Global Payroll Manager

FieldAI's Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California's robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field.

About the Job

FieldAI is looking for a Global Payroll Manager to join our growing finance team. You'll own payroll end to end for a global, distributed workforce across UCAN, APAC, and EMEA, including a sizable population of contractors and temporary workers. This is a builder role - you'll be establishing policies, identifying gaps and creating processes to close them, and helping us scale payroll as we expand into new countries.


You'll report to the Controller and work closely with People Ops, Legal, and all teams across the organization.

Key Responsibilities

Global Payroll

• Own accurate, on-time payroll for all employees across UCAN, APAC, and EMEA, whether run in-house, through in-country providers, or via Employer of Record (EOR) partners
• Manage the global payroll calendar, inputs, and approvals across multiple pay frequencies and currencies
• Own payroll tax withholding, filings, and remittances, including registrations as we enter new countries and states
• Manage year-end reporting in every jurisdiction (W-2, T4, P60, and local equivalents)

Contingent Workforce

• Own the payment process for contractors and temps - onboarding, invoicing, approvals, and payment runs
• Partner with People Ops and Legal on worker classification and misclassification risk (ABC test, IR35, and local equivalents)
• Manage staffing agency and EOR relationships, reconciling invoices to timesheets and contracted rates
• Own 1099 and other non-employee tax reporting

Systems & Processes

• Keep BambooHR as the source of truth for employee data, ensuring compensation and job changes flow cleanly into payroll
• Own integrations between BambooHR, payroll providers, benefits carriers, and NetSuite
• Identify and close payroll process gaps, building scalable policies and controls from scratch where they don't yet exist
• Prepare payroll journal entries and accruals for month-end close and reconcile payroll liability accounts

Team

• Be the go-to resource for employee payroll questions across all time zones
• Partner with People Ops on onboarding, offboarding, leave, relocations, and international transfers
• Act as a key finance partner to leadership on the payroll and tax implications of hiring in new countries

What You Have

• 8+ years of progressive payroll experience, including 2-3 years managing multi-country payroll, with meaningful time spent in a startup environment
• Hands-on payroll experience across UCAN, APAC, and EMEA
• Direct experience paying contractors and temporary workers at scale, with working knowledge of classification risk
• Experience with BambooHR - data management, reporting, and payroll integrations
• Demonstrated track record of building and improving processes, not just executing inherited ones
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to translate payroll and tax complexity into plain language for employees and leadership

The Extras That Set You Apart

• Familiarity with BambooHR and TriNet
• CPP or FPC (PayrollOrg), CPM (Canada), or CIPP (UK) certification
• Experience with global payroll platforms such as Deel, Rippling, Papaya Global, or ADP Global
• Experience with equity payroll events (option exercises, etc.) across jurisdictions
• Background in a Series A-C companies - you know what it means to be the first to formalize a process

$100,000 - $150,000 a year

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual's background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.

Why Join FieldAI in Irvine?

In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics' hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models™ raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use.

You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.

Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.

We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.