Lead People Operations Generalist

Harness is building the industry’s leading AI-powered software delivery platform, enabling teams worldwide to build, test, and deliver software faster, safer, and more reliably. The platform includes industry leading products in CI/CD, Feature Flags, Cloud Cost Management, Service Reliability, Chaos Engineering, Software Engineering Insights, Internal Developer Experience, and API discovery, observability, governance, and runtime protection.

Position Summary

We’re looking for a Lead People Operations Generalist to own and elevate the employee experience across EMEA for a fast-growing global tech company. This role is both strategic and hands-on—you’ll be the regional expert for People Operations, ensuring compliant, scalable, and human-centered HR practices while partnering closely with global teams. You’ll lead core people operations across the employee lifecycle, act as the first point of escalation for complex cases, and help build the systems, processes, and standards that allow us to scale confidently across multiple countries. You’ll work cross-functionally with other G&A teams such as Payroll and Legal to provide operational, compliance and administrative support to the business. This position reports to the Senior Manager, People Operations.

About the role

• Serve as the People Operations lead for EMEA, supporting employees and managers across multiple countries and employment models.
• Own regional people processes including onboarding, offboarding, employee data management, leaves, mobility, and lifecycle changes.
• Act as a trusted advisor to managers on people policies, employment practices, and employee relations matters.

Compliance & Risk Management

• Ensure compliance with EMEA employment laws, works council requirements, GDPR, and internal controls.
• Partner with Legal, Payroll, and external vendors to manage audits, regulatory changes, and documentation.
• Maintain accurate and compliant employee records across all systems.

Global Programs & Scaling

• Partner with global People Operations, PBPs, and other departments within the global People & Places function to roll out global programs (performance cycles, compensation, benefits, engagement).
• Partner with the Talent Acquisition team to onboard and support employees who are hired through the EOR.
• Localize global policies and programs for EMEA markets while maintaining consistency.
• Contribute to SOPs, playbooks, and scalable operating models.

Systems, Data & Process Excellence

• Act as a regional SME for HRIS (Hibob) and local partner for other people tools (e.g., Greenhouse, CultureAmp, Pave).
• Drive operational rigor through documentation, SLAs, and data integrity.
• Use data and insights to identify trends, risks, and opportunities for improvement.

What We’re Looking For

• 6+ years of People Operations / HR Generalist experience, including multi-country EMEA support.
• Strong working knowledge of EMEA employment law (UK, EU, and at least one additional region).
• Experience supporting a high-growth tech or SaaS company.
• Proven ability to manage complex employee relations cases independently.
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Enjoys solving big problems and working across the organization.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and scaling environments.

About you

• Experience in pre-IPO or public company environments.
• Exposure to works councils, TUPE, or cross-border mobility.
• HRIS implementation or optimization experience–Workday experience a plus.
• Prior experience leading projects and working on cross-functional teams.

Work Location: London, UK. Hybrid

What you will have at Harness

• Competitive salary.
• Flexible work schedule.
• Flexible Time Off and Parental Leave.
• Monthly, quarterly, and annual social and team building events.
• Monthly internet reimbursement.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin.