Payroll Specialist

Anaconda, Inc.

4d•$68,500 - $115,000•Remote

About The Position

Anaconda is seeking a Payroll Specialist to ensure employees are paid accurately and on time across the countries where the company operates. The role combines global payroll administration with improving payroll processes through AI, automation, data checks, and better system integrations. The Payroll Specialist processes payroll for US and international employees, manages compensation and adjustments, supports compliance and reporting, administers leaves of absence, and assists with audits. The role also develops pre-payroll checks, tracks regulatory changes, documents payroll processes, improves data flows across HR, payroll, benefits, and finance systems, responds to employee payroll questions, maintains related policies and procedures, and provides current global headcount costing for planning. The position is fully remote with flexible hours. The listed application deadline is December 15, 2026, and applications are reviewed on an ongoing basis until the role is filled. The base salary range is $91,000–$115,000 for candidates in New York City and San Francisco, and $68,500–$100,000 for other US-based team members. Annual bonus potential, equity participation, and benefits are also offered.

Requirements

At least 5 years managing payroll for 500 or more employees across multiple countries.
Working knowledge of US and international payroll tax, labor law, and statutory reporting.
Hands-on experience administering leaves of absence, including FMLA, state paid family and medical leave, parental leave, and international statutory leave, and managing their payroll and benefits impact.
Hands-on experience with a global payroll or HRIS platform.
Strong Excel or Google Sheets skills, including lookups, pivots, and reconciliations.
Regular use of AI tools at work, with the ability to explain how they have been used, where they saved time, and where outputs required verification.
Systems mindset and understanding of data flows among HR, payroll, benefits, and finance systems, including troubleshooting integration and synchronization issues.
Sound judgment when handling confidential data, including assessing what information is appropriate to use in AI tools.
Ability to explain payroll questions to employees and variances to Finance clearly and without jargon.
Ability to work independently and with a distributed, global team.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Rippling.
Experience with Optum for HSA/FSA administration.
Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), Global Payroll Professional (GPC), or equivalent certification.
Experience with tax withholding and reporting on equity compensation across countries.
Experience in a fast-paced startup or at an open-source, AI, or data science company.

Responsibilities

Process payroll for employees in the US and multiple other countries, coordinating with Finance, People teams, and in-country agencies and providers.
Calculate wages and other compensation, including equity-based awards and variable pay.
Manage multi-currency payroll, including exchange-rate handling.
Handle garnishments, benefits deductions, off-cycle payroll runs, and other special adjustments.
Maintain compliance with international, federal, and local tax and labor rules, and prepare and file payroll tax reports, including quarterly and annual filings.
Support workers’ compensation, 401(k), and other benefits audits with accurate reporting.
Administer leaves of absence in-house, including pay and benefits deductions, coordination with state and statutory programs, and return-to-payroll processes.
Build pre-payroll checks to flag anomalies in hours, deductions, currency, and new-hire or termination data using AI tools, spreadsheet automation, or light scripting.
Use AI to monitor country-level regulatory and statutory changes and translate them into actions, verifying findings against primary sources and tax and legal advisors.
Document payroll calendars, reconciliation templates, onboarding and offboarding checklists, and a living knowledge base for common questions.
Work with People Systems and Finance to improve data flows between HRIS, payroll, benefits, and general ledger systems, and resolve root causes of data issues.
Serve as the first point of contact for employee payroll questions, using AI-assisted tools where appropriate and personally handling sensitive matters.
Design and maintain policies and procedures connecting payroll with onboarding, offboarding, and variable compensation.
Maintain current global headcount costing, including open hiring requisitions, to support Finance and People planning.