Lead Software Engineer (f/m/d)

This role requires 2 days per week in the office and is based in Munich, Berlin or Dublin.

As a Senior Software Engineer in our Recruiting team, you'll own and solve hard technical problems across one of Personio's biggest revenue drivers — the product customers use to run their entire hiring process — alongside Whistleblowing and Workforce Planning. You'll join a large, senior-heavy team that balances mature, high-traffic systems with new, AI-led capabilities like AI screening and smart candidate pipelines, taking real ownership of the parts of the product you work on.

What You'll Do

• Solve hard technical problems end to end — design, build, and ship reliable features across Recruiting and the team's products, owning them from problem to production.
• Own a meaningful slice of the product at team scope, taking responsibility for its quality, reliability, and the outcomes it drives for customers.
• Work product-first — get to the heart of the customer problem and shape the solution, rather than implementing a predefined spec.
• Contribute to AI-led capabilities like AI screening and smart candidate pipelines.
• Balance new build with legacy — modernise and extend existing systems while delivering new capabilities.
• Raise the bar on engineering quality through design discussions, code review, and pragmatic technical decisions.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Design, and partner teams to deliver cohesive end-to-end solutions.

What You'll Do

• Solve hard technical problems end to end — design, build, and ship reliable features across Recruiting and the team's products, owning them from problem to production.
• Own a meaningful slice of the product at team scope, taking responsibility for its quality, reliability, and the outcomes it drives for customers.
• Work product-first — get to the heart of the customer problem and shape the solution, rather than implementing a predefined spec.
• Contribute to AI-led capabilities like AI screening and smart candidate pipelines.
• Balance new build with legacy — modernise and extend existing systems while delivering new capabilities.
• Raise the bar on engineering quality through design discussions, code review, and pragmatic technical decisions.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Design, and partner teams to deliver cohesive end-to-end solutions.

What You Need to Succeed

• Strong software engineering experience building and operating production systems (full-stack; strong backend or frontend depth both welcome).
• High autonomy — you can take an ambiguous, team- or product-scoped problem and drive it to a solution without needing the path drawn for you.
• Strong ownership — you treat the reliability and outcomes of what you build as yours, well beyond the moment of shipping.
• A growth mindset — you actively seek feedback, learn quickly, and keep getting better at your craft.
• Solid system design skills within a team or product scope, comfortable in large codebases and evolving architectures.
• Product mindset — you care about the customer problem and influence the direction of the solution.
• Clear communication to explain technical decisions and collaborate effectively across disciplines.

At Personio, we value in-person collaboration while also offering flexibility. This role is office-based, with 2 required days 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 (including 24 sessions per year with Oli for yourself and 10 sessions for a significant other), 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.

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.