Managed Payroll Lead

Rippling; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 78,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

Rippling is seeking a Managed Payroll Lead to own and scale the US payroll program. You will run payroll hands-on, own client relationships, and build the team, processes, and infrastructure to support growth without sacrificing service quality.

The role emphasizes an AI-forward, automated environment, where you will shape operating models, SOPs, and escalation frameworks while collaborating with Product, Engineering, and Sales to deliver exceptional client outcomes.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in US managed or outsourced payroll
• 2+ years in a team lead role in payroll service delivery
• Experience standing up or improving a team/process
• Strong knowledge of federal and state payroll regulations
• Proven ability to manage senior client relationships
• Comfort with fast-moving, ambiguous environments
• Builder mindset documenting learnings and improvements
• Comfort with automation and tooling feedback loops

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the US Managed Payroll team as scope grows
• Onboard and scale a team of payroll specialists across multi-state clients
• Set performance expectations and coach the team regularly
• Be the primary escalation point for complex accounts and edge cases
• Design and maintain the payroll operating model, SOPs, and playbooks
• Identify tooling opportunities and work with Product/Engineering to implement them
• Oversee payroll execution during onboarding and for complex accounts
• Partner with Product, Engineering, Sales, and Implementation on onboarding and escalations

Skills

Team leadership

Client relationships

Payroll operations

Automation

Tooling feedback

Google Workspace

Excel

Salesforce/JIRA

Tools

Salesforce

JIRA

Google Workspace

Excel

Job description

About Rippling

Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system. Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B+ from the world's top investors - Including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock - and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes.

We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from @Rippling.com addresses.

About the Role

Rippling is expanding its Managed Payroll offering in the US, and we’re looking for a Managed Payroll Lead to own and scale that effort. This is a rare opportunity to shape a service from its earliest stage - defining the operating model, setting the standard for delivery, and building the foundation for a best-in-class customer experience.

You will be both a hands-on operator and a people leader. In the near term, that means running payroll, owning client relationships, and sitting in the detail alongside your team. Over time, it means developing the people, processes, and infrastructure that allow the program to grow without sacrificing service quality.

Rippling is an AI-forward environment, and this role is no exception. Automation and AI-assisted workflows handle the busy work, freeing you and your team to focus on what matters most: delivering an exceptional customer experience and navigating the complexity that no tool can fully anticipate. Comfort with - and curiosity about - evolving technology is a must.

This role is right for someone who has led a managed or outsourced payroll team, thrives in ambiguity, and gets genuine satisfaction from building something from the ground up. You won't have all the answers on day one - and that’s the point.

Please note we will not be hiring this position in the San Francisco Bay Area or New York City Metro

What you will do

• Team leadership & development
• Onboard and develop a team of US Managed Payroll Specialists, building capacity as the customer portfolio grows
• Set clear performance expectations, provide regular coaching and feedback, and create an environment where the team can do their best work
• Serve as the first point of escalation for your team - helping them navigate complex accounts, difficult client situations, and edge cases
• Foster a culture of accuracy, ownership, and continuous improvement

Operating model & program development

• Own the design and documentation of the US Managed Payroll operating model - SOPs, playbooks, escalation frameworks, quality standards, and onboarding materials
• Identify tooling and automation opportunities and work with Product and Engineering to prioritize and implement them
• Build the feedback loop between operations and product: surface patterns, flag risks, and advocate for improvements that will scale the program effectively
• Define and track the metrics that matter - SLAs, accuracy rates, client satisfaction, team capacity, and use them to drive decisions

Payroll execution & client delivery

• Maintain hands-on involvement in payroll execution, particularly during the early stage of the program and when supporting complex or high-risk accounts
• Own a portfolio of strategic or escalated client relationships, ensuring service delivery meets the highest standards
• Oversee pre-validation, approval coordination, and post-run quality checks across the team’s accounts
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations across a multi-state client base

Cross-functional partnership

• Act as a primary operational stakeholder for Product and Engineering on Managed Payroll - representing the team’s needs, testing new features, and contributing to roadmap prioritization
• Partner with Sales and Implementation on client onboarding, account transitions, and escalations that require senior involvement
• Work with Payroll Compliance and Legal as regulatory questions arise

What you will need

• 5+ years of hands-on US managed or outsourced payroll experience, covering multi-state processing
• 2+ years in a team lead, supervisor, or manager role within a payroll service delivery environment
• Demonstrated experience standing up or materially improving a team, process, or service - not just inheriting and maintaining one
• Strong working knowledge of federal and state payroll regulations, including tax withholding, garnishments, benefits deductions, and leave compliance
• Proven ability to manage client-facing relationships at a senior level, including navigating escalations and difficult conversations
• Comfortable working in fast-moving, ambiguous environments - you make decisions with incomplete information and course-correct quickly
• A builder's mindset: you document what you learn, close gaps proactively, and leave things better than you found them
• Genuine comfort with technology and automation; experience contributing to tooling decisions or product feedback loops is a strong plus
• Proficiency in Google Workspace and/or Microsoft Excel; experience with Salesforce, JIRA, or similar tools is a plus

Highly desirable

• Experience in a SaaS or HRIS environment
• FPC or CPP certification
• Experience working cross-functional with Product or Engineering teams

Additional Information

Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics, Rippling is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email [e-mail]

Rippling highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office-based employees (employees who live within a defined radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role.

This role will receive a competitive salary + benefits + equity. The salary for US-based employees will be aligned with one of the ranges below based on location; see which tier applies to your location here.

Pay range for this role is:

• 78,300 - 105,000 USD per year (US Tier 2)
• 73,950 - 100,000 USD per year (US Tier 3)