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