Payroll Lead

Responsibilities

Payroll Execution

• Own end-to-end biweekly multi-state US payroll across up to 20 states, including tax withholding, SUTA rates, and local jurisdiction compliance.
• Manage international payroll for employees in 5–10 countries through Employer of Record (EOR) partners, including onboarding coordination, invoice reconciliation, and EOR relationship management.
• Coordinate urgent international employment changes, including new hires, contract extensions, and offboarding reversals.
• Partner with People Operations on new hires, internal transfers, terminations, benefit deductions, leaves of absence, and compensation changes.
• Respond to employee payroll questions with clarity, empathy, and urgency.

Systems, Integrations, and Automation

• Own and optimize integrations between the HRIS and adjacent systems, including ATS, 401(k), and expense platforms.
• Identify integration and automation opportunities, including AI-augmented workflows.
• Build AI-assisted payroll dashboards and lead payroll data analysis projects covering cost trends, anomalies, and headcount insights.
• Maintain audit-ready documentation, internal controls, and payroll standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Compliance, Reconciliation, and Reporting

• Perform quarterly and annual SALT payroll reconciliations and support quarter-end and year-end close, including W-2s and related reporting.
• Own monthly benefits reconciliations and resolve discrepancies with People Operations and providers.
• Administer the 401(k) plan, including contribution funding, deferral changes, and support for the annual 401(k) audit.
• Prepare and remit workers’ compensation filings, payments, and payroll true-ups for OH, WA, and WY.
• Prepare and remit Seattle payroll expense tax and Seattle Social Housing tax filings and payments.
• Coordinate prior-quarter and year-end adjustments, including W-2C creation and distribution.
• Monitor federal, state, and local payroll regulations and adjust processes to maintain compliance.
• Identify and drive payroll process improvements.

Requirements

• 4+ years of progressive payroll experience, including ownership of multi-state payroll across 10+ states; local tax registration experience preferred.
• Hands-on experience with modern payroll and HRIS platforms and monitoring system integrations.
• Advanced Excel skills, including pivot tables, XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, and manipulation of large datasets for reconciliation and reporting.
• Knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax regulations, wage and hour rules, and payroll compliance requirements.
• Solution-oriented approach to identifying and resolving problems.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills across multiple teams in virtual or hybrid environments.
• High attention to detail, discretion with confidential information, and ownership of deadlines.

Nice-to-Haves

• Experience managing onboarding, extensions, and offboarding for international employees or similar processes.
• International payroll experience through EOR providers such as Remote or Deel.
• Payroll GL accounting and cost allocation experience, ideally in a grant-funded or nonprofit environment.
• CPP or FPC certification.
• Experience documenting SOPs or creating process documentation from scratch.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary range: $89,500–$134,000.
• Generous bonus plans are offered as part of the compensation package.
• Professional development support is available for CPP or FPC certification.