- Location: Boston, United States - Hybrid,
United States,
Canada
,
Mexico
| Hybrid/Remote options available
We are seeking a
North America Payroll Lead
to manage payroll operations across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and limited EOR-supported populations.
This role will oversee payroll delivery for a multi-country employee population, and will be responsible for ensuring payroll accuracy, compliance, timely processing, strong vendor management, and operational excellence, including support for month-end, quarter-end, and year-end payroll-related financial close activities and payroll audits.
What You'll Do
- Lead end-to-end payroll operations across North America, including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and limited EOR-supported populations.
- Ensure payroll is processed accurately, timely, and in compliance with applicable federal, state/provincial, local, and country-specific payroll, tax, labor, and statutory requirements across 30+ U.S. states and multiple Canadian provinces.
- Serve as the primary payroll lead for Workday Payroll, supporting payroll processing, configuration, testing, audits, reporting, integrations, releases, system changes, data validation, and process optimization.
- Manage payroll delivery through internal processes, third-party payroll providers, and Workday implementation/support partners, ensuring effective vendor performance, SLA management, project deliverables, issue resolution, and continuous improvement.
- Serve as the payroll subject matter expert for North America, partnering closely with HR, Finance, Legal, Benefits, Compensation, and external vendors.
- Support payroll inputs and employee lifecycle events, including new hires, terminations, transfers, leaves of absence, bonuses, equity-related payments, benefit deductions, and other payroll adjustments.
- Oversee payroll impacts of stock/equity transactions, executive compensation, retention bonuses, relocation benefits, taxable fringe benefits, and other complex compensation programs.
- Partner with Finance on payroll accounting, balance sheet reconciliations, accrual calculations, variance analysis, funding, reporting, SOX-compliant controls where applicable, and month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close activities.
- Manage year-end payroll activities, including U.S. W-2, Canada T4/T4A/Relevé 1, and Mexico annual reporting, statutory obligations, payroll audits, tax statements, and employee inquiries.
- Develop and maintain payroll policies, SOPs, process documentation, governance frameworks, controls, and audit-ready processes to support compliance and operational scalability.
- Support international expansion activities, including new state/province registrations, entity setup support, and oversight of EOR payroll arrangements where applicable.
- Establish and track payroll KPIs, service levels, audit findings, compliance metrics, and continuous improvement initiatives to streamline payroll processes, improve data quality, reduce manual work, and strengthen cross-functional workflows.
What We're Looking For
- 7+ years of progressive payroll experience, including independent ownership of multi-state, multi-jurisdiction payroll operations for geographically dispersed workforces, with exposure to Canada and/or Mexico payroll.
- Hands-on Workday Payroll experience required, including payroll processing, testing, reporting, production support, data validation, and issue resolution.
- Strong knowledge of U.S. federal, state, and local payroll requirements, including payroll tax, wage and hour considerations, garnishments, wage attachments, leaves of absence, benefit deductions, multi-state taxation, and year-end processes; familiarity with Canadian and Mexican payroll compliance preferred.
- Strong understanding of payroll accounting, payroll funding, general ledger interfaces, accruals, reconciliations, variance review, controls, and financial close processes.
- Experience supporting internal and external payroll audits, including SOX, statutory, tax, regulatory compliance, and control reviews.
- Experience managing payroll vendors and outsourced payroll providers, including SLA management, service reviews, issue escalation, and contract governance.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, stakeholder management, and communication skills, with the ability to influence senior stakeholders across HR, Finance, Legal, Tax, Benefits, and external service providers.
- Ability to operate independently in a fast-paced, evolving environment with strong attention to accuracy, confidentiality, and operational follow-through.
Preferred Qualifications
- Workday Payroll certification or advanced experience implementing, optimizing, administering, or supporting Workday Payroll, integrations, and payroll transformation initiatives.
- Experience working with Virtual managed payroll services.
- Experience supporting payroll operations during M&A, carve-out, stand-up, or broader business transformation initiatives.
- Exposure to global payroll governance, shared services, or payroll center-of-excellence models.
- Certified Payroll Professional, PCP Canada, or equivalent payroll certification.
- Experience supporting payroll operations in high-growth technology or SaaS environments.
- Familiarity with EOR models and international workforce compliance.
Why Join Velotic
Velotic is uniquely positioned at the intersection of industrial operations, advanced connectivity, and AI
- Joining now means you can help shape: ### Culture & Growth
- Build foundational People Ops systems, processes, and culture from day.
- Work within a team defined by ambition, collaboration, authenticity, and speed.
- Influence global operating models and employee experience at scale.
Work-Life Balance
- Salary range for the base is $80,000 to $100,000
- Flexible work arrangements
- Discretionary Time Off (DTO)
- Global paid parental leave
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP
Join Us
Learn more at: http://www.velotic.com/ www.velotic.com
