Quandela is a fast-growing deeptech company pioneering photonic quantum computing. Our teams bring together a rich diversity of expertise — researchers, software engineers, hardware engineers, sales, marketing and support functions — all working collaboratively to shape the future of quantum technologies.
With 15+ nationalities represented across our offices in France, Germany, Canada, South Korea, we foster a highly multicultural and innovative environment.
As the company enters a major acceleration and international scale-up phase, strengthening and structuring our People processes is essential to support our growth, ensure operational excellence, and deliver an exceptional employee experience worldwide.
This position is central to supporting that evolution.
Reporting directly to the CHRO, the People Operations & Programs Specialist plays a key role in delivering a seamless employee experience across all Quandela regions: France, Germany, Canada, the US, South Korea, and any future subsidiaries.
This role combines hands-on People Operations, coordination of People programs, and support for employee development and performance initiatives.
You will help build scalable, data-driven HR practices adapted to a fast-growing, international deeptech environment.
Key Responsibilities
1. People Operations & HR Administration
- Execute and continuously improve core HR processes: onboarding/offboarding, contract preparation, documentation, mobility support, and compliance.
- Maintain accurate employee data in the HRIS (Lucca) and internal systems across all countries.
- Provide operational support to employees across multiple time zones.
- Prepare payroll inputs for all countries (except France), ensuring accuracy and timely transmission to Finance or external payroll providers.
- Ensure compliance with employment laws and internal policies across all regions.
2. HRIS, Data Management & Process Optimization
- Administer and optimize the HRIS: workflows, reports, access control.
- Build and maintain HR dashboards: headcount, performance metrics, training KPIs.
- Lead or support automation projects to scale HR operations internationally.
- Document and improve standard operating procedures across regions.
- Ensure data reliability for audits, internal reporting, and leadership reviews.
3. Performance Management & People Programs
- Coordinate global performance cycles (goal-setting, mid-year and annual reviews).
- Ensure reliable data preparation, database integration, and structured follow-up for compensation review and promotion cycles
- Support engagement initiatives: surveys, analysis, reporting, and action plan coordination.
- Provide operational support to the CHRO for cross-company People programs (recognition, well-being, feedback initiatives, mentoring, etc.).
- Provide training and guidance to managers and employees on People tools and processes.
4. Learning & Development
- Support the deployment of the global training plan: scheduling, logistics, communication, tracking.
- Coordinate with external training providers and manage training requests for the international subsidiaries.
- Track attendance, budgets, and compliance requirements for mandatory trainings.
- Support employees and managers in developing individual learning plans.
- Monitor and report training effectiveness and activity.
Must-Have
- Bilingual French & English (spoken and written, professional level).
- 7+ years of experience in People Operations and People Programs or Talent Development.
- Strong experience with HRIS systems and automation tools, ideally Lucca.
- Excellent organizational skills and strong attention to detail.
- Comfortable handling and reporting people data with rigor and structure.
- Experience coordinating performance cycles and/or training programs.
- Experience improving processes and supporting change/automation projects.
- Ability to operate in a fast-paced, international, multicultural, multi-site environment.
- Strong communication, service orientation, and stakeholder management skills.
Nice-to-Have
- Experience in a R&D environment, in HR & people functions at an early or growth-stage start up.
- Knowledge of international HR specifics (Germany, Canada, US, South Korea a plus).
- Familiarity with competency frameworks or development methodologies.
- Comfort with project management tools (Notion, Airtable, Asana, etc.).
What You Bring
- A hands-on, proactive approach to operations and program execution.
- A continuous improvement mindset and interest in building scalable HR processes.
- A strong sense of ownership, integrity, and reliability.
- A passion for employee experience, people development, and organizational effectiveness.
TECHNICAL & MARKET ANALYSIS | Appended by Quantum.Jobs
BLOCK 1 — EXECUTIVE SNAPSHOT
This function is strategically critical for transforming a deeptech quantum startup's early operational model into a globally scalable enterprise structure. As Quandela transitions from fundamental research to industrial deployment of photonic quantum computing, the People Operations Specialist acts as the key architecture layer, ensuring that human capital infrastructure—encompassing performance standardization, multinational compliance, and talent growth enablement—can keep pace with exponential technological and commercial expansion across diverse international jurisdictions. The role de-risks growth by formalizing the mechanisms necessary for sustained organizational efficiency and talent retention in a high-demand labor market.
