Payroll Specialist

Overview

This role involves running and improving global payroll operations to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time across multiple countries. You’ll work with finance and people teams, in-country agencies/providers, and internal systems to calculate wages and compensation, manage special payroll events, maintain compliance with tax and labor requirements, and streamline payroll processes using automation and AI.

Responsibilities

• Run global payroll
  • Process payroll for employees in the US and multiple other countries, partnering with finance and people teams and coordinating with in-country agencies and providers.
  • Calculate wages and other compensation, including equity-based awards and variable pay.
  • Manage multi-currency payroll, including exchange rate handling.
  • Handle garnishments, benefits deductions, off-cycle runs, and other special adjustments.
• Ensure compliance and reporting
  • Maintain payroll compliance with international, federal, and local tax and labor rules.
  • Prepare and file payroll tax reports, including quarterly and annual filings.
  • Support audits tied to workers’ compensation, 401(k), and other benefits with accurate reporting.
• Administer leave and return-to-payroll processes
  • Administer leaves of absence in-house, including pay and benefits deductions during leave.
  • Coordinate with state and statutory programs.
  • Ensure a clean return to payroll.
• Make the payroll process smarter
  • Build pre-payroll checks to flag anomalies in hours, deductions, currency, and new hire or termination data before payroll closes, using AI tools, spreadsheet automation, or light scripting.
  • Use AI to track regulatory and statutory changes by country and translate them into concrete actions, confirming each against primary sources and tax/legal advisors.
  • Document how payroll runs (calendars, reconciliation templates, onboarding and offboarding checklists) and maintain a living knowledge base for common questions.
  • Partner with People Systems and Finance to improve data flow between HRIS, payroll, benefits, and general ledger; troubleshoot and address root-cause issues when integrations or sync break.
• Partner across the organization
  • Serve as a first point of contact for employee payroll questions.
  • Use AI-assisted tools to respond faster, including handling sensitive personally identifiable information appropriately.
  • Design and maintain policies and procedures connecting payroll with onboarding, offboarding, and variable compensation.
  • Maintain a current view of global headcount costing with open hiring requisitions layered in to support planning by Finance and People.

Requirements

• 5+ years managing payroll for 500+ employees across multiple countries.
• Working knowledge of US and international payroll tax, labor law, and statutory reporting.
• Hands-on experience administering leaves of absence (FMLA, state paid family and medical leave, parental, and international statutory leave), including managing payroll and benefits impacts.
• Hands-on experience with a global payroll or HRIS platform, plus strong Excel or Google Sheets skills (lookups, pivots, reconciliations).
• Regular use of AI tools in your work, including the ability to explain what you used them for, where they saved time, and where you did not trust the output and verified it.
• A systems mindset: ability to understand and troubleshoot how data flows between HR, payroll, benefits, and finance systems.
• Sound judgment with confidential data, including what belongs in an AI tool and what does not.
• Ability to explain pay questions to employees and payment variances to Finance clearly, without jargon.
• Ability to work independently and collaborate with a distributed, global team.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Rippling.
• Experience with Optum for HSA/FSA administration.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), Global Payroll Professional (GPC), or equivalent certification.
• Experience with tax withholding and reporting on equity compensation across countries.
• Experience in a fast-paced startup or in an open-source, AI, or data science company.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary range:
  • $91,000 - $115,000 for candidates in New York City and San Francisco
  • $68,500 - $100,000 for other US-based team members
• Annual bonus potential, equity participation, and benefits.
• Benefits include:
  • Flexible Vacation Policy
  • Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
  • Short Term and Long Term Disability
  • Paid Parental Leave
  • Monthly Wellness Stipend
  • Employee Assistance Program and Mental Health Resources

Location

• This position is for US-based team members, including candidates in New York City and San Francisco.

Additional Information

• Application deadline: 12/15/2026; applicants will be reviewed on an ongoing basis until the role is filled.
• Equal Opportunity Employer: all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.