Payroll & Equity Administration Manager

The Role: 

We are seeking a highly detail-oriented and collaborative Payroll & Equity Administration Manager to oversee the Company’s payroll operations and equity compensation programs in a public biotechnology environment. This role is responsible for ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely payroll processing and equity administration, while maintaining strong internal controls and supporting public company reporting requirements.

The Manager will partner closely with Finance, HR, Legal, and external service providers to ensure operational excellence, data integrity, and compliance. This role requires a hands-on operator who is comfortable managing sensitive information, navigating complexity, and driving process improvements in a growing public company.

This role is part of a highly collaborative, in-person team environment that is onsite Monday–Thursday with flexibility.

Here's how you will contribute:

Payroll Administration

• Oversee end-to-end payroll processing in partnership with external payroll providers, ensuring accuracy and timeliness.
• Review and approve payroll registers, funding reports, tax filings, and related reconciliations.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations.
• Reconcile payroll to the general ledger and support month-end close activities.
• Partner with HR on employee lifecycle changes, benefits deductions, and compensation updates.
• Maintain and document payroll-related SOX controls and support audit requests.
• Act as the internal Workday Payroll subject matter expert, supporting configuration, testing, and implementation of payroll-related system changes, including new payroll earnings, deductions, and benefit integrations.
• Maintain deep knowledge of Workday payroll calculation logic and system architecture, ensuring payroll configurations are accurate, scalable, and aligned with regulatory and business requirements.
• Identify opportunities to improve payroll processes, systems integration, and controls.

Equity Administration

• Oversee end-to-end Administration of the Company’s equity compensation programs, in partnership with external service providers, including stock options, RSUs, and ESPP (as applicable).
• Manage grant processing, vesting schedules, exercises, releases, and terminations within the equity administration platform.
• Coordinate equity grant approvals and documentation in partnership with HR and Legal.
• Maintain accurate equity records and perform periodic reconciliations.
• Support preparation of equity-related reports for Finance, including stock-based compensation data and audit support schedules.
• Assist with SEC-related equity reporting requirements (e.g., Section 16 filings, Form 4 support, Proxy, as applicable).
• Maintain and document SOX controls over equity processes and ensure audit readiness.

The Ideal Candidate will have:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• 6–10+ years of payroll and equity administration experience.
• Experience in a public company environment.
• Strong experience with multi-state payroll and complex tax scenarios.
• Hands-on experience with Workday Payroll, including system configuration, payroll calculations, and payroll-related benefits setup.
• Strong understanding of payroll regulations and compliance requirements.
• Experience with equity administration platforms (e.g., Fidelity, E*TRADE).
• Familiarity with stock-based compensation accounting and related financial reporting requirements.
• Experience supporting SOX controls and external audits.
• Strong Excel skills and overall systems aptitude.
• High level of integrity and ability to manage confidential information.

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