Senior Manager, Payroll

Zendesk•San Francisco, CA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

At Zendesk, we believe that delivering a flawless payroll experience is the foundation of employee trust and peace of mind. We are seeking a Senior Payroll Manager to spearhead our global payroll evolution, championing a future where AI-powered insights and intelligent automation eliminate manual complexity. Reporting to the Senior Director of Global Payroll, you will be a collaborative architect of change—leveraging emerging technologies to drive operational excellence and equity at scale. We are looking for a leader who is passionate about the intersection of people and innovation, someone eager to build high-trust systems and a culture of belonging. If you are a visionary who values teamwork and is ready to redefine what’s possible in a high-growth environment, we’d love to hear from you.

Requirements

8+ years of progressive experience architecting and managing global payroll technology ecosystems, with a focus on scaling automated infrastructures across diverse international markets.
Proven proficiency in Workday Payroll, with a preference for active Workday Certifications.
Deep understanding of Workday’s business processes, reporting, and lifecycle management.
Substantial experience managing high-tier payroll tech stacks, including CloudPay (or similar third-party global providers) and their end-to-end integration into ERP systems.
A forward-thinking approach to emerging AI technologies, with a passion for discovering and implementing intelligent automation to eliminate manual workflows and transform the payroll function.
Ability to partner effectively with business units to translate complex operational needs into automated solutions and AI tools, ensuring global systems remain efficient and scalable.
Expert-level skills in data analytics and Excel, with the ability to translate complex global payroll data into strategic, predictive insights for senior leadership.
Strong history of partnering with HRIS / IT, Legal, and Finance teams to drive cross-functional system enhancements and digital transformation.

Nice To Haves

Proven track record of implementing payroll in new countries, including the setup of localized entities, statutory configurations, and the design of scalable, automated launch playbooks.
Deep experience implementing and optimizing Time Tracking systems and ensuring seamless, automated data flow between time entry platforms and global payroll engines.
Technical mastery in managing complex integrations across the HRIS ecosystem, ensuring 100% data synchronization between Workday, CloudPay, and third-party benefit or time providers.
Proven track record of leading large-scale Global Payroll transformations, specifically migrating legacy processes into a fully automated, AI-enhanced environment.
Direct experience (or a clear roadmap) for implementing Generative AI or Machine Learning tools to improve data validation, anomaly detection, or employee self-service within a payroll context.
Previous experience navigating Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A), ensuring payroll systems and ERP integrations scale seamlessly during periods of high change.

Responsibilities

Lead and modernize end-to-end payroll operations on a global scale, overseeing complex payroll systems.
Optimize our tech stack—including Workday, our third-party global provider CloudPay, and critical integrations—to drive full automation and data synchronization into our ERP system.
Build high-trust partnerships with our global payroll providers and cross-functional teams, including HRIS / IT, People Ops, Benefits, Legal, Tax, Equity, and Accounting, ensuring payroll data is seamlessly integrated with our ERP system and the broader business ecosystem.
Revolutionize the full global payroll lifecycle—from complex equity awards and incentive commissions to statutory benefits—leveraging Workday’s automated workflows and AI capabilities to ensure absolute precision and reliability in every pay cycle.
Translate complex global business requirements into maintainable, scalable, best-in-class technical architecture while effectively distilling technical complexities into actionable insights for business stakeholders to ensure cross-functional alignment.
Stay ahead of shifting global statutory regulations by utilizing AI-enhanced monitoring tools and system audits.
Ensure all global payroll processes mitigate risk, uphold global standards, and remain audit-ready through robust digital controls embedded within our global payroll framework.
Lead strategic projects to transition from manual legacy tasks to Workday-driven, AI-enabled platforms.
Spearhead global transformations, including vendor migrations, M&A integrations, and rapid expansion into new international markets.
Transform raw global payroll data from Workday and CloudPay into predictive insights.
Use advanced reporting tools and Excel to present operational metrics that drive continuous improvement and proactive decision-making for the global function.