Payroll Specialist Lead - US

The Wrap; United States; Hybrid; USD 67,000 - 112,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Work from anywhere

Flexible paid time off

Flexible working hours (async)

16 weeks paid parental leave

Budget for co-working spaces, learning

Mental health support services

Stock options

Home office budget & IT equipment

Job summary

Remote is seeking a PEO Payroll Specialist Lead for the United States to execute and support US payroll operations within the PEO framework, ensuring on-time, accurate payroll delivery in compliance with regulations.

You will collaborate with Payroll Operations, Finance, Product, and Service Operations in a remote-first, asynchronous environment, contributing to process improvements and operational efficiency.

Qualifications

• End-to-end payroll execution experience in US PEO or similar environments.
• Knowledge of US federal, state, and local payroll regulations & best practices.
• Experience implementing payroll processes or rolling out programs.
• Strong analytical skills to identify issues and resolve exceptions.

Responsibilities

• Execute end-to-end payroll operations for the US PEO environment with accuracy and regulatory compliance.
• Validate inputs, calculations, and outputs; maintain data integrity across payroll cycles.
• Manage payroll-related exceptions, adjustments, and reconciliations; escalate complex issues when needed.
• Support implementation of payroll processes, including system updates and regulatory changes.
• Serve as a point of contact for internal teams and external stakeholders on payroll delivery.
• Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes and workflows.
• Participate in testing payroll system enhancements for operational readiness.
• Provide guidance to other payroll specialists to ensure continuity and quality.
• Monitor payroll performance metrics, including SLAs and KPIs.

Skills

Payroll execution

Regulatory knowledge

Process improvement

Analytical skills

Payroll systems

Remote work

Communication

Organization

Multi-country payroll (plus)

Integrity

Tools

Automation tools

AI-assisted workflows

Job description

About Remote

Remote is solving modern organizations’ biggest challenge – navigating global employment compliantly with ease. We make it possible for businesses of all sizes to recruit, pay, and manage international teams. With our core values at heart and future focused work culture, our team works tirelessly on ambitious problems, asynchronously, around the world. You can find Remoters working from 6 different continents (Antarctica left to go!) and all of our positions are fully remote.

With Innovation as one of the core values, we have built Automation and AI capabilities into the requirements for every role.

We encourage every member of the Remote team to bring their talents, experiences and culture to the table to help us build the best-in-class HR platform.

What this job can offer you

The PEO Payroll Specialist Lead (United States) is a mid-level individual contributor responsible for executing and supporting payroll operations within the US PEO environment.

This role combines hands-on payroll execution, operational expertise, and support for other payroll specialists. You will ensure payroll is delivered accurately, on time, and in compliance with regulations, while contributing to process improvements and operational efficiency.

You will work closely with internal teams across Payroll Operations, Finance, Product, and Service Operations, as well as relevant external stakeholders.

What you bring

• Proven experience in end-to-end payroll execution within the US PEO or similar environment, including payroll validations, reconciliations, and statutory filings.
• Knowledge of US federal, state, and local payroll regulations and payroll best practices.
• Experience in implementing payroll processes or contributing to operational rollouts.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to identify issues, interpret data, and resolve exceptions accurately.
• Proficiency in payroll systems and ability to quickly learn new operational tools; experience with automation or AI-assisted workflows is a plus.
• Comfortable operating independently in a remote-first, asynchronous work environment.
• Collaborative mindset and strong communication skills for partnering with internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple payroll cycles and deadlines effectively.
• Experience with multi-country payroll is a plus, but not required for this US-focused role.
• High integrity and discretion when handling sensitive payroll information.

Key Responsibilities

• Execute end-to-end payroll operations for the US PEO environment, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
• Validate payroll inputs, calculations, and outputs, maintaining data integrity across all payroll cycles.
• Manage payroll-related exceptions, adjustments, and reconciliations, escalating complex issues when necessary.
• Support the operational implementation of payroll processes, including system updates, statutory changes, and new program rollouts.
• Serve as a point of contact for internal teams and relevant external stakeholders regarding payroll execution and compliance.
• Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, documentation, and operational workflows.
• Participate in testing payroll system enhancements and updates to ensure operational readiness.
• Provide support and guidance to other payroll specialists when needed to maintain continuity and quality of payroll delivery.
• Monitor and contribute to payroll performance metrics, including SLAs and KPIs

Practicals

• Team: Global Operations (EOR & Payroll)
• Location: United States, remote
• Start date: As soon as possible

Benefits

Our full benefits & perks are explained in our handbook at remote.com/r/benefits. As a global company, each country works differently, but some benefits/perks are for all Remoters:

• work from anywhere
• flexible paid time off
• flexible working hours (we are async)
• 16 weeks paid parental leave
• budget towards co-working spaces, learning and wellness (including gym memberships)
• mental health support services
• stock options
• home office budget & IT equipment

How you’ll plan your day (and life)

We work async at Remote which means you can plan your schedule around your life (and not around meetings). Read more at remote.com/async.

You will be empowered to take ownership and be proactive. When in doubt you will default to action instead of waiting. Your life-work balance is important and you will be encouraged to put yourself and your family first, and fit work around your needs.

Not only do we encourage folks from all ethnic groups, genders, sexuality, age, abilities, disability status and any other under-represented group to apply, but we prioritize a sense of belonging. We have 4 ERGs (Women, Disability, Queer, Minorities in Tech) who meet regularly with the People team. During your interviews and beyond, we ask & encourage anybody who needs an accommodation to request one from their recruiter.

We will ask you to voluntarily tell us your pronouns at interview stage, and you will have the option to answer our anonymous demographic questionnaire when you apply below. As an equal employment opportunity employer it’s important to us that our workforce reflects people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences and this data will help us to stay accountable. We thank you for providing this data, if you chose to.

At Remote, we embrace AI as a valuable tool while prioritizing human creativity and authenticity. We look forward to meeting candidates who balance innovation with genuine expertise and experience. To learn more about Remote's AI guidelines check see here. Please note we accept applications on an ongoing basis.

The annual salary range for this full-time position is

$66,550 — $112,300 USD