Senior Payroll Director – US & Canada, Workday Leader

Anthropic; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

Equity donation matching

Generous vacation and parental leave

Flexible working hours

San Francisco office

Job summary

Anthropic is seeking a Senior Payroll Leader to own US and Canada payroll operations end-to-end, hands-on in Workday, and to guide 1–2 direct reports on the US payroll team. You will report to the Head of Global Payroll and help Anthropic scale North American payroll as the company grows.

The role emphasizes compliance across US & Canada, automation through AI in reconciliation and reporting, and close collaboration with Tax, Benefits, People Systems, and Employment Legal.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of payroll experience, with senior/manager ownership of US multi-state payrolls.
• CPP certification required or equivalent credential.
• Direct people management experience (at least 1 FTE).
• Strong Workday payroll experience; HR/Payroll integration a plus.
• Deep knowledge of US tax withholdings and equity compensation processing.

Responsibilities

• Own full-cycle US payroll processing across multi-state and various populations.
• Manage complex equity compensation (RSUs, ISOs, NSOs) with accurate tax reporting.
• Oversee severance, bonuses, commissions and equity events; ensure timely reporting.
• Lead year-end close, W‑2s, and tax notices; optimize Workday configuration.

Skills

Payroll leadership

CPP certification

Workday payroll

Equity compensation

US multi-state payroll

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent

Tools

Workday

PwC Global Payroll Platform

Job description

Anthropic is seeking a Senior Payroll Leader to own US and Canada payroll operations end-to-end, hands-on in Workday, and to guide 1–2 direct reports on the US payroll team. You will report to the Head of Global Payroll and help Anthropic scale North American payroll as the company grows.

The role emphasizes compliance across US & Canada, automation through AI in reconciliation and reporting, and close collaboration with Tax, Benefits, People Systems, and Employment Legal.