Lead Workday Payroll Architect — Global & US Payroll

Lambda; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 278,000 - 325,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401k with 2% match

Wellness stipend

Commuter stipend

Health, dental, and vision coverage

Flexible PTO

Equity compensation

Job summary

Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, seeks a senior Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence Lead to own end-to-end configuration, design, and go-live support. You will manage US/Canada payroll setup, tax rules, and period-end processes while coordinating with global providers for international payroll.

You will also implement Time Tracking and Absence configurations, maintain SOX controls, and partner with Payroll Operations, Accounting, and HR to ensure accurate payroll cycles and data

Qualifications

• 10+ years in HRIS or payroll systems, with at least 6+ years hands‑on configuring Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence.
• Led at least one Workday Payroll implementation live as the functional lead (Time Tracking and Absence in the same phase preferred).
• Experience with international payroll integrations and data flows between Workday and global providers.
• Knowledge of US payroll fundamentals including multi-state tax, CA rules, garnishments, and year-end processing.
• SOX/audit-facing experience and understanding of controls in payroll processes.
• Ability to translate requirements between Payroll, People, Accounting, and Engineering.
• Adaptable to a fast-growth, pre-IPO environment with changing requirements.
• Proactive in testing, documenting, and maintaining parallel runs before production.

Responsibilities

• Lead Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence configuration in Workday implementations.
• Configure US Payroll for US/Canada employees including tax setup and period-end processing.
• Design and operate international payroll flows between Workday and global providers.
• Configure Time Tracking for hourly/non-exempt staff with schedules and rules.
• Build Absence plans across jurisdictions, with accruals and payout rules.
• Own payroll-adjacent integrations and data validation with GL/NetSuite.
• Collaborate with Payroll Operations, Accounting, and HR to ensure accuracy.

Skills

Workday Payroll

Time Tracking

Absence

US payroll

Canada payroll

Global payroll

SOX ITGC

Audit readiness

Cross-functional

Documentation

Education

Workday certification

Tools

Workday Payroll

Workday Time Tracking

Workday Absence

Global Payroll Connect

PECi/PICOF Integrations

NetSuite

Okta

Job description

Lambda, The Superintelligence Cloud, seeks a senior Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence Lead to own end-to-end configuration, design, and go-live support. You will manage US/Canada payroll setup, tax rules, and period-end processes while coordinating with global providers for international payroll.

You will also implement Time Tracking and Absence configurations, maintain SOX controls, and partner with Payroll Operations, Accounting, and HR to ensure accurate payroll cycles and data