Senior Associate/ Manager, Payroll & Benefits

Superluminal Medicines Inc.; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

401(k) match

Massachusetts transportation subsidy

Equity

Unlimited PTO

Disability & life insurance

Job summary

Superluminal Medicines is seeking a Senior Associate/Manager Payroll & Benefits to own the end-to-end payroll cycle, administer comprehensive employee benefits, and support equity administration. You will collaborate with Finance, HR, and external advisors to ensure accuracy and regulatory compliance.

The role requires 5+ years of payroll/benefits experience, including equity plan exposure, and a detail‑oriented, customer‑service mindset.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, HR, Business Administration, or related field.
• 5+ years of progressive payroll and benefits administration experience, with at least 2 years in a publicly traded company environment.
• Hands-on experience administering equity compensation plans (ISOs, NQSOs, RSUs) and payroll tax withholding/reporting.
• Working knowledge of SOX internal controls as they apply to payroll and HR data/processes.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end multi-state payroll cycle (semi-monthly) with accuracy and timeliness.
• Administer comprehensive benefits programs including onboarding, open enrollment, and inquiries.
• Support equity administration, including data integrity and reporting.
• Maintain HRIS records, verifications, and compliance with HR policies.
• Oversee onboarding and offboarding processes and related payroll activations.

Skills

Attention to detail

Customer service mindset

Self-directed & organized

Verbal & written communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, HR, Business Admin, or related field

Tools

Paylocity

Carta

Excel

NetSuite

Job description

About Superluminal Medicines

Superluminal Medicines is a generative biology and chemistry company revolutionizing the speed and accuracy of how small molecule medicines are created. The Company's platform aims to create candidate‑ready compounds with unprecedented speed using a combination of deep biology, computational and medicinal chemistry, machine learning, and proprietary big data infrastructure. We are expanding the team of talented scientists who seek to build the future of small molecule drug discovery with creativity and innovation.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced Senior Associate/Manager Payroll & Benefits to join our team. In this role, you will own the end‑to‑end payroll cycle, administer comprehensive employee benefit programs, and serve as support for equity administration. You will support Finance, HR, and external advisors to ensure accuracy and full regulatory compliance.

Who would love this job

A professional who is passionate about payroll and benefits administration and eager to expand their expertise in equity administration. A curious individual looking for an opportunity with a growing company and a small, cross‑functional G&A team. Someone who is detail‑oriented, process‑driven, and a proactive problem solver with a customer‑service mindset. An ambitious self‑starter who enjoys working independently but also thrives as part of a collaborative and supportive team.

Key Responsibilities

Payroll Administration

• Process multi‑state, full‑cycle payroll (semi‑monthly) with accuracy and timeliness for all employees.
• Reconcile payroll registers, general ledger entries, and payroll‑related balance sheet accounts.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local wage and hour laws, tax regulations, and garnishment orders.
• Partner with accounting on payroll accruals, journal entries, month‑end close activities, ad‑hoc reporting, and system integrations.

Benefits Administration

• Administer health, dental, vision, life, disability, FSA/HSA, and 401(k) plans including onboarding, open enrollment, qualifying life events, and day‑to‑day employee inquiries.
• Coordinate with HR, benefits brokers, and carriers on plan changes, renewals, billing reconciliation, and claims escalations.
• Manage COBRA administration, ACA reporting (1094‑C/1095‑C), annual non‑discrimination testing, as well as other reporting as assigned.
• Support leave of absence processes (FMLA, state leaves, personal leave).
• Develop, update, and communicate benefits and leave policies while serving as the primary resource for employee inquiries, issue resolution, and interpretation of plan and policy provisions.

HR Administration & Employee Records

• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date employee records in the HRIS, including new hires, terminations, transfers, promotions, compensation changes, and personal data updates.
• Process employment verifications, unemployment claims, and HR‑related correspondence.
• Support HR compliance activities including I‑9 administration, E‑Verify, EEO‑1, and applicable state HR filings.
• Respond to employee inquiries regarding HR policies, procedures, and programs; elevate complex issues appropriately.
• Support the administration of compensation change workflows, and merit increase processing in the HRIS.

Onboarding & Offboarding

• Coordinate and facilitate the new hire onboarding record keeping, including pre‑boarding paperwork, HRIS setup, benefits enrollment, and payroll activation.
• Administer offboarding processes including final pay calculations, benefits termination, equity notifications, equipment retrieval coordination, and exit interview scheduling.
• Maintain and continuously improve onboarding and offboarding checklists to reflect current policies, systems, and compliance requirements.

Systems, Reporting & Process Improvement

• Serve as a functional administrator for the HRIS and payroll platform; manage configuration, integrations, and audits.
• Generate and analyze standard and ad‑hoc compensation, benefits, and headcount reports for leadership and Finance.
• Identify and implement process improvements to increase efficiency, reduce error risk, and strengthen internal controls.
• Train managers and employees on self‑service tools, equity portals, and benefits platforms.

Equity Compensation

Work with the current stock plan administrator to execute equity award programs, including ISOs/NQSOs.

• Maintain equity data integrity between the equity management platform and the HRIS/payroll system.
• Support equity expense calculations, journal entries, and Black‑Scholes inputs.
• Calculate and withhold applicable taxes on equity events (vesting/exercises) and ensure accurate W‑2 and supplemental income reporting.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field; or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Experience

• 5+ years of progressive payroll and benefits administration experience, with at least 2 years in a publicly traded company environment.
• Demonstrated hands‑on experience administering equity compensation plans (ISOs, NQSOs, and/or RSUs) and processing related payroll tax withholding and reporting.
• Direct involvement in proxy statement preparation or review.
• Working knowledge of SOX internal controls as they apply to payroll and HR data/processes.

Certifications

• Certified Payroll Professional (APA) – Preferred and/or willing to attain.
• Certified Equity Professional – Preferred (desire to obtain preferred).

Skills & Competencies

Technical Skills (required)

• Proficiency with a major payroll/HRIS platform, Paylocity a plus.
• Experience with an equity management platform, Carta is a plus.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, data validation, etc).
• Familiarity with general ledger and ERP systems, NetSuite a plus.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Competencies & Attributes (required)

• Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to data accuracy in deadline‑driven environments.
• Strong understanding of confidentiality obligations and discretion with sensitive employee and executive compensation data.
• Ability to communicate complex payroll, tax, and equity concepts clearly to non‑technical stakeholders.
• Self‑directed and organized, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams and deadlines.
• Collaborative partner for internal teams.
• Continuous improvement mindset, proactively identifies control gaps and proposes scalable solutions.
• Excellent customer service to support employees.

Benefits

Superluminal offers a comprehensive benefits package that fully covers employees' annual deductibles and monthly premiums for medical, dental, and vision insurance. The package also includes a 401(k) match program, a Massachusetts transportation subsidy, equity, unlimited paid time off, and both disability and life insurance.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Superluminal Medicines is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, age, ancestry, nationality, marital, domestic partnership or civil union status, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, disability, veteran or military status or liability for military status.