Sr. Manager Of Payroll And T&E

Alliance Resource Group is partnered with a venture-backed advanced technology company in the South Bay on their search for a Manager or Sr. Manager of Payroll and T&E. The company recently closed a significant funding round at a multi-billion-dollar valuation and is in a high-growth phase, scaling headcount quickly across multiple states.This is a greenfield seat and the first dedicated payroll and T&E hire on the team, reporting directly to the Corporate Controller. The role is hands-on day one with full ownership of payroll processing and the T&E program, plus building out the systems, controls, and policy infrastructure that will scale with the company. The current payroll and T&E platforms are implemented but need to be optimized and built out further.KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own end-to-end payroll processing for a rapidly growing, multi-state employee base, ensuring accuracy and timeliness across the payroll cycle*
• Maintain payroll records and ensure compliance with federal, state, and local wage and hour laws, tax regulations, and reporting requirements*
• Oversee payroll tax filings, reconciliations, W-2 preparation, and year-end close*
• Partner with HR on new hires, terminations, leaves of absence, compensation adjustments, and benefits deductions, and serve as the primary point of contact for employee payroll inquiries*
• Continuously evaluate and improve payroll processes, systems, and controls*
• Administer the company's T&E program, including policy governance, expense report review and approval workflows, reimbursement processing, and IRS compliance*
• Manage relationships with T&E platform vendors and corporate card program administrators, and produce regular reporting and analytics on spend trends*
• Educate employees and managers on T&E policy, update policy as business needs evolve, and support related system implementations, upgrades, and integrations

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field*
• 5+ years of payroll experience in a fast-paced, high-growth environment, including multi-state payroll*
• Experience administering a corporate T&E program*
• Solid understanding of federal and multi-state payroll tax law, wage and hour regulations, year-end activities, and IRS requirements for T&E reimbursement*
• Proficiency with a major payroll system (Rippling, ADP, Workday, or similar) and Microsoft Excel*
• Builder mindset with specific examples of taking a payroll or T&E function from a low baseline to streamlined and scalable*
• Highly organized and detail-oriented with strong discretion handling confidential information

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation*
• Hands-on experience with Rippling*
• Experience with Ramp or similar expense management platforms*
• Experience partnering with HR and Finance on compensation planning, audits, or system implementations*
• Exposure to multi-entity, multi-currency, or international payroll*
• Comfort working in ambiguous, rapidly changing environments