

• A new MacBook and tools you need to do your best work

• Enhanced parental leave with up to 16 weeks for primary and 4 weeks for secondary

• Learning & development budget

HR tech is having its AI moment and we’re positioned to own it. Humaans started as a next-gen HRIS taking on large incumbents in a massive market. We’ve since evolved into something even bigger: an AI platform that sits across workforce data and automates the operational layer of HR entirely; the natural progression of what we’ve been building toward.

The product is highly differentiated. It’s built around a structured workforce data model that makes AI reliable in an HR context, something no one else has gotten right. Customers notice the difference immediately.

We’re backed by Y Combinator, Lachy Groom, Moonfire, Frontline Ventures, and operators who’ve built some of the most consequential software companies of the last decade: the founders of Slack, Figma, and Shopify, and Asana’s former CRO and Head of OpenAI International.

We’re a small team with an unapologetically high bar. It shows up in the product, in how we communicate, and in the standards we hold each other to.

At Humaans we’re looking for genuinely good people that are transparent and emphatic. We’re committed to providing equal opportunities, a diverse and inclusive work environment, and ensuring a fair interview process for everyone. You’re welcome to apply no matter your gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, civil or family status, age, disability, or race.

We care about your privacy. When you apply for a role at Humaans, we’ll collect and process your personal data as part of our recruitment process. This includes things like your CV, contact details, and any other information you choose to share. We may also contact you about future opportunities. You can ask us to delete your data at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.