Our story
Work you love - around a life you love.
Puffling was born from a simple belief — that talented people shouldn't have to choose between a great career and a life well lived.Way before the Covid times turned flexible work on its head - almost overnight and on a global scale, Puffling had been quietly making inroads and advocating for flexible opportunities at mid and senior levels.
Our mission
Redefining what careers looks like.
We started Puffling because we saw a gap. Talented professionals — parents returning to work, carers, creatives, those returning to study, people seeking career pivots or simply anyone seeking balance — were being left behind by a job market that still defaulted to the 9-to-5 and a belief system built around linear career progression. Many exceptional, senior level were also taking time out of the workforce to have children and not returning due to the lack of opportunities, leaving valuable skills and knowledge inaccessible to employers.
At the same time, forward-thinking employers were struggling to find committed, experienced people. Despite progress, there remains a growing gap across women in executive leadership due to talent pipelines. They knew flexibility wasn't a perk — it was a competitive advantage. Puffling has worked hard for years to help bridge that gap.
2021
Founded in Australia
120+
Employer partners
850+
Professionals placed
What we stand for
Built on three principles.
Flexibility is simply a smart way to broaden talent pools.
Flexible is the norm for the way we think about roles and talent pipelines. Every role on Puffling is genuinely flexible — not just labelled that way. Our employers list with us because they are genuinely open to designing the role or considering flex for the right candidate.
We're about quality over quanity.
Our platform is curated, not a firehose. The talent come to us because they are looking for interesting career opportunities, often because factors such as flex or culture or purpose or the people are important factors in taking a role. Similarly, our employer partners don't need to interview hundreds of applicants and sift through sparkly AI applications. They know we have access to high quality talent, credible candidates and simple kind of old school values.
Highly accredited, committed employer partners.
We only work with companies that are genuinely committed to flexible culture — we have never been about just ticking a box on a job ad.We work with employers of all stages and sizes and our client partners could be anyone from a solo founder to a Chief People Officer to a Talent or Recruitment Lead to a direct Hiring Manager. We're flex on all fronts!
The team
People who get it.
We're a small, flexible team. We understand that this process of job seeking can be stressful and get you down at times. So for us, it's important we keep things transparent and simple. We hate wasting the valuable time of anyone.
Sarah Mitchell
Co-founder & CEO
Former HR Director at a Big 4 firm. Left to build the platform she wished existed when returning from parental leave.
James Okafor
Co-founder & CTO
Built products at Atlassian and Canva. Works remotely from Brisbane and is a passionate advocate for async-first culture.
Priya Sharma
Head of Employer Partnerships
10 years in talent acquisition. Knows what great hiring looks like and helps employers build flexible teams that last.
Ready to find work with a fast growing community of top talent and employers of choice?
Whether you're looking for your next role or building a team that works differently — Puffling is your go-to.