Payroll Manager

Overview

This role owns payroll operations end to end for 1,000+ W-2 employees across multiple states, ensuring employees (and practice-owner payees, where applicable) are paid accurately and on time. You will run payroll in Rippling, manage payroll tax accounts and filings, lead reconciliations and audits, and build scalable, AI-enabled automation so payroll can grow without adding headcount.

Candidates may live in the United States or Canada, but substantial hands-on U.S. multi-state payroll experience is required, including the ability to work core U.S. business hours and meet firm payroll deadlines.

Responsibilities

Payroll Operations & Compliance

• Own scheduled and off-cycle payroll runs in Rippling for 1,000+ W-2 employees across multiple states, validating timekeeping, compensation changes, garnishments, deductions, and final pay each cycle
• Perform pre- and post-payroll reviews, variance analysis, and funding validation; reconcile payroll to bank, tax, benefits, retirement-plan, and general-ledger records
• Administer approved payments to practice owners and other nonemployees, supporting year-end information reporting (Forms 1099)
• Manage federal, state, and local payroll-tax accounts (registrations, closures, SUI rates, filing frequencies, and authorizations) as the organization enters new states
• Oversee filings and payments completed by Rippling; drive tax notices, amendments, penalties, and credits to documented closure
• Lead quarter-end and year-end activities (Forms 941 and 940, W-2/W-3, applicable Forms 1099) and serve as the primary escalation point for employee and practice-owner payroll questions

Reconciliations & Audits

• Lead recurring insurance reconciliations by matching carrier invoices against enrollments, employee deductions, and employer contributions to ensure charges are correct
• Own 401(k) reconciliations (deductions, contributions, loan repayments, recordkeeper funding) and support annual testing, Form 5500 preparation, and the independent plan audit
• Coordinate annual workers’ compensation premium audits by preparing payroll exposure by state, location, and classification code, and drive findings to resolution with Finance, People Operations, brokers, and carriers

Systems, AI & Automation

• Serve as the Rippling system owner, including configurations, permissions, reporting, internal controls, role-based access, and audit-ready records
• Build the payroll knowledge base into the company’s single source of truth (policies, state requirements, and standard operating procedures)
• Design and deploy agentic AI workflows to answer routine payroll questions automatically and route sensitive, employee-specific cases for human review
• Automate recurring work (agency notice triage, reconciliations, audit prep, reporting), track accuracy and timeliness, and monitor open-notice counts

Requirements

• 4+ years of hands-on U.S. payroll experience, including 2+ years independently owning full-cycle, multi-state payroll for 500+ W-2 employees (1,000+ strongly preferred)
• Deep command of federal, state, and local payroll tax, including SUI, wage-and-hour, garnishments, final pay, and year-end reporting; experience maintaining state tax accounts, overseeing provider-filed returns, and resolving agency notices
• Experience with quarter-end and year-end processing, payroll accounting, internal controls, and general-ledger reconciliation
• Hands-on experience with benefits, 401(k), and workers’ compensation reconciliations or audits
• Rippling or another modern payroll and HRIS platform; advanced Excel or Google Sheets experience and confidence with large payroll datasets
• Demonstrated use of AI or automation tools to build something that shipped (knowledge base, workflow, bot, or script used by others)
• Based in the United States or Canada; able to work core U.S. business hours and meet firm payroll deadlines

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct Rippling administration or implementation experience
• Healthcare, ABA, multi-clinic, multi-entity, or large hourly-workforce experience
• Experience with practice-owner or other nonemployee payment programs at scale
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation
• Experience building knowledge bases, workflow automation, or AI-enabled tools in a payroll or finance context

Compensation & Benefits

• Compensation Range: $90K - $110K

Location

• Candidates may live in the United States or Canada, with ability to work core U.S. business hours and meet firm payroll deadlines.