Payroll Specialist

ABOUT FACTORY Our mission is to create a world where software builds and improves itself. We build the platform for self-improving software development, helping the world's largest enterprise engineering teams turn their organizations into autonomous software factories. Customers including Nvidia, Blackstone, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Palo Alto Networks, Adobe, and T-Mobile run Factory to ship code, review PRs, run tests, and deploy continuously - getting smarter with every cycle. In 2026, we raised $200M at a $5B valuation, bringing our total funding to over $400M. We are backed by world-class investors and operators including Khosla Ventures, Sequoia, Blackstone, Ali Ghodsi (CEO of Databricks), and Frank Slootman (Former CEO of Snowflake). ABOUT THE ROLE Factory is growing quickly, and we're looking for a Payroll Specialist to own payroll operations end to end and be a key member of our finance and accounting team. This is a hands-on role with real ownership: keeping employees and contractors paid accurately, compliantly, and on time wherever we operate, while building the systems, controls, and documentation that help payroll keep pace as we grow. You will work closely with Finance, People, and leadership, with room to set the function up the right way. WHAT YOU WILL DO AND ACHIEVE - Run full-cycle payroll for our US and international employees, including multi-state payroll - Process commissions, draws, bonuses, equity vesting, severance, and other variable pay with the right tax withholding - Handle compensation changes, new hires, terminations, and off-cycle payments - Manage payroll tax registrations, deposits, filings, and notices at the federal, state, and local level, and work with our providers on international payroll tax - Manage our international payroll and EOR providers, and set up payroll when we start hiring in a new country - Administer 401(k) contributions, benefits deductions, garnishments, and contractor payments - Work with Accounting on payroll journal entries, accruals, and month-end close, and handle quarter-end and year-end work, including W-2s - Build the processes, controls, and documentation that let payroll scale as we grow - Work with People, Finance, Tax, and Legal to keep employee data accurate and answer payroll questions - Use AI and automation to cut down manual work in reconciliations and reporting QUALIFICATIONS - 5+ years of payroll experience, including running multi-state US payroll at a fast-growing company - Hands-on experience with payroll platforms like Rippling, Workday, or ADP - Strong knowledge of US payroll tax, including federal, state, and local withholding, filings, and year-end reporting - Experience processing commissions, bonuses, and equity compensation (RSUs, ISOs, NSOs) - Experience with international payroll and EOR providers - Strong attention to detail and good judgment with confidential information - Comfortable at a fast-moving startup where you build processes as you go - Clear communicator who works well with Finance, People, Tax, and Legal - Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, HR, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience NICE TO HAVE - CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) certification - Experience with Rippling payroll - Experience building out payroll at a company that grew quickly - Experience using AI tools to automate payroll or finance workflows - Experience with SOX, IPO readiness, or setting up financial controls Location: This role will be onsite 5 days a week in San Francisco