Founders Associate

You will be responsible for the core operations of our company in the areas of finance, people & culture, recruitment, and compliance. Your job is to turn founder attention into leverage: keep these topics running reliably, and making sure akeno stays compliant, financially transparent, and a place people want to join.

The structures, tools, and processes are already in place. We value your ability to take full responsibility for them and, above all, to ensure their reliability. This means running them week after week, adapting them where they no longer fit, and being accountable for the results.

For us, compliance is a genuine business issue, not just a box to check. We sell software to large manufacturing companies, which means that nearly every deal involves security reviews, data protection questions, and audit requirements. With your help, answering these questions comes easy.

This is a hands-on role within a growing team. Strategic thinking and meticulous day-to-day execution are equally part of the job - often even within the same week. You’ll work directly with our founders.

What You'll Do

• Own and run our financial reporting incl. accounting in Moss and some other tools.
• Make sure all relevant documents and invoices reach our tax advisor on time and error-free.
• Own the HR infrastructure end to end: Personio, policies, contracts, handbook, and legal compliance.
• Run our onboarding and offboarding cycles and act as the main internal contact for people topics.
• Own hiring needs together with leadership, and support the full recruiting lifecycle from job description to signed contract.
• Keep our recruiting pipelines active and our ATS (Workable) clean. Source, screen, and engage candidates through the channels you own.
• Own our compliance landscape across data protection, information security, and employment law, including the documentation enterprise deals depend on.
• Maintain our ISMS (Kertos).
• Refine any of the above where the current process no longer fits, and automate repetitive work rather than absorbing it.

Requirements

Must-haves

• 3+ years of professional experience combining operational execution with process ownership, for example in finance, people operations, compliance, consulting, or a founder-adjacent startup role.
• Track record of taking over existing processes and running them reliably, including under time pressure and with incomplete handover.
• Solid working knowledge of financial compliance and reporting requirements.
• Solid working knowledge of HR compliance and German labor law.
• Working knowledge of GDPR and information security requirements, plus the ability to get up to speed quickly on frameworks you have not worked with yet.
• Comfortable reading contracts and knowing when to escalate to external counsel.
• Experience in recruiting or talent sourcing, ideally for technical roles.
• Confident with tooling across finance, HR, recruiting, and compliance (e.g. Moss, Personio, Workable) and quick to automate repetitive work.
• Strong stakeholder communication and the confidence to make decisions independently, including saying no.
• Comfortable owning both the long-term structure and the tedious daily tasks that keep it running.
• Fluent German and English.

Nice-to-haves

• Experience owning these functions in a company of similar size and stage.
• Experience maintaining an ISO 27001, SOC 2, or comparable certification through recertification or surveillance audits.
• Experience working with tax advisors, legal counsel, or investors on reporting and compliance topics.
• Experience hiring engineers or other technical profiles.
• Familiarity with data tooling or scripting to keep reporting and automations running yourself.

Benefits

At akeno , we believe people do their best work when they feel supported, connected, and empowered. Here's what you can look forward to:

• Generous Annual Compensation
• 35-40 Hours Working Week – Supporting work-life balance without compromising impact
• Real Ownership - You define the product functions from day one and shape a category-defining product
• Relocation Package – Full support, including relocation assistance and accommodation guidance
• Visa Sponsorship – Comprehensive support throughout the process
• Wellpass Gym Membership – Access to hundreds of fitness and wellness options for just €10/month
• Job Ticket – Subsidized public transport to keep your commute affordable and stress-free
• German Language Courses – Learn or improve your German with our supported language program
• Snacks, Drinks & Great Coffee – Always available to keep you fuelled and focused
• Modern Office with a View – Work from our beautiful Hamburg office with panoramic city views
• Supportive & International Team – Join a warm, open-minded group of colleagues from around the world
• Real Ownership – You'll have space to take initiative and make a tangible impact
• Flexible Working Hours – Because we understand that life and studies don’t always fit a 9–5
• Regular Team Events – From lunches to offsites—we celebrate the wins (big and small) together