Payroll Lead

Remote; Remote; MYR 175,000 - 198,000; Full time

Job summary

A global remote workforce management company is seeking a Payroll Country Lead in Malaysia to manage payroll operations, ensuring compliance with local regulations and providing guidance to the team. The ideal candidate will have significant experience in payroll operations within a Malaysian context and possess strong analytical skills. Responsibilities include developing best practices for payroll processes, managing external provider relationships, and supporting system enhancements. This fully remote position offers a competitive salary range of RM175,650 to RM197,500 MYR, along with comprehensive benefits.

Benefits

Work from anywhere

Flexible paid time off

Flexible working hours

16 weeks paid parental leave

Mental health support

Stock options

Learning budget

Home office budget

Budget for local social events

Qualifications

• Experienced in regional/global payroll operations specifically in Malaysia.
• Ability to manage risk and resolve/escalate issues.
• Understanding of global payroll best practices.
• Proven experience as Payroll Expert including preparation and balancing.

Responsibilities

• Own the complete Country Pod for payroll, ensuring compliance and accuracy.
• Serve as point of contact for payroll-related matters.
• Ensure compliance with regulations and internal policies.
• Develop and implement best practices and metrics for the team.

Skills

Payroll operations experience in Malaysia

Risk management

Global payroll best practices

Software proficiency (SAP, Excel, Google Sheets)

Analytical mindset

English proficiency

Tools

SAP

Microsoft Excel

Google Sheets

Job description

About Remote

Remote is solving modern organizations’ biggest challenge – navigating global employment compliantly with ease. We make it possible for businesses of all sizes to recruit, pay, and manage international teams. With our core values at heart and future focused work culture, our team works tirelessly on ambitious problems, asynchronously, around the world. You can find Remoters working from 6 different continents (Antarctica left to go!) and all of our positions are fully remote.

We encourage every member of the Remote team to bring their talents, experiences and culture to the table to help us build the best-in-class HR platform. If you are energetic, curious, motivated and ambitious, be part of our world. Apply now and define the future of work!

What this job can offer you

This is an exciting time to join our global Payroll Operations team not only because we are growing, but because our teams build the future of Global Payroll by elevating the processes and ways of working in the industry.

What you bring

• Experienced in regional / global payroll operations specifically Malaysia.
• Ability to manage risk and exercise judgement to resolve/escalate issues. Exercise discretion when handling confidential matters
• Understanding of global payroll best practices.
• Experience in implementing payroll in multiple countries and in managing relationships with third party payroll services.
• Proficient in using software tools like SAP, Excel / Google Sheet.
• Proven experience as Payroll Expert, with extensive knowledge of the payroll function including preparation, balancing, internal control, and payroll taxes.
• An analytical mindset with great problem‑solving abilities.
• Ability to adapt to a fast‑paced, international work environment with a passion for making an impact.
• Is a productivity geek and will constantly think of ways to improve and speed up their work.
• You understand the need and ideal to work largely asynchronously.
• It’s not required to have experience working remotely, but is considered a plus.
• Professional working proficiency in English.

Key Responsibilities

• The Malaysia Payroll Country Lead will own the complete Country Pod, ensuring payroll is processed on time, accurately, and in compliance with country specific government regulations, you will provide guidance and mentorship to the team.
• Serve as a point of contact between internal and external stakeholders on all payroll country related matters.
• Be up to date with various international payroll laws / regulations/Tax and benefits
• Ensure compliance with all corporate and country‑specific regulations, policies and procedures.
• Manages existing relationships with payroll, accounting and payroll service providers.
• Develop and implement best practices, key performance indicators and SLA metrics for the team.
• Ensure all relevant payroll processes are documented and maintained in line with internal governance requirements and external legislative/regulatory requirements, including GDPR.
• Plan for, implement and review system development, statutory changes, and periodic processes.
• Support with testing for development/enhancements to Payroll system.

Practicals

• You’ll report to: Manager, Payroll Operations
• Team: Global Payroll
• Location: Malaysia
• Start date: As soon as possible

Application process

• Interview with recruiter
• Interview with team members (no managers present)
• Interview with future manager
• Interview with Senior manager
• Bar Raiser Interview
• Prior employment verification check

Benefits

Our full benefits & perks are explained in our handbook at remote.com/r/benefits. As a global company, each country works differently, but some benefits/perks are for all Remoters:

• work from anywhere
• flexible paid time off
• flexible working hours (we are async)
• 16 weeks paid parental leave
• mental health support services
• stock options
• learning budget
• home office budget & IT equipment
• budget for local in‑person social events or co‑working spaces

How you’ll plan your day (and life)

We work async at Remote which means you can plan your schedule around your life (and not around meetings). Read more at remote.com/async.

You will be empowered to take ownership and be proactive. When in doubt you will default to action instead of waiting. Your life‑work balance is important and you will be encouraged to put yourself and your family first, and fit work around your needs.

If that sounds like something you want, apply now!

How to apply

• Please fill out the form below and upload your CV with a PDF format.
• We kindly ask you to submit your application and CV in English, as this is the standardised language we use here at Remote.
• If you don’t have an up to date CV but you are still interested in talking to us, please feel free to add a copy of your LinkedIn profile instead.

Not only do we encourage folks from all ethnic groups, genders, sexuality, age, abilities, disability status and any other under‑represented group to apply, but we prioritize a sense of belonging. We have 4 ERGs (Women, Disability, Queer, Minorities in Tech) who meet regularly with the People team. During your interviews and beyond, we ask & encourage anybody who needs an accommodation to request one from their recruiter.

We will ask you to voluntarily tell us your pronouns at interview stage, and you will have the option to answer our anonymous demographic questionnaire when you apply below. As an equal employment opportunity employer it’s important to us that our workforce reflects people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences and this data will help us to stay accountable. We thank you for providing this data, if you chose to.

At Remote, we embrace AI as a valuable tool while prioritizing human creativity and authenticity. To learn more about Remote’s AI guidelines check seehere.

At first glance our salary bands seem quite wide – here is some context. At Remote we have international operations and a globally distributed workforce. We use geo ranges to consider geographic pay differentials as part of our global compensation strategy to remain competitive in various markets while we hiring globally. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level and location, and our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay for the successful candidate in this role is dependent upon many factors such as location, transferable or job‑related skills, work experience, relevant training, business needs, and market demands. The base salary range may be subject to change. At Remote, we foster internal mobility as a key element of our culture of employee growth and development, supported by a compensation philosophy that guarantees pay equity and fairness. Therefore, all compensation changes associated with an internal move will be reviewed by the Total Rewards & People Enablement team on a case by case basis.

The annual salary range for this full‑time position is RM175,650 — RM197,500 MYR.

Please note we accept applications on an ongoing basis.