Manager, Payroll - US PEO

About Remote

What this job can offer you

We are seeking a Manager, Payroll - US PEO to lead the operational delivery, compliance governance, and continuous improvement of our US PEO payroll function. This role owns the day-to-day PEO payroll operating model, manages risk and escalations, and ensures consistent, compliant payroll delivery across a growing PEO client base.

The US PEO Manager sits at the intersection of Payroll Operations, Tax, Benefits, Product, and Engineering, translating complex PEO requirements into scalable operating standards. This is a hands-on leadership role requiring deep US PEO payroll expertise, strong people and process leadership, and comfort operating in a fast-scaling, remote-first environment.

What you bring

• Several years of US payroll experience, with significant hands-on experience in a PEO environment.
• Proven expertise in multi-state US payroll and co-employment models.
• Strong knowledge of US payroll tax, benefits, and labor compliance.
• Prior experience leading or mentoring payroll professionals.
• Ability to operate independently while managing complex, high-risk payroll scenarios.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain complex payroll issues clearly to non-experts.
• Preferred Qualifications:
  • Experience supporting or scaling PEO payroll operations in a high-growth or tech-enabled company.
  • Exposure to payroll system implementation or internal payroll engine development.
  • Experience partnering with Product or Engineering teams.
  • Familiarity with remote-first, asynchronous work environments.

Key Responsibilities

PEO Payroll Operations & Compliance

• Own end-to-end US PEO payroll operations, including on-cycle, off-cycle, and correction payrolls.
• Ensure accurate handling of multi-state payroll, including work-state vs residence-state taxation under a co-employment model.
• Oversee PEO-specific compliance areas, including:
  • Federal, state, and local tax withholdings and filings
  • SUTA/FUTA and state unemployment complexities
  • Workers’ compensation and benefits-related payroll deductions
  • Co-employment risk and client responsibility boundaries
• Act as the final escalation point for high-risk payroll, tax, or compliance issues.

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Team Leadership & Performance Management

• Lead and develop a team of PEO payroll specialists, providing coaching, feedback, and performance guidance.
• Establish clear expectations around accuracy, timeliness, documentation, and ownership.
• Review payroll outputs, reconciliations, and risk items to ensure operational quality.
• Support onboarding, training, and skill progression for PEO payroll team members.

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Operating Model & Process Improvement

• Define and maintain PEO payroll operating standards, SOPs, and control frameworks.
• Identify operational gaps, risk patterns, and scalability issues; drive process improvements and automation where possible.
• Partner with cross-functional teams to improve payroll workflows, controls, and client experience.
• Ensure strong documentation, audit readiness, and evidence quality.

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Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner closely with Product and Engineering to inform PEO payroll system enhancements and roadmap priorities.
• Collaborate with Tax, Benefits, Legal, and Finance teams to resolve complex PEO issues.
• Provide subject-matter guidance on US PEO feasibility, risk, and scalability.
• Support go-to-market, sales, or implementation teams as an advisor on PEO payroll capabilities and limitations.

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Reporting & Risk Management

• Provide regular updates on operational health, risks, escalations, and performance metrics.
• Own incident management for PEO payroll issues, including root cause analysis and corrective action plans.
• Ensure compliance with internal controls and external regulatory requirements.

Practicals

• You'll report to: Senior Manager, Payroll Operations
• Team: Payroll Operations
• Team size: 1
• Location: United States
• Start date: As soon as possible

Application process

Roughly 2.5 hours across 3 weeks

1. Interview with recruiter
2. Interview with General Manager, PEO
3. Interview with future manager
4. Interview with Senior Director, Payroll Operations
5. Bar Raiser Interview
6. Prior employment verification check

 

Benefits

How you’ll plan your day (and life)

We work async at Remote which means you can plan your schedule around your life (and not around meetings). Read more at remote.com/async.

You will be empowered to take ownership and be proactive. When in doubt you will default to action instead of waiting. Your life-work balance is important and you will be encouraged to put yourself and your family first, and fit work around your needs.

If that sounds like something you want, apply now!

How to apply

1. Please fill out the form below and upload your CV with a PDF format.
2. We kindly ask you to submit your application and CV in English, as this is the standardised language we use here at Remote.
3. If you don’t have an up to date CV but you are still interested in talking to us, please feel free to add a copy of your LinkedIn profile instead.

Not only do we encourage folks from all ethnic groups, genders, sexuality, age, abilities, disability status and any other under-represented group to apply, but we prioritize a sense of belonging. We have 4 ERGs (Women, Disability, Queer, Minorities in Tech) who meet regularly with the People team. During your interviews and beyond, we ask & encourage anybody who needs an accommodation to request one from their recruiter.

We will ask you to voluntarily tell us your pronouns at interview stage, and you will have the option to answer our anonymous demographic questionnaire when you apply below. As an equal employment opportunity employer it’s important to us that our workforce reflects people of all backgrounds, identities, and experiences and this data will help us to stay accountable. We thank you for providing this data, if you chose to.

At Remote, we embrace AI as a valuable tool while prioritizing human creativity and authenticity. We look forward to meeting candidates who balance innovation with genuine expertise and experience. To learn more about Remote's AI guidelines check see here. 

Please note we accept applications on an ongoing basis.