Global Payroll Operations Lead

Rippling; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 82,000 - 123,000; Full time

Job summary

Rippling’s Global Payroll Operations team manages payroll processing and services across 80+ countries. As Rippling expands globally, the Strategic Operations Lead will operate in a chief-of-staff style role to turn operational complexity into clear priorities, repeatable systems, and measurable execution.

This role doubles as a jack-of-all-trades, translating team priorities into operating rhythms, driving cross-functional initiatives, improving performance tracking and risk, and ensuring

Qualifications

• 5+ years of high-impact experience in BizOps, Strategy & Ops, or Program Management at a fast-growing startup or top-tier consulting/banking.
• Hands-on operator mindset with bias for action and problem-solving.
• AI-forward mindset with automation to scale processes.
• Adaptability in fast-moving, ambiguous environments with shifting priorities.
• Structured execution delivering cross-functional projects to completion.
• Analytical and data-driven in evaluating dashboards and metrics.
• Exceptional communication for executive decision-making and cross-team guidance.

Responsibilities

• Lead high-priority operational programs across global payroll product lines, identifying gaps, standardizing workflows, and building durable playbooks, automation, and AI-driven tooling to support rapid global expansion.
• Drive global operating cadences, executive reviews, and accountability frameworks; translate priorities into structured workstreams with clear ownership, milestones, and ROI.
• Serve as the senior point of escalation for high-friction customer issues; lead root-cause analyses with Product, Engineering, and Ops to eliminate gaps.
• Act as the key operational link across Ops, Product, Engineering, CX, and external 3P partners; document gaps and trade-offs clearly for decision-making.
• Partner with operations leadership to drive team administration, headcount planning, budgets, offsites, and training programs.
• Collaborate with teams across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM; be comfortable with occasional early-morning or evening meetings to accommodate time zones.

Skills

Strategy & Ops

Program Management

Cross-functional Leadership

Operational Excellence

AI & Automation

Data Analytics

Stakeholder Management

Tools

BI/Analytics Tools

Job description

Rippling’s Global Payroll Operations team manages payroll processing and services across 80+ countries. As Rippling expands globally, the Strategic Operations Lead will operate in a chief-of-staff style role to turn operational complexity into clear priorities, repeatable systems, and measurable execution.

This role doubles as a jack-of-all-trades, translating team priorities into operating rhythms, driving cross-functional initiatives, improving performance tracking and risk, and ensuring