Payroll Specialist Lead - US

About Remote

Remote is solving modern organizations’ biggest challenge – navigating global employment compliantly with ease. We make it possible for businesses of all sizes to recruit, pay, and manage international teams. With our core values at heart and future focused work culture, our team works tirelessly on ambitious problems, asynchronously, around the world. You can find Remoters working from 6 different continents (Antarctica left to go!) and all of our positions are fully remote.

With Innovation as one of the core values, we have built Automation and AI capabilities into the requirements for every role.

We encourage every member of the Remote team to bring their talents, experiences and culture to the table to help us build the best-in-class HR platform.

If you are energetic, curious, motivated and ambitious, be part of our world. Apply now and define the future of work!

What this job can offer you

The Payroll Specialist Lead (United States) is a mid-level individual contributor responsible for executing and supporting payroll operations within the US payroll environment.

This role combines hands-on payroll execution, operational expertise, and support for other payroll specialists. You will ensure payroll is delivered accurately, on time, and in compliance with regulations, while contributing to process improvements and operational efficiency.

You will work closely with internal teams across Payroll Operations, Finance, Product, and Service Operations, as well as relevant external stakeholders.

What you bring

• Proven experience in end-to-end payroll execution within the US payroll or similar environment, including payroll validations, reconciliations, and statutory filings.
• Strong knowledge of US federal, state, and local payroll regulations and payroll best practices.
• Experience in implementing payroll processes or contributing to operational rollouts.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to identify issues, interpret data, and resolve exceptions accurately.
• Proficiency in payroll systems and ability to quickly learn new operational tools; experience with automation or AI-assisted workflows is a plus.
• Comfortable operating independently in a remote-first, asynchronous work environment.
• Collaborative mindset and strong communication skills for partnering with internal teams and external stakeholders.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple payroll cycles and deadlines effectively.
• Experience with multi-country payroll is a plus, but not required for this US-focused role.
• High integrity and discretion when handling sensitive payroll information.
• Demonstrates strong automation and AI capabilities

Key Responsibilities

• Execute end-to-end payroll operations for the US payroll environment, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
• Validate payroll inputs, calculations, and outputs, maintaining data integrity across all payroll cycles.
• Manage payroll-related exceptions, adjustments, and reconciliations, escalating complex issues when necessary.
• Support the operational implementation of payroll processes, including system updates, statutory changes, and new program rollouts.
• Serve as a point of contact for internal teams and relevant external stakeholders regarding payroll execution and compliance.
• Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, documentation, and operational workflows.
• Participate in testing payroll system enhancements and updates to ensure operational readiness.
• Provide support and guidance to other payroll specialists when needed to maintain continuity and quality of payroll delivery.
• Monitor and contribute to payroll performance metrics, including SLAs and KPIs.

Practicals

• **Team:**Global Operations (EOR & Payroll)
• Location: United States 
• Start date: As soon as possible

Application process

1. Interview with recruiter
2. Interview with future manager
3. Interview with team member
4. Bar Raiser Interview
5. Prior employment verification check

 

Remote's Total Rewards philosophy is to ensure fair, unbiased compensation and fair equity pay along with competitive benefits in all locations in which we operate. We do not agree to or encourage cheap-labor practices and therefore we ensure to pay above in-location rates. We hope to inspire other companies to support global talent-hiring and bring local wealth to developing countries.

At first glance our salary bands seem quite wide - here is some context. At Remote we have international operations and a globally distributed workforce.  We use geo ranges to consider geographic pay differentials as part of our global compensation strategy to remain competitive in various markets while we hiring globally.

Our salary ranges are determined by role, level and location, and our job titles may span more than one career level. The actual base pay for the successful candidate in this role is dependent upon many factors such as location, transferable or job-related skills, work experience, relevant training, business needs, and market demands. The base salary range may be subject to change.

At Remote, we foster internal mobility as a key element of our culture of employee growth and development, supported by a compensation philosophy that guarantees pay equity and fairness. Therefore, all compensation changes associated with an internal move will be reviewed by the Total Rewards & People Enablement team on a case by case basis.

The annual salary range for this full-time position is

$83,200—$93,600 USD

Benefits

Our full benefits & perks are explained in our handbook at remote.com/r/benefits. As a global company, each country works differently, but some benefits/perks are for all Remoters:

• work from anywhere
• flexible paid time off
• flexible working hours (we are async)
• 16 weeks paid parental leave
• mental health support services
• stock options
• learning budget
• home office budget & IT equipment
• budget for local in-person social events or co-working spaces

How you’ll plan your day (and life)

We work async at Remote which means you can plan your schedule around your life (and not around meetings). Read more at remote.com/async.

You will be empowered to take ownership and be proactive. When in doubt you will default to action instead of waiting. Your life-work balance is important and you will be encouraged to put yourself and your family first, and fit work around your needs.

If that sounds like something you want, apply now!

How to apply

1. Please fill out the form below and upload your CV with a PDF format.
2. We kindly ask you to submit your application and CV in English, as this is the standardised language we use here at Remote.
3. If you don’t have an up to date CV but you are still interested in talking to us, please feel free to add a copy of your LinkedIn profile instead.

Not only do we encourage folks from all ethnic groups, genders, sexuality, age, abilities, disability status and any other under-represented group to apply, but we prioritize a sense of belonging. We have 4 ERGs (Women, Disability, Queer, Minorities in Tech) who meet regularly with the People team. During your interviews and beyond, we ask & encourage anybody who needs an accommodation to request one from their recruiter.

We will ask you to voluntarily tell us your pronouns at interview stage, and you will have the option to answer our anonymous demographic questionnaire when you apply below. As an equal employment opportunity employer it’s important to us that our workforce reflects people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences and this data will help us to stay accountable. We thank you for providing this data, if you chose to.

At Remote, we embrace AI as a valuable tool while prioritizing human creativity and authenticity. We look forward to meeting candidates who balance innovation with genuine expertise and experience. To learn more about Remote's AI guidelines check see here. 

Please note we accept applications on an ongoing basis.