Payroll Manager

Employee Applicant Privacy Notice Who we are: Shape a brighter financial future with us. Together with our members, we’re changing the way people think about and interact with personal finance. We’re a next-generation financial services company and national bank using innovative, mobile-first technology to help our millions of members reach their goals. The industry is going through an unprecedented transformation, and we’re at the forefront. We’re proud to come to work every day knowing that what we do has a direct impact on people’s lives, with our core values guiding us every step of the way. Join us to invest in yourself, your career, and the financial world. The Role: SoFi is searching for a North America Payroll Manager to lead and scale our payroll operations across the United States and Canada. This is a strategic Individual Contributor (IC4) role that blends deep technical expertise with operational leadership. You will be responsible for ensuring the accurate, timely, and compliant delivery of payroll for our growing workforce while serving as a subject matter expert in advanced payroll technologies and data analytics. This role is critical to ensure a seamless employee experience, maintaining regulatory compliance, and enabling scalable growth through automation and operational excellence. As an IC4-level professional at SoFi, you are expected to operate with autonomy, applying deep domain expertise to solve complex problems, influence functional strategy, and drive outcomes for cross-functional impact. What You'll Do: Payroll Operations & Compliance Oversee End-to-End Processing: Manage day-to-day payroll activities for the US and Canada, ensuring accurate payments, tax withholdings, and reporting. Regulatory Subject Matter Expert: Ensure strict compliance with federal, state, local, and provincial wage and hour laws (FLSA, etc.), and manage quarterly/annual tax filings including W-2 and T-4 preparation. Audit & SOX Control: Support internal and external audits by maintaining rigorous SOX controls, audit trail documentation, and payroll risk assessments. Proactively identifying compliance risks and implementing controls and process improvement to mitigate exposure. Ensure data integrity across payroll, HRIS, and downstream financial systems. Technical Leadership & Innovation System Optimization: Serve as a functional owner for Workday Payroll, Time Tracking, and Absence. Collaborate on system upgrades, integrations, and bi-annual feature releases. Global Integration: Manage relationships with external providers like CloudPay for international payroll and Fidelity for 401(k) and equity administration. Data Transformation: Leverage ETL tools (Alteryx, SQL, Python) to automate manual workstreams, build advanced workforce dashboards, and provide actionable insights into labor costs and overtime trends. Continuously evaluate and implement technology solutions to modernize payroll operations and reduce manual intervention. Strategy & Relationship Management Influence Strategy: Help create and drive functional strategy within the payroll team based on business needs. Cross-Functional Partnership: Build trust and common ground with stakeholders in HR, Finance, IT, and Legal to ensure seamless data flows and resolve complex discrepancies. Team Mentorship: While an Individual Contributor role at the IC4 level, you will provide guidance, training, and "informal leadership" to payroll processors and specialists to upskill the function. What You'll Need: Experience & Education Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field. Experience: 7+ years of progressive experience in multi-state and Canadian payroll functions. Certifications: Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or equivalent is strongly preferred. Technical Skills Core Systems: Deep proficiency in Workday Payroll administration and configuration (Business Processes, Report Writer). Advanced Analytics: Hands-on experience using Alteryx, SQL, or Python for data manipulation and process automation. Third-Party Tools: Experience with CloudPay and Fidelity NetBenefits preferred. Strong understanding of payroll accounting, general ledger impacts, and reconciliation processes. Competencies Complexity: Ability to solve unique problems of significant, complex scope and generate innovative approaches to resolution. Independent Judgement: Ability to operate autonomously in setting priorities and executing solutions with minimal guidance on overall department strategy. Communication: Skilled at distilling complex concepts and facilitating dialogue among senior leadership and cross-functional partners. High attention to details and commitment to accuracy in a highly regulated environment. Demonstrated ability to influence and drive alignment across cross-functional stakeholders. Compensation and Benefits The base pay range for this role is listed below. Final base pay offer will be determined based on individual factors such as the candidate’s experience, skills, and location. To view all of our comprehensive and competitive benefits, visit our Benefits at SoFi page! SoFi provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion (including religious dress and grooming practices), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, breastfeeding, and conditions related to breastfeeding), gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, age (40 or over), physical or medical disability, medical condition, marital status, registered domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military and/or veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by applicable state or federal law. The Company hires the best qualified candidate for the job, without regard to protected characteristics. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records. New York applicants: Notice of Employee Rights SoFi is committed to an inclusive culture. As part of this commitment, SoFi offers reasonable accommodations to candidates with physical or mental disabilities. If you need accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, please let your recruiter know or email accommodations@sofi.com. Due to insurance coverage issues, we are unable to accommodate remote work from Hawaii or Alaska at this time. Internal Employees If you are a current employee, do not apply here - please navigate to our Internal Job Board in Greenhouse to apply to our open roles.