Payroll Manager

*CANDIDATES MUST BE LOCATED IN THE UNITED STATES** About SafelyYou SafelyYou’s passionate mission is to empower safer, more person-centered care across senior living through world-leading AI, industry-changing hardware, and remote expert clinicians, significantly improving outcomes for residents while increasing peace of mind for families and reducing costs for communities. Originating in 2015 as the doctoral research of CEO George Netscher—and inspired by his own family's experience with Alzheimer's disease—SafelyYou was spun out of UC Berkeley’s Artificial Intelligence Research Lab, one of the top five AI research groups in the world. And today, our company is solving critical challenges in senior living, from resident falls and ER visits to staffing concerns, length of stay, and NOI. All helping ensure that communities can focus on improved care for residents while still reaching their financial goals. SafelyYou is one of five most innovative fall technologies referenced in the Senate Falls Report (2019), a winner of the McKnight’s Tech Partner of the Year, and has been named to Fortune’s Impact 20 list, which recognizes companies making people’s lives better through innovation. Your Role at SafelyYou As Sr. Manager, Payroll and Total Rewards at SafelyYou, you will own both payroll operations and total rewards for a growing multi-state and multi-country workforce. This is a true generalist role for someone who is strong across the whole picture: base pay, bonus, benefits, perks, 401(k), and the payroll and systems engine that makes all of it run. On the payroll side, you will manage end-to-end operations and scale our systems and processes to support a growing, distributed workforce in the US and Canada. On the total rewards side, you will oversee our comprehensive benefits programs, manage key vendor relationships, and operationalize our compensation and bonus structures to ensure we remain competitive and support employee wellbeing. You will report directly to the VP of People and partner closely with Finance and Legal. You will operationalize our total rewards strategy. You will not be asked to set the philosophy, but you will own how it is administered, communicated, and delivered. This is a fully remote, individual contributor role with a high-visibility mandate. You are expected to work with minimal guidance and proactively identify opportunities for improvement. The estimated salary range for this role will be $129,000 to $167,500 plus an annual bonus, stock options and benefits. Key Responsibilities Payroll Operations Lead the end-to-end migration from our current HRIS to the new payroll platform, including data mapping, parallel validation, cutover, and decommission Serve as the internal project owner for the migration, managing the vendor implementation team, setting timelines, and keeping Finance and People informed, and deliver a clean payroll runbook before go-live Partner with People leadership to communicate total rewards changes across the business, including contributing to employee and manager-facing messaging and building supporting training materials. Own US and Canada payroll operations across all active states, provinces, including multi-state tax account setup, registrations, mis-payment and penalty resolution, and ongoing compliance Own the HRIS as the single source of truth, build and maintain integrations across payroll, HRIS, and Finance systems, and manage all related vendor relationships Support Finance in annual audits and diligence across payroll, benefits, and people compliance Total Rewards Develop and administer the US benefits program across medical, dental, vision, and ancillary plans, including plan design, administration, and employee support, to attract, retain, and support employee wellbeing Manage the benefits broker as a strategic partner, and lead the annual renewal and open enrollment Own 401(k) administration and compliance, including nondiscrimination testing, advisor and recordkeeper management, and safe harbor analysis Operationalize the compensation structure: maintain pay bands and ranges, administer the bonus program, and process and model new hire, promotion, and merit changes in partnership with the VP of People and Finance Manage perks and stipend programs, and support the annual budget process with accurate total rewards inputs Support pay transparency execution, including published ranges and required disclosures across US and Canadian jurisdictions Communicate total rewards clearly to employees and candidates, helping them understand the full value of base pay, bonus, benefits, equity, and perks, and use broker and market survey data to keep the program competitive and cost-aware The Ideal Candidate Required 4 to 8 years of combined payroll and total rewards or benefits experience in a multi-state environment, preferably at a SaaS company in a startup environment A genuine generalist across both areas: equally comfortable running payroll and tax compliance and administering benefits, 401(k), and compensation programs Hands-on experience with payroll platforms such as Gusto, Rippling, and/or Paylocity, ideally having owned or co-owned a migration between platforms Demonstrated ability to set up and manage multi-state tax accounts and navigate state payroll compliance Hands-on benefits administration experience, including managing a broker and leading annual renewals and open enrollment Working knowledge of 401(k) administration and compliance Familiarity with compensation structures, including pay bands, ranges, and bonus administration Strong project management instincts, with the ability to own a complex implementation without being managed Experience working closely with Finance on headcount, total rewards inputs, and audit support Comfortable with ambiguity and building process where little exists Prioritize quality over speed. When it is done, it is really done. Strong verbal and written communication skills with experience in cross-functional team collaboration Proactive about anticipating and addressing issues before they arise Preferred Exposure to Canadian payroll operations or international payroll platforms Experience transitioning employees from an EOR (Borderless, Deel, Remote) to a direct entity payroll Experience with pay transparency compliance across multiple US states or in Canada Exposure to equity administration and total rewards benchmarking tools and market surveys Familiarity with 401(k) safe harbor analysis and plan design Experience supporting a company through Series C/D scaling Experience with remote work and distributed teams Your First 90 Days Days 1 to 30: Land and Learn Focus: Onboard, build relationships, and understand the current payroll and people operations landscape. No ownership demands this month. Complete onboarding and systems access, including read-only access to payroll and HRIS platforms Hold 1:1s with your manager, Finance lead, Legal partner, and People team members Learn how payroll runs today: pay calendars, multi-state or multi-jurisdiction footprint, and any employer of record or international arrangements Shadow a full payroll run cycle end to end Capture early observations and open questions without pressure to solve anything yet Milestone: A short current-state observations note and a clear map of who owns what today. Days 31 to 60: Map the Current State Focus: Document what exists today and surface risks and gaps. Map every active state or provincial tax account and its filing status, including any open penalties or late filings Document any international, EOR, or contractor populations and the current arrangements governing them Document benefits and retirement plan administration, plus all integrations and data flows into Finance Identify pain points, compliance gaps, and manual processes that future-state systems or workflows should resolve Days 61 to 90: Needs Assessment and Requirements Focus: Complete the stakeholder needs assessment, define requirements, and begin scanning the vendor or solution landscape. Run structured needs-assessment interviews with Finance, People, Legal, and any managers who regularly interact with payroll or HRIS Consolidate input into a requirements matrix covering payroll, multi-jurisdiction tax, benefits, retirement administration, HRIS integrations, reporting, and scalability Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves and confirm priorities with your manager and Finance Why Join Us? You Can Make a Difference! SafelyYou offers a competitive compensation package, including but not limited to: A mission-driven company culture Fully remote Competitive salary & benefits, including fully paid employee premiums for Medical, Dental, and Vision 401k Program Monthly Education, Well-being & WFH stipends Non-accrual PTO Growth Potential Company Retreats Medical & Family/Parental Leave At SafelyYou, we believe that a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace makes us a more relevant, competitive, and resilient company. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce that celebrates diversity. We do not discriminate based on race, color, ancestry, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We value all the perspectives our team members bring to the table, and that is why we don’t look for culture fit, but culture add. We want to hear from YOU! We encourage you to apply even if you do not fit 100% of the technical requirements. #J-18808-Ljbffr