Payroll Initiatives Lead

OpenAI, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 221,000 - 245,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) retirement with company match

Paid parental leave

Paid time off

Relocation support

Meal benefits / office meals

Job summary

OpenAI, Inc. is seeking a Payroll Initiatives Lead in San Francisco to scale our payroll ecosystem beyond day-to-day processing. This pivotal role drives end-to-end payroll initiatives across global organizations while aligning with finance, tax, and legal teams.

You will lead integrations for global M&A, ensure accurate final payrolls, and advance systems and controls to support OpenAI’s rapid growth. A hybrid work model and relocation support are provided.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in payroll operations, preferably in fast-paced environments.
• Experience leading M&A payroll integrations and complex transitions.
• Hands-on with Workday Payroll or other large HCM/global payroll systems; broad systems experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead payroll integrations for global M&A transactions from transition planning through stabilization.
• Partner with acquired companies to complete final payrolls, including equity, variable compensation, and final pay.
• Integrate acquired employees into OpenAI’s payroll systems, processes, controls, and service model while ensuring continuity of pay.
• Oversee closure of legacy payroll systems and ensure compliant year-end processing and reporting.
• Develop and improve global payment-processing capabilities across countries and payment types.
• Lead global payroll system and provider integrations with data integrity and proper connections.
• Collaborate with Payroll, Finance, Tax, Legal, People, Equity, and other teams to deliver strategic initiatives.
• Identify risks, strengthen controls, and automate repeatable processes to scale payroll operations.

Skills

Payroll operations

M&A payroll integrations

Workday Payroll

Global payroll regulations

Stakeholder collaboration

Analytical skills

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, HR

Tools

Workday Payroll

Job description

OpenAI Finance is responsible for ensuring the organization is set up for success in pursuit of its mission.

OpenAI’s Payroll team is responsible for ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant payroll processing while supporting the company’s growth and strategic initiatives.

About the Role

At OpenAI, payroll is not a back-office function — it is mission-critical infrastructure. We are seeking a Payroll Initiatives Lead with broad, end-to-end payroll experience to scale the payroll ecosystem in support of one of the world’s fastest-growing and most technically sophisticated organizations. This role will apply that expertise to high-value processes, strategic initiatives, and complex business needs beyond day-to-day payroll processing.

This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.

In this role, you will:

• Lead payroll integrations for global M&A transactions, coordinating payroll activities from transition planning through stabilization.
• Partner with acquired companies to complete final payrolls accurately and on time, including equity, variable compensation, final pay, and other deal-related payments.
• Integrate acquired employees into OpenAI’s payroll systems, processes, controls, and service model while maintaining continuity of pay.
• Oversee the closure of legacy payroll systems and ensure accurate, compliant year-end processing and reporting.
• Develop and improve global payment-processing capabilities that support employees across multiple countries and payment types.
• Lead global payroll system and provider integrations, ensuring data integrity and effective upstream and downstream connections.
• Partner across Payroll, Finance, Tax, Legal, People, Equity, and other teams to deliver strategic initiatives and resolve complex operational challenges.
• Identify risks, strengthen controls, and automate repeatable processes that enable payroll operations to scale with the company.

You might thrive in this role if you have:

• 8+ years of progressive experience in payroll operations, preferably in a fast-paced or high-growth environment.
• Strong working knowledge of global payroll regulations and standard best practices.
• Experience leading M&A payroll integrations.
• Hands-on experience with Workday Payroll or other large HCM/global payroll systems; Broad systems experience is a plus.
• Ability to independently manage priorities, take ownership of outcomes, and deliver high-quality work under tight deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail.
• Clear and concise communication skills, with the ability to partner effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, HR, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. CPP certification is a plus.

About OpenAI

OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.

Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.

To notify OpenAI that you believe this job posting is non-compliant, please submit a report through this form . No response will be provided to inquiries unrelated to job posting compliance.

We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities, and requests can be made via this link .

At OpenAI, we believe artificial intelligence has the potential to help people solve immense global challenges, and we want the upside of AI to be widely shared. Join us in shaping the future of technology.

Compensation

$221K – $245K + Offers Equity

The base pay offered may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. If the role is non-exempt, overtime pay will be provided consistent with applicable laws. In addition to the salary range listed above, total compensation also includes generous equity, performance-related bonus(es) for eligible employees, and the following benefits.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance for you and your family, with employer contributions to Health Savings Accounts
• Pre-tax accounts for Health FSA, Dependent Care FSA, and commuter expenses (parking and transit)
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Paid parental leave (up to 24 weeks for birth parents and 20 weeks for non-birthing parents), plus paid medical and caregiver leave (up to 8 weeks)
• Paid time off: flexible PTO for exempt employees and up to 15 days annually for non-exempt employees
• 13+ paid company holidays, and multiple paid coordinated company office closures throughout the year for focus and recharge, plus paid sick or safe time (1 hour per 30 hours worked, or more, as required by applicable state or local law)
• Mental health and wellness support
• Employer-paid basic life and disability coverage
• Annual learning and development stipend to fuel your professional growth
• Daily meals in our offices, and meal delivery credits as eligible
• Relocation support for eligible employees
• Additional taxable fringe benefits, such as charitable donation matching and wellness stipends, may also be provided.

More details about our benefits are available to candidates during the hiring process.

This role is at-will and OpenAI reserves the right to modify base pay and other compensation components at any time based on individual performance, team or company results, or market conditions.