Head of Payroll

Confidential; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential in Austin, TX seeks a Senior Payroll Manager to oversee cross-border payroll operations for the US and Canada, owning full-cycle payroll integration, policy design, and technology strategy while partnering with Legal, HR and Finance to ensure compliance and strategic alignment.

This role reports to executive leadership, leads a high-performing team, and drives continuous process improvements, audits readiness, and vendor management.

Qualifications

• 8–10+ years of payroll experience, including multi-state and cross-border US/Canada operations.
• Head of Payroll with ultimate accountability for payroll operations.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or related field preferred.
• CPP or FPC certification required.
• Hands-on Workday payroll system administration experience.
• Advanced Excel skills and data integrity focus.

Responsibilities

• Oversee biweekly multi-state payroll processing for accuracy and timeliness.
• Review and reconcile timecards and process payroll edits.
• Set-up and oversee new hire set-up and employee changes in payroll system.
• Calculate wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and deductions.
• Manage payroll taxes, garnishments, and benefits deductions.
• Ensure payroll tax compliance across all states and jurisdictions in the US and Canada.
• Lead W-2s and year-end payroll reporting.
• Maintain payroll records and ensure data integrity in Workday.
• Audit payroll data and reconcile discrepancies.
• Manage day-to-day operations of the team.
• Provide training and development opportunities for team members.
• Own payroll policy design and governance; partners with Legal, HR, Tax and Finance leadership to ensure compliance with evolving wages, hour, and tax regulations across jurisdictions in the US and Canada.
• Lead payroll technology strategy, including system selection, upgrades, integrations, and automation initiatives.
• Serve as primary payroll liaison to executive leadership, providing reporting, and risk analysis on payroll compliance exposure.
• Own full-cycle acquisition and divestiture payroll integration strategy, including due diligence support and long-term centralization roadmaps.
• Work with external payroll vendors, auditors, and tax authorities; negotiate contracts and service levels.
• Drive continuous process improvement and standardization across all payroll operations.
• Serve as the escalation point for the most complex payroll, tax, and compliance issues.
• Ensures organizational readiness for internal and external audits and regulatory reviews.

Skills

Payroll leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Auditing & compliance

Vendor/Systems liaison

Education

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or closely related field

Tools

Workday payroll system

Excel

Job description

We are seeking a strategic, highly autonomous Senior Payroll Manager to oversee our cross-border payroll operations across the US and Canada. Reporting through a structured workflow that balances HR compliance and financial integrity, you will own full-cycle acquisition/divestiture payroll integration, policy design, and technology strategy.

This role serves as the primary payroll liaison to executive leadership, ensuring organizational readiness for audits while leading, buffering, and developing a high-performing internal team.

Key Responsibilities

• Process and oversee biweekly multi-state payroll processing for accuracy and timeliness.
• Review and reconcile timecards and process payroll edits.
• Set-up and oversee new hire set-up and employee changes in payroll system.
• Calculate wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, and deductions.
• Manage payroll taxes, garnishments, and benefits deductions.
• Ensure payroll tax compliance across all states and jurisdictions in the US and Canada.
• Lead W-2s and year-end payroll reporting.
• Maintain payroll records and ensure data integrity in Workday.
• Audit payroll data and reconcile discrepancies.
• Manage payroll audits and compliance requirements.
• Manage day-to-day operations of the team.
• Provide strategic leadership and direction for the payroll function across all business units and entities, including multi-country operations where applicable.
• Directly manage and develop Payroll Managers and team leads.
• Provide training and development opportunities for team members.
• Own payroll policy design and governance; partners with Legal, HR, Tax and Finance leadership to ensure compliance with evolving wages, hour, and tax regulations across jurisdictions in the US and Canada.
• Lead payroll technology strategy, including system selection, upgrades, integrations, and automation initiatives.
• Serve as primary payroll liaison to executive leadership, providing reporting, and risk analysis on payroll compliance exposure.
• Own full-cycle acquisition and divestiture payroll integration strategy, including due diligence support and long-term centralization roadmaps.
• Work with external payroll vendors, auditors, and tax authorities; negotiate contracts and service levels.
• Drive continuous process improvement and standardization across all payroll operations.
• Serve as the escalation point for the most complex payroll, tax, and compliance issues.
• Ensures organizational readiness for internal and external audits and regulatory reviews.

Qualifications & Requirements

• 8–10+ years of applicable payroll experience.
• 4+ years of experience holding ultimate accountability as the Head of Payroll.
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or a closely related field preferred.
• Working knowledge of multi-state and multi-country payroll tax regulations.
• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) required.
• Hands-on experience with Workday payroll system administration and implementation.
• Advanced Excel skills with the ability to identify discrepancies, reconcile complex variances, and manage data integrity independently.
• Strong cross-functional collaborator with a proven track record of bridging the gap between payroll, HR, and finance teams.
• Articulate communicator adept at drafting clear, company-wide communications regarding payroll changes, policy updates, and year-end procedures.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex M&A payroll transitions, with the ability to completely oversee post-acquisition system and process alignments.