Senior Payroll Specialist

Campus

Senior Payroll Specialist managing payroll and overseeing benefits for an educational startup. Enhancing payroll systems and improving compliance as the company scales in a hybrid environment.

Posted 4/28/2026full-timeNew York City • New York • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $115,000 - $130,000 per yearWebsite

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Run end-to-end payroll for all employees (including faculty), ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance
Manage multi-state payroll operations, including audits, reporting, and reconciliations
Maintain high data integrity across payroll systems and proactively identify and resolve discrepancies
Partner with Finance on payroll-related reporting, budgeting, and forecasting
Serve as the primary owner of payroll within the organization
Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, reduce manual work, and increase accuracy
Implement system and workflow improvements within Rippling
Anticipate and solve for payroll challenges as the company scales (e.g., headcount growth, multi-state complexity)
Drive better reporting and visibility into payroll data
Administer employee benefits programs (health, dental, vision, 401k, etc.)
Partner with brokers and vendors on renewals and ongoing management
Ensure accurate enrollment, changes, and employee support
Support compliance with ACA, COBRA, and related requirements
Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations
Support audits, reconciliations, and reporting requirements
Serve as system owner for Rippling (payroll + HRIS) and partner systems like Fidelity (401k)
Support equity-related administration in partnership with Carta, as needed

Requirements

What you’ll need

6+ years of hands-on payroll experience, with direct ownership of end-to-end payroll processing
Strong experience managing payroll systems — Rippling strongly preferred
Proven ability to identify and implement process improvements in payroll operations
Experience administering benefits programs and partnering with brokers/vendors
Knowledge of multi-state payroll compliance (NY experience strongly preferred)
High attention to detail and strong operational rigor
Ability to operate independently and take full ownership in a fast-paced environment
Nice to have: Experience supporting payroll through periods of company growth or system change (e.g., scaling headcount, moving off a PEO, system migrations)
Experience partnering closely with Finance teams

Benefits

Comp & perks

Medical, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) match
Fertility benefits via Carrot
Flexible Time Away + paid holidays
In-office lunches for our NY Office (did we mention, we’re dog friendly? 🐶)
Hybrid work schedule (Mon & Fri remote; Tues-Thurs in-office)
Social events - happy hours, birthday celebrations, holiday parties, & more!
Opportunity to make an impact – you’ll be an integral player in bringing our vision to life

ATS Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

end-to-end payroll processingmulti-state payroll operationspayroll auditspayroll reportingdata integrityprocess improvementsbenefits administrationpayroll compliancesystem migrationspayroll forecasting

Soft Skills

attention to detailoperational rigorindependenceownershipproblem-solvingcommunicationcollaborationadaptabilityproactivityanalytical thinking