US Payroll Operations

About the Team OpenAI Finance is responsible for ensuring the organization is set up for success in pursuit of its mission. OpenAI’s Payroll team is responsible for timely and accurate processing of payroll and ensuring compliance with all statutory regulations. About the Role At OpenAI, payroll is not a back-office function — it is mission-critical infrastructure. We are seeking a seasoned US Payroll Operations expert to scale, and continuously improve the payroll and payroll-support ecosystem that serves one of the fastest-growing and most technically sophisticated organizations in the world. This role is based in San Francisco, CA. We use a hybrid work model of 3 days in the office per week and offer relocation assistance to new employees. In this role, you will: Process biweekly payrolls for 5,000+ US employees, ensuring accurate and timely payroll delivery for exempt and non-exempt populations while maintaining compliance across federal, state and local regulations. Support payroll activities related to mergers & acquisitions, including final payroll processing, tax account closures, W-2 reporting, payroll record retention, compliance requirements and payroll integration or wind-down activities. Lead day-to-day workflows with outsourced payroll/BPO partners to ensure SLAs are met, quality standards are upheld and identify opportunities to improve quality, efficiency and controls. Deliver exceptional employee support by resolving payroll inquiries with a strong service mindset, ensuring clear communication, timely resolution and adherence to established SLAs. Drive continuous process improvement through automation, AI-enabled solutions, workflow redesign and system optimization, reducing manual effort while enhancing accuracy, compliance and employee experiences. Create and maintain process documentation, SOPs and process maps to support scalable payroll operations and audit readiness. Partner closely with HR, Benefits and other cross-functional teams to ensure clean upstream inputs and accurate downstream reporting. Create and maintain employee-facing payroll resources, knowledge base articles and self-service tools that improve transparency, reduce inquiry volume and improve the employee experience. You might thrive in this role if you have: 7+ years of progressive experience in payroll operations, preferably in a fast-paced or high-growth environment. Strong working knowledge of U.S. federal, state, and local payroll regulations, including employee mobility, multi-state taxation and standard payroll practices. Hands-on experience with Workday Payroll required. ADP SmartCompliance experience is a plus. Ability to independently manage multiple competing priorities, take ownership of outcomes, and deliver high-quality work under tight deadlines. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a high attention to detail. Clear and concise communication skills, with the ability to partner effectively with internal and external stakeholders. Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, HR, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. CPP certification is strongly preferred. About OpenAI OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company dedicated to ensuring that general-purpose artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity. We push the boundaries of the capabilities of AI systems and seek to safely deploy them to the world through our products. AI is an extremely powerful tool that must be created with safety and human needs at its core, and to achieve our mission, we must encompass and value the many different perspectives, voices, and experiences that form the full spectrum of humanity. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. For additional information, please see OpenAI’s Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity Policy Statement . Background checks for applicants will be administered in accordance with applicable law, and qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment consistent with those laws, including the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, for US-based candidates. For unincorporated Los Angeles County workers: we reasonably believe that criminal history may have a direct, adverse and negative relationship with the following job duties, potentially resulting in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment: protