Senior Payroll Analyst- AMER

Guidewire Software

1d•$96,000 - $172,000

About The Position

As a Senior Payroll Analyst, AMER, you will own end-to-end payroll operations for the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Brazil, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant processing in a fast-moving, growth environment. You will be a key problem-solver for complex payroll and tax issues, a trusted partner to cross-functional stakeholders, and a champion for process excellence and controls that keep our people paid correctly and confidently. At Guidewire, we’re transforming how the world’s P&C insurers do business by combining digital, core, analytics, and AI in a single cloud platform. In this role, you’ll help enable that mission by delivering reliable, insight-rich payroll operations that support data-driven financial transparency, cost optimization, and scalable growth across the Americas. You’ll join a culture centered on determination, collaboration, continuous improvement, and bravery, where your expertise in payroll is part of a broader adventure to help our customers and teammates thrive.

Requirements

Significant hands-on payroll experience for multi-state U.S. payroll plus at least one additional AMER country in a mid- to large-sized, multi-entity corporate environment.
Strong knowledge of U.S. federal and state payroll tax, wage and hour rules, and year-end reporting; familiarity with Canadian, Mexican, and/or Brazilian regulations preferred.
Experience working with ADP and other third-party payroll providers; comfort working across multiple systems and integrations.
Solid understanding of accounting concepts related to payroll (accruals, reconciliations, GL mapping) and experience supporting month-end close.
Proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets for reconciliations, variance analysis, and audit support.
Proven ability to own processes end-to-end, manage deadlines, and operate effectively in a fast-changing environment.
Collaborative work demonstrated success partnering across Finance, HR, Technology, Benefit, Stock, and Compensation teams.

Nice To Haves

Equity knowledge (ESPP, NQ, ISO, RSU) preferred.

Responsibilities

Oversee and execute timely, accurate semi-monthly payroll for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and monthly payroll for Brazil, including off-cycle runs, bonuses, and corrective adjustments.
Ensure ongoing compliance with federal, state/provincial, and local tax regulations and wage laws across AMER jurisdictions, managing new U.S. tax registrations and year-end reporting (e.g., W-2s, T4s).
Review and approve all payroll runs prior to transmission, ensuring strict alignment with internal controls, company policies, local regulations, and audit requirements.
Partner closely with People Operations, Stock Administration, Compensation, Benefits, and external vendors (e.g., ADP) to streamline workflows and resolve complex payroll discrepancies.
Monitor, track, and drive the timely resolution of open payroll tickets, ensuring clear documentation and communication with impacted stakeholders.
Collaborate with the GL team on month-end close activities, managing payroll-related journal entries, reconciliations, and salary-related accruals.
Drive payroll process improvements and automation initiatives, partnering with People Tech to optimize integrations between Workday and third-party payroll systems.
Serve as the AMER payroll SME, providing clear, consistent guidance on policy interpretations, tax amendments, and payroll inquiries to internal partners and employees.
Utilize payroll data and metrics to identify trends, support broader Finance and People initiatives (including platform and data-driven projects), and enable transparent decision-making.
Support, guide, and mentor payroll team members to build regional capability, while modeling a collaborative culture that constructively challenges the status quo.