Payroll & Benefits Manager

Join a team where your impact reaches beyond the stars! At Terran Orbital, you’re not just part of the system – you’re a vital force propelling our mission forward. As trailblazers in satellite manufacturing and aerospace innovation, we shatter boundaries daily to deliver groundbreaking solutions that power our nation’s defense and commercial missions. We are a unique, fast growing, and trusted team dedicated to swiftly and efficiently designing, building, launching, and operating state of the art satellites for advanced mission constellations. If you’re driven by purpose, inspired by challenges, and ready to leave your mark on the universe, you’ll find a home and endless opportunities for growth here. Together, let’s redefine what is possible in orbit and beyond!

Summary 

Terran Orbital is seeking an experienced Payroll & Benefits Manager  to join our dynamic team. Reporting to the   VP, Human Resources the Payroll & Benefits Manager will work within a multidisciplinary team to oversee and manage the payroll, benefits and leave functions of the organization.  The key focus areas are to ensure payments are processed on time, accurately, and in compliance with government regulations. The candidate will be responsible for vendor relationships and internal processes and educating, directing, navigating, and addressing issues concerning employee benefits, including but not limited to healthcare, dental and vision, life, disability, leave management, COBRA, FSA, wellness, and 401K. The candidate will oversee and run a bi-weekly payroll consisting of exempt and non-exempt payroll for employees in multi-state locations, including multi shift/day/alternative work week in CA.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Facilitate audits by providing records and documentation to auditors
• Identify and recommend updates to payroll accounting software, systems, and procedures
• Act as a subject matter expert and resource to others in the payroll and leave process
• Analyze and respond to complex matters requiring comprehensive knowledge of payroll policies and procedures
• Research and interpret a variety of complex technical payroll information in response to inquiries from employees and management
• Advise, interpret, and provide direction to management and staff on rules and procedures about payroll best practices
• Initiate payroll processing quality assurance reviews to identify training issues and problem-prone processes to ensure optimal efficiency and error-free operations
• Review and audit payroll batches before submission for accuracy
• Interface with benefits broker to ensure proper deduction of benefits from payroll
• Define, communicate, and educate the business at large on pay philosophy, policy, and practice, ensuring all compensation programs are administered equitably and consistently
• Ensure people data and systems scale to support business objectives and meet growing organizational needs; leverage data to identify and implement improvements in business processes and employee experience
• Maintain vendor relationships and internal processes and educated, directed, navigated, and addressed issues regarding employee benefits, including but not limited to healthcare, dental and vision, life, disability, leave management, COBRA, FSA, wellness, and 401K
• Provide expertise and insight to senior leadership on employee benefits programs, enhancement, and changes to consider aligning with the mission of attracting, hiring, and retaining the best talent
• Provide support to employees by conveying company benefits information and details about updates, changes, and essential timelines
• Perform audits in the Paychex system to ensure accuracy in employee enrollments and costs
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local requirements

Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Business Administration, Human Resources, or a related field required
• 5+ years of payroll processing and payroll management (servicing multi-state and multi-division corporations) strongly desired
• Demonstrated experience with Paychex Flex payroll process at a SME competence level
• Demonstrate experience with varied benefits plans and administration
• Experience working with a diverse employee base (non-exempt/exempt) is required
• Demonstrate ability to be an advisor to leadership, management, and employees alike
• Demonstrate ability to implement/optimize processes, procedures, and programs, coupled with an interest in helping build a department from foundation up
• Ability to process and manipulate large spreadsheets of data, including exporting and importing data from a payroll system
• Extensive knowledge of CA (and out-of-state) payroll principles, practices, regulations, and procedures
• Extensive knowledge of applicable state and federal payroll and related tax regulations, legislation, and guidelines, including, but not limited to, writs of garnishment, child support, levies, subpoenas, etc
• Strong sense of urgency to meet strict deadlines
• Solid working knowledge of HRIS systems (strong background in ADP experience highly desired)
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (especially Word, Excel, and Outlook)
• Excellent communication skills (both verbal and written)
• U.S. Person or lawful permanent resident to comply with U.S. government space technology export regulations.

 Benefits

• 100% Company-paid comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your dependents
• 401(k) Match
• Flexible Time Off (FTO)
• Education Reimbursement
• Competitive Paid Parental Leave

About Terran Orbital 

Terran Orbital is a leading manufacturer of satellite products primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries. Terran Orbital provides end-to-end satellite solutions by combining satellite design, production, launch planning, mission operations, and on-orbit support to meet the needs of the most demanding military, civil, and commercial customers. Learn more at www.terranorbital.com

Physical Demands

An employee must meet the physical demands described to perform the essential functions of this job successfully. In performing the duties of this job, the employee is routinely required to sit or stand for long durations of time, in addition to bending, reaching, and walking. This would require the ability to lift or move objects up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift or move objects up to 25 pounds. This position is generally sedentary, with substantial computer usage.

Work Environment

The job operates in a professional office environment but in a manufacturing company. This job routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and scanners.

Disclaimers

To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State. In addition, please note that this position may require a current United States National Security clearance or eligibility for such a clearance.

Terran Orbital is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. We consider applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or membership in any other group protected by federal, state, or local law.

If you need assistance or accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at hr@terranorbital.com.

Terran Orbital does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or staffing firms. To conduct business with Terran Orbital, a Master Services Agreement (MSA) must be executed and confirmed prior to submitting any information relating to a potential candidate. Without a signed MSA, Terran Orbital shall not be responsible to any individual or entity for any payment relating to any form of fee or compensation.

And, in the event that a resume or candidate is submitted by a recruiter, an employment agency, or a staffing firm without a fully executed MSA, Terran Orbital has the unrestricted right to pursue and hire any of those candidate(s) without any legal or financial responsibility to the recruiter, agency, and/or firm.