People Ops Leader, Payroll, Benefits & Analytics

Socket.dev; California (MO); On-site; USD 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid work model

401(k) matching

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Generous vacation policy

Parental leave

Job summary

Highwire is seeking a Senior Manager, People Operations to lead payroll, benefits, 401(k) administration and leaves across a multistate workforce. You will own Rippling configurations, payroll tax compliance and data governance, while partnering with Finance to deliver workforce insights and scalable processes.

The role requires deep technical expertise, business judgment, and the ability to influence senior leaders, brokers, vendors and employees.

Qualifications

• At least seven years of progressive experience across multistate payroll, payroll tax, benefits, leave administration, HR systems, people analytics and People–Finance operations.
• Direct, hands-on experience processing multistate payroll through Rippling, including payroll processing, employee and tax setup, deductions, reporting and integrations.
• Experience managing a payroll-provider relationship, including vendor performance and issue escalation.
• Deep knowledge of multistate payroll and payroll tax requirements, quarterly and year-end processing.
• Experience leading benefits plan design, renewals, financial analysis, administration, compliance and communication.
• Hands-on experience administering a 401(k) or other retirement plan and conducting annual plan audits and Form 5500 support.
• Experience overseeing multistate leave administration and coordinating payroll and benefits requirements.
• Advanced people analytics capability including dashboards, workforce modeling and executive reporting.
• Strong financial acumen and partnering with Finance on reconciliations, GL activity, audits and forecasting.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets for modeling and reports.
• Strong HR systems expertise with configuration, workflows, integrations, automation and data governance.
• Excellent written and verbal communication for explaining technical concepts to leaders and employees.
• Discretion, judgment and ability to handle highly confidential information.

Responsibilities

• Own end-to-end payroll administration for multistate workforce, including regular and off-cycle payrolls and deductions.
• Serve as internal payroll SME and administrator for Rippling, including configurations and reporting.
• Manage payroll tax administration, registrations, filings, notices and year-end processing.
• Maintain payroll controls, documentation and audit trails to reduce risk and ensure data accuracy.
• Partner with Finance on funding, GL mapping, reconciliations and cost reporting.
• Lead benefits strategy, plan design, renewals and education communications.
• Oversee 401(k) administration and annual audits and Form 5500 support.
• Oversee leave-of-absence administration across federal/state/company programs.
• Build and advance people analytics and dashboards for leadership insights.
• Own data governance and systems integration across People tech ecosystem.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives with strong project management and change communication.

Skills

Payroll

Payroll tax

Benefits design

People analytics

Excel/Sheets

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Project management

Data governance

Confidentiality

Education

Bachelor's degree in HR, business, finance or analytics

Tools

Rippling

HRIS/ERP systems

Excel

Job description

Highwire is seeking a Senior Manager, People Operations to lead payroll, benefits, 401(k) administration and leaves across a multistate workforce. You will own Rippling configurations, payroll tax compliance and data governance, while partnering with Finance to deliver workforce insights and scalable processes.

The role requires deep technical expertise, business judgment, and the ability to influence senior leaders, brokers, vendors and employees.