Senior Manager, Payroll

What You'll Do

End-to-End Payroll Operations

• Own and execute all U.S. payroll runs — weekly, biweekly, and semi-monthly — with a zero-tolerance standard for errors or delays
• Manage and mentor one direct report, fostering a culture of accountability, growth, and operational excellence
• Serve as the internal subject-matter expert on all things payroll, responding to employee inquiries with speed and accuracy
• Maintain rigorous payroll records and documentation to support audits, compliance reviews, and internal reporting

Compliance & Regulatory Oversight

• Ensure full compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local payroll laws and regulations across all jurisdictions where Commure operates
• Maintain deep, current knowledge of California labor laws — including wage and hour rules, overtime requirements, pay stub compliance, and final pay obligations
• Proactively monitor regulatory changes and implement policy or process updates to maintain compliance ahead of effective dates
• Partner with Legal and HR to manage complex leave scenarios, garnishments, equity-related payroll events, and other non-routine payroll matters

People & Payroll Partnership

• Build a best-in-class People <> Payroll integration by partnering closely with the People team to streamline workflows around onboarding, offboarding, leaves of absence, compensation changes, and benefits deductions
• Drive process standardization to reduce manual touchpoints and increase the accuracy of payroll inputs originating from People systems
• Champion a seamless employee payroll experience, ensuring clarity, timeliness, and trust in every paycheck

Payroll Accounting & Finance Partnership

• Collaborate with the Accounting team to ensure timely and accurate payroll journal entries, account reconciliations, and period-end close activities
• Support payroll-related audit requests and ensure the integrity of payroll data flowing into the general ledger
• Partner with FP&A on headcount-related forecasting, accruals, and variance analysis tied to compensation and benefits

HRIS & Systems Leadership

• Lead or co-lead the evaluation, selection, and implementation of a new global HRIS and payroll management platform, serving as the primary payroll voice in vendor assessments and implementation workstreams
• Define and document requirements for payroll system integrations, data flows, and reporting structures that can scale with a multinational workforce
• Continuously identify and implement process improvements and automation to increase efficiency, reduce manual effort, and improve data accuracy across payroll operations

What You Have

Experience

• 7+ years of progressive payroll experience, with meaningful tenure in a high-growth, mid-stage startup or similarly fast-paced environment
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-state and multi-national payroll operations, with hands-on ownership across the full payroll lifecycle
• Prior experience managing or mentoring direct reports in a payroll or HR operations context
• Track record of navigating complex environments and building scalable payroll infrastructure from the ground up

Technical Knowledge

• Deep, practical knowledge of California labor laws — including wage and hour regulations, final pay rules, pay stub requirements, and leave administration
• Strong working knowledge of federal and multi-state payroll compliance requirements, tax withholding, and reporting obligations (W-2s, 1099s, etc.)
• High proficiency in Rippling is preferred
• Familiarity with payroll accounting principles, journal entries, and reconciliation processes in ERP environments (NetSuite experience a plus)

Systems & Implementation

• Experience leading or meaningfully contributing to an HRIS or payroll platform implementation is a significant advantage
• Comfortable evaluating, scoping, and partnering on the rollout of new systems in a fast-moving, resource-constrained environment
• Hands-on experience with payroll integrations and data mapping across HRIS, ERP, and benefits platforms