Senior HR Manager, North America & Europe

Job Description

Job Description

Zilliz is a fast-growing startup developing the industry’s leading vector database for enterprise-grade AI. Founded by the engineers behind Milvus, the world’s most popular open-source vector database, the company builds next-generation database technologies to help organizations quickly create AI applications. On a mission to democratize AI, Zilliz is committed to simplifying data management for AI applications and making vector databases accessible to every organization.

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior HR Manager to lead HR support across North America and Europe and help us continue building a scalable people organization as the company grows.

This is a broad, hands-on role for an experienced HR leader who is comfortable working in a fast-moving, international environment. You will serve as the primary HR partner for teams across North America and Europe, lead the regional recruiting function, and take ownership of selected company-wide HR initiatives.

You will work closely with business leaders, managers, global HR colleagues, external employment partners, and the recruiting team. The role offers meaningful ownership across both regional HR and broader organizational initiatives, with the opportunity to help shape how our people practices evolve as the company scales.

What You'll Do

Lead HR Across North America and Europe

• Serve as the primary HR partner for employees, managers, and business leaders across North America and Europe.

• Advise managers on employee relations, performance management, organizational changes, workforce planning, talent decisions, and other complex people matters.

• Partner with business leaders to understand organizational priorities and provide practical, business-oriented HR guidance.

• Drive the regional implementation of company-wide HR programs, including performance management, compensation reviews, talent planning, manager development, and other people initiatives.

• Manage sensitive employee matters with sound judgment, appropriate documentation, and effective stakeholder management.

• Identify people and organizational risks early and work with relevant stakeholders to develop practical solutions.

• Help improve employee and manager experience while maintaining consistency across regions and supporting the needs of a growing organization.

Manage Regional HR Delivery and External Partners

• Work closely with PEO, EOR, benefits providers, employment counsel, and other external partners supporting employees across the United States and Europe.

• Coordinate employment-related matters across multiple jurisdictions and determine when local expertise or legal support is required.

• Oversee employee lifecycle processes such as onboarding, employee changes, leave, and offboarding, while leveraging external partners for transactional execution where appropriate.

• Ensure issues are followed through from initial request or decision to successful completion, with clear ownership across internal teams and external partners.

• Continuously improve HR workflows, clarify responsibilities, and build scalable operating practices as the organization grows.

• Look for opportunities to simplify processes and avoid unnecessary operational complexity.

Lead the Recruiting Function

• Lead and support the recruiting team responsible for hiring across North America and Europe.

• Partner with business leaders and hiring managers to establish hiring priorities, recruiting strategies, and resource allocation.

• Provide guidance on senior, technical, and business-critical searches and step in directly on high-priority hiring when needed.

• Improve recruiting processes, candidate experience, hiring quality, and overall operating discipline.

• Manage the effective use of recruiting tools, agencies, sourcing channels, and other external recruiting resources.

• Coach and develop recruiters as the team grows.

• Use recruiting data and market insights to help leaders make better hiring decisions and identify potential talent or capacity risks.

Lead and Support Company-Wide HR Initiatives

• Lead or contribute to selected company-wide HR initiatives across areas such as performance management, job architecture, compensation, HR systems, manager development, workforce planning, and policy implementation.

• Partner with global HR colleagues to translate company-wide programs into practical and effective regional execution.

• Represent the needs and perspectives of North America and Europe in the design and rollout of broader HR programs.

• Drive cross-functional HR projects from planning through implementation, ensuring clear ownership, stakeholder alignment, and consistent execution.

• Identify opportunities to improve existing HR practices and help build scalable approaches that can support the company’s continued growth.

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of progressive HR experience, including meaningful experience in an HR management, HRBP, People Partner, or similar role.

• Strong generalist HR foundation with experience advising managers on employee relations, performance management, organizational matters, and other complex people issues.

• Prior experience managing or directly overseeing a recruiting function.

• Experience supporting employees across multiple countries or employment jurisdictions, ideally including both the United States and Europe.

• Demonstrated ability to operate independently, exercise sound judgment, and move work forward without requiring extensive structure or direction.

• Experience working with PEOs, EORs, employment counsel, or other external HR partners is strongly preferred.

• Strong project management skills with the ability to lead cross-functional initiatives from planning through implementation.

• Ability to balance strategic thinking with practical execution.

• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, including comfort working directly with senior leaders and managers.

• High level of discretion and judgment when handling confidential or sensitive employee matters.

How You Operate

• High ownership and bias for action. You take responsibility for outcomes, move things forward, and are comfortable stepping into situations where the path is not fully defined. You focus on solving problems rather than waiting for perfect information, processes, or ownership boundaries.

• Resilient and adaptable. You stay effective through changing priorities, organizational shifts, and setbacks. You are comfortable operating with ambiguity, balancing speed with sound judgment, and adjusting your approach as the business evolves.

• Builder and growth mindset. You enjoy creating structure where it does not yet exist, improving processes as the company scales, and learning along the way. You are curious, open to feedback, and energized by environments that continue to evolve.

• Pragmatic and business-minded. You understand that good HR decisions need to work for both people and the business. You are thoughtful about trade-offs and prefer practical, scalable solutions over unnecessary complexity.

• Low ego and collaborative. You work effectively across functions, regions, and levels of the organization. You are willing to roll up your sleeves when needed and care more about getting to the right outcome than protecting a narrow scope of responsibility.

Nice to Have

• Earlier career experience in recruiting or talent acquisition.

• Experience building or scaling recruiting teams or broader HR functions.

• Experience in an early-stage or high-growth technology company.

• Experience supporting technical, engineering, product, or go-to-market organizations.

• Experience helping a company establish or scale HR processes across new countries or regions.

• Experience operating in an environment that combines internal HR teams with PEO, EOR, and other external partners.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means that managers across North America and Europe have a trusted HR partner who can independently navigate complex people matters, regional HR programs are implemented consistently and effectively, and the recruiting function operates with clear priorities and strong execution.

You will help the company scale by creating clarity where processes are still evolving, building practical and repeatable ways of working, and ensuring that regional HR needs are addressed without adding unnecessary complexity.

Over time, this role should become a key leadership layer within the HR organization, capable of owning regional execution, developing the recruiting function, and taking meaningful ownership of broader initiatives as the company continues to grow.

Zilliz is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.