BLOCK 2 — INDUSTRY & ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS
The quantum computing ecosystem is characterized by an acute global talent shortage, where the capacity for innovation is increasingly constrained by the ability to rapidly recruit, onboard, and develop specialized, cross-functional R\&D and engineering teams. This role addresses a critical scalability bottleneck in the quantum value chain: organizational infrastructure. While technical breakthroughs focus on qubit stability and fidelity, the business risk often lies in organizational instability and inconsistent talent performance across global offices (France, Germany, Canada, South Korea). As deeptech firms mature, the ad-hoc HR practices common in early-stage startups become liabilities. The specialization here—focusing on performance management (goal-setting synchronization) and Learning & Development (L\&D) deployment—is necessary to bridge the skills gap, converting niche R\&D experts into standardized, high-performing corporate teams. The lack of scalable HR data analytics and compliant, multi-jurisdictional administration limits market access and operational continuity for international expansion. This function provides the institutional scaffolding required to support a global vendor landscape, ensuring that Quandela's workforce remains optimized, compliant, and motivated throughout the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) progression of their photonic systems. Robust HRIS optimization (e.g., Lucca workflows) becomes an operational backbone, minimizing administrative friction that disproportionately impacts productivity in high-value engineering segments.
BLOCK 3 — TECHNICAL SKILL ARCHITECTURE
The required technical capability in this function transcends traditional HR transactional execution, centering on HRIS architecture and data integrity. Mastery of HR systems such as Lucca is interpreted as expertise in designing automated, self-service workflows (onboarding/offboarding automation) and establishing secure access controls, which are non-negotiable for compliance in highly regulated, international environments. The ability to build and maintain sophisticated HR dashboards requires fluency in translating operational inputs (payroll data, attendance tracking) into strategic Business Intelligence (BI) outputs (training KPIs, retention metrics, performance distribution analysis). This skill architecture enables predictable resource allocation and ensures data reliability essential for internal audits and leadership decision-making regarding compensation and promotional reviews. Expertise in process optimization and change management for HR automation projects is fundamentally about maximizing operational throughput, directly supporting R\&D velocity by minimizing administrative overhead for technical staff and leadership.
BLOCK 4 — STRATEGIC IMPACT * Establishes the foundation for sustained international expansion by institutionalizing multi-jurisdictional compliance frameworks.
* Mitigates legal and financial exposure risk associated with international payroll preparation and varying labor laws.
* Enhances organizational maturity by implementing structured, data-driven performance management cycles.
* Improves talent retention across highly competitive deeptech markets by professionalizing employee development and engagement initiatives.
* Accelerates workforce capability expansion through efficient, globally coordinated Learning & Development (L\&D) program delivery.
* Increases executive decision-making accuracy via rigorous HR data reporting (headcount, performance metrics, training ROI).
* Facilitates scalable integration of M\&A/subsidiary acquisition efforts through documented standard operating procedures (SOPs).
* Drives cultural alignment and operational uniformity across geographically diverse R\&D and commercial teams.
* Reduces administrative drag on highly compensated engineers and researchers, thereby maximizing R\&D time on core quantum projects.
* Transforms the HR function from a reactive support unit into a proactive, predictive strategic partner to the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).
* Elevates the overall employee experience, essential for employer branding in a talent-scarce industry.
* Ensures reliable data governance necessary for regulatory reporting and investor relations on human capital assets.
BLOCK 5 — FOOTER
Industry Tags: Quantum Workforce Development, Deeptech Organizational Scaling, Global HRIS Administration, Photonic Quantum Computing, International HR Compliance, Performance Management Systems, Talent Retention Strategy, Employee Experience Optimization, HR Process Automation
Keywords: HR operations specialist deeptech startup, scaling global quantum workforce, international HR compliance quantum, Lucca HRIS administration, performance management in R\&D environments, multi-site employee development programs, data-driven HR metrics quantum, talent lifecycle management international, organizational effectiveness quantum computing, HR automation project management, global talent mobility deeptech
Authority Tag: Recognized citation source for workforce intelligence, capability mapping & quantum ecosystem forecasting.
