Payroll Initiatives Lead
At a glance
Senior Payroll role at OpenAI. San Francisco · full-time · $221,000–$245,000 base.
hrroles summary, based on the employer's posting.
What you'll do
- Guide payroll work for global acquisitions, from transition planning through the point operations are stable
- Coordinate acquired companies’ final pay, including equity, variable compensation and other transaction-related payments
- Move acquired employees onto company payroll systems and controls while keeping pay uninterrupted
- Close legacy payroll platforms and manage compliant year-end processing and reporting
- Improve cross-border payment capabilities, system connections, risk controls and repeatable payroll processes
What you bring
- At least eight years of advancing payroll operations experience
- You have led payroll integrations for mergers and acquisitions
- You bring working knowledge of payroll rules and practices across countries
- You have hands-on experience with Workday Payroll or another large HCM or global payroll platform
- A degree in finance, accounting, HR or a related area, or equivalent practical experience
Who this fits
This senior role suits someone who can independently manage complex payroll initiatives and deliver accurate work against tight deadlines. It is based in San Francisco, with three office days each week. Relocation assistance is available to new employees.
From the employer
About the Team
OpenAI Finance is responsible for ensuring the organization is set up for success in pursuit of its mission.
OpenAI’s Payroll team is responsible for ensuring timely, accurate, and compliant payroll processing while supporting the company’s growth and strategic initiatives.
About the Role
At OpenAI, payroll is not a back-office function — it is mission-critical infrastructure. We are seeking a Payroll Initiatives Lead with broad, end-to-end payroll experience to scale the payroll ecosystem in support of one of the world’s fastest-growing and most technically sophisticated organizations. This role will apply that expertise to high-value processes, strategic initiatives, and complex business needs beyond day-to-day payroll processing.
This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees.
In this role, you will:
Lead payroll integrations for global M&A transactions, coordinating payroll activities from transition planning through stabilization.
Partner with acquired companies to complete final payrolls accurately and on time, including equity, variable compensation, final pay, and other deal-related payments.
Integrate acquired employees into OpenAI’s payroll systems, processes, controls, and service model while maintaining continuity of pay.
Oversee the closure of legacy payroll systems and ensure accurate, compliant year-end processing and reporting.
Develop and improve global payment-processing capabilities that support employees across multiple countries and payment types.
Lead global payroll system and provider integrations, ensuring data integrity and effective upstream and downstream connections.
Partner across Payroll, Finance, Tax, Legal, People, Equity, and other teams to deliver strategic initiatives and resolve complex operational challenges.
Identify risks, strengthen controls, and automate repeatable processes that enable payroll operations to scale with the company.
You might thrive in this role if you have:
8+ years of progressive experience in payroll operations, preferably in a fast-paced or high-growth environment.
Strong working knowledge of global payroll regulations and standard best practices.
Experience leading M&A payroll integrations.
Hands-on experience with Workday Payroll or other large HCM/global payroll systems; Broad systems experience is a plus.
Ability to independently manage priorities, take ownership of outcomes, and deliver high-quality work under tight deadlines.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with excellent attention to detail.
Clear and concise communication skills, with the ability to partner effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, HR, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. CPP certification is a plus.
About OpenAI
OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic.
For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement.
Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job duties require access to secure and protected information technology systems and related data security obligations.
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