Global Payroll Lead

Mercor•San Francisco, CA

2d•$160,000 - $185,000•Onsite

About The Position

Mercor is seeking a high-execution payroll leader to spearhead global payroll delivery while scaling operational infrastructure. The role has end-to-end accountability for payroll execution schedules, vendor governance, internal controls, general ledger reconciliations, complex issue resolution, and automation initiatives. The Global Payroll Lead will also orchestrate the transition of acquired talent onto Mercor's unified payroll architecture. The position works cross-functionally with Accounting, People Ops, Finance Systems, Legal, and international payroll partners. It combines strategic oversight with hands-on execution, requiring deep operational involvement, swift decision-making within structured frameworks, and proactive communication of operational bottlenecks to executive leadership. Mercor works in person five days a week in its San Francisco, NYC, or London offices.

Requirements

7+ years of progressive payroll experience in high-growth tech startups.
Hands-on ownership of US payroll and experience delivering payroll in additional countries through local teams or providers.
Strong understanding of payroll processing, reconciliations, statutory deadlines, controls, and year-end reporting, with judgment about when to involve local tax or legal specialists.
Experience delivering a payroll optimization, vendor transition, acquisition integration, or new-country launch from planning through stabilization.
Practical experience with an enterprise HRIS and payroll platform, including data validation, reporting, testing, and troubleshooting.
Strong analytical skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing deadlines and influence partners without direct authority.
Clear communication, sound judgment with confidential information, and willingness to stay close to operational work.
A degree in Accounting, Finance, HR, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice To Haves

EMEA or APAC payroll experience.
Equity or mobility payroll experience.
Hourly payroll and timekeeping experience.
CPP or comparable certification.
Rippling or comparable systems experience.

Responsibilities

Run employee payroll cycles across assigned countries, coordinating inputs, validations, approvals, funding deadlines, and provider processing to ensure accurate, timely pay.
Review new hires, departures, compensation changes, bonuses, benefits, deductions, and equity-related payroll inputs with functional owners; investigate exceptions before approval.
Reconcile payroll outputs to approved inputs, funding, and accounting records; partner with Accounting on journals, accruals, balance sheet reconciliations, and month-end close.
Maintain country calendars and evidence of required filings and remittances; work with providers and local advisers to resolve issues and complete year-end activities.
Lead payroll workstreams for acquisitions and new-country launches, including data mapping, cutover planning, testing, parallel runs where appropriate, and post-launch reconciliation.
Improve HRIS-to-payroll data flows, approval workflows, and reporting; deliver scoped implementations and vendor transitions with documented requirements and acceptance criteria.
Build operating procedures, backup coverage, access controls, and audit evidence, maintaining separate preparation and approval responsibilities for payroll and payments.
Resolve employee pay questions clearly and promptly; track accuracy, on-time delivery, reconciliation aging, and issue resolution, and address recurring causes.
Automate repeatable checks and reporting using approved tools, with validation, human review, and appropriate protection of employee data.