Operations Specialist, Payroll Reconciliation

Operations Specialist, Payroll Reconciliation

Location Austin, Texas, United States Compensation $91,000 - $120,000 USD

Thatch is building a healthcare system people love, and getting people's money right every deduction, every invoice, every payroll cycle is foundational to earning that trust. This role will focus on execution within a key operations function, supporting operational OKRs and day-to-day queue management. We're seeking a candidate with a proven track record of executing at a high level in fast-growing startups, leveraging data and process for impactful results. This individual must possess the ability to dive deep into the details of daily execution and maintain consistency in a continuously evolving environment.

A critical focus area for the team is the ongoing reconciliation of our payment infrastructure. This complex function is vital for financial accuracy and stability. Its efficient management directly and positively impacts our members, driving trust and satisfaction through seamless and accurate financial experiences.

You'll sit at the intersection of Operations, Engineering, and Finance: reviewing payroll deductions before they reach employers, tracing discrepancies back to root cause, and partnering with Engineering to automate away the reconciliation work that shouldn't require manual review every cycle. This role is based onsite in our Austin, TX office and is well suited to someone who exercises strong independent judgment on complex financial data and is energized by building the process and tooling that let Thatch scale reconciliation without scaling headcount linearly.

What You'll Do

• Own the payroll deduction reconciliation queue, reviewing new and updated deductions before each payroll run and approving or escalating flagged discrepancies with clear reasoning
• Trace reconciliation errors back to root cause across enrollment, premium, and payroll connection data, and drive fixes upstream rather than patching individual cases
• Partner with Engineering to scope and prioritize automation opportunities, such as auto-approval rules, tooling, and monitoring that reduce the volume of manual review over time
• Manage escalations from payroll connection failures and invoice review queues, routing issues to the right stakeholder
• Build and maintain SOPs and audit trails so reconciliation logic and decisions are transparent and repeatable across the team
• Report on reconciliation accuracy and queue health, surfacing trends and risk areas to Operations and Finance leadership

Background We're Looking For

• 4-7 years of experience in operations, financial/payroll reconciliation, or management consulting, with a track record of solving complex, ambiguous problems independently
• Strong analytical skills and comfort working directly with financial and payroll data to identify discrepancies and root causes
• Demonstrated success designing or improving reconciliation, audit, or financial control processes
• Strong judgment able to make sound decisions on ambiguous or high-stakes cases without heavy oversight
• Experience partnering with Engineering to translate operational pain points into tooling or automation requirements
• Bachelor's degree required
• Ability and willingness to work onsite in our Austin, TX office

Experience We'd Be Particularly Excited About

• MBA or other advanced degree
• Background in management consulting (e.g. strategy or operations consulting) prior to moving into an Operations role
• Experience with payroll, benefits, or fintech reconciliation systems
• Comfort writing SQL queries or working directly with engineers to scope automation requirements
• Prior experience in a high-growth startup environment

We interview rigorously based on integrity, talent, and drive; the trust we display in our teammates from day 1 is a reflection of the confidence we have in this process. We aim to evaluate the things you'll be doing every day as best we can, and we move quickly. Here's what to expect:

• 30 minute video meeting to talk through your background and interest in Thatch
• 30 minute video meeting with the hiring manager to dive deeper into your experience and the role
• 30 minute video meeting to meet 2-3 members of the team
• 30 minute video meeting with the hiring manager to work through a live case study
• 30 minute video meeting with our founders to discuss your approach to culture and our operating principles