Payroll & People Ops Specialist

PortSwigger Web Security; Knutsford; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

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Comprehensive benefits package

Job summary

PortSwigger in Knutsford, UK, is seeking an experienced People Operations specialist to own payroll end to end and drive HR processes with discretion. You will redesign manual workflows, apply automation and AI where it adds value, and collaborate with stakeholders to raise reward and benefits standards.

You’ll join a committed team that values excellence, trust and impact, and you will translate research into practical improvements that enhance data integrity and employee experience across the

Qualifications

• Several years hands-on across Payroll, People Operations or HR Operations, including owning payroll processes with limited direction.
• Experience across the wider employee lifecycle, plus meaningful exposure to reward and benefits.
• Strong systems and data thinking — you understand how information should move reliably between systems.
• Evidence of materially improving complex or manual processes, including using technology, automation or AI to do it.
• Experience implementing or significantly improving a payroll, HRIS or other People system.

Responsibilities

• Own payroll end to end — accurate, on time, and handled with complete discretion.
• Run and improve People Operations processes across the employee lifecycle.
• Redesign manual or fragmented processes to be simpler and more robust, fixing root causes rather than adding workarounds.
• Use systems, automation and AI to remove repetitive work and raise quality.
• Make sure People data flows reliably between systems, and own or contribute to payroll, HRIS and other People-system improvements.
• Take reward and benefits improvements from research and proposal through to implementation and adoption.
• Work directly with Swiggers to understand problems, communicate changes clearly, and help people adopt better ways of working.
• Anticipate issues and make sound decisions independently, escalating where it genuinely matters.

Skills

Payroll

People Operations

Data thinking

Automation/AI

Discretion

Communication

Tools

HRIS systems

Job description

Who are PortSwigger

PortSwigger exists to enable the world to secure the web. We build the tools practitioners trust, the knowledge that trains security professionals, and a community that makes anyone who cares about security better — so anyone can make the internet safer. Our products are crafted with care, backed by deep research, and we lead through generous innovation: winning by setting the bar higher and sharing what we create, turning commercial success into wider positive impact.

Our culture didn't happen by accident — it was built deliberately, and it's something we protect with the same care we put into everything we make. We default to trust — brilliant people doing brilliant work, free from micromanagement. We aim for excellence, and we do it with care; performance and compassion go hand in hand. Joy, mastery and purpose belong together here — and if the work stops feeling good, we take that seriously.

What you'll be doing

You'll take genuine end-to-end ownership of critical People processes. Payroll is the core of the role — business-critical work that has to run accurately, reliably and with real discretion.

But this isn't an administration job. We want someone who sees a fiddly manual process and immediately starts thinking about how it could work better. You'll have the autonomy to challenge existing approaches, improve how information flows between systems and teams, and use automation and AI where they make a genuine difference. You'll also help us raise the bar on reward and benefits — looking at what excellent organisations do, and taking strong ideas from research through to something Swiggers actually feel.

• Own payroll end to end — accurate, on time, and handled with complete discretion.
• Run and improve People Operations processes across the employee lifecycle.
• Redesign manual or fragmented processes to be simpler and more robust, fixing root causes rather than adding workarounds.
• Use systems, automation and AI to remove repetitive work and raise quality.
• Make sure People data flows reliably between systems, and own or contribute to payroll, HRIS and other People-system improvements.
• Take reward and benefits improvements from research and proposal through to implementation and adoption.
• Work directly with Swiggers to understand problems, communicate changes clearly, and help people adopt better ways of working.
• Anticipate issues and make sound decisions independently, escalating where it genuinely matters.

Success looks like being a safe pair of hands for critical work — trusted to decide well, raise issues early and hold a high standard — while leaving visibly better processes behind you.

Requirements

• Several years hands-on across Payroll, People Operations or HR Operations, including owning payroll processes with limited direction.
• Experience across the wider employee lifecycle, plus meaningful exposure to reward and benefits.
• Strong systems and data thinking — you understand how information should move reliably between systems.
• Evidence of materially improving complex or manual processes, including using technology, automation or AI to do it.
• Experience implementing or significantly improving a payroll, HRIS or other People system.
• Strong problem-solving on messy operational problems with multiple dependencies.
• Excellent judgement and an exceptionally high level of discretion with sensitive information.
• Clear communication — you can explain your recommendations, reasoning and impact to people with no payroll background.
• A curious, practical approach to learning, and a constructive response to feedback.

At PortSwigger, we believe people should be paid what they're truly worth — not just what we could get away with or what the market dictates. That's why we pay above the market rate, and review it regularly.

In our 2025 survey, 80% of Swiggers said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their reward — against a YouGov benchmark of 40% for knowledge workers. The philosophy works.

Alongside a strong base salary, we offer share options and a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your whole-person wellbeing.

Want to know more? Explore our reward philosophy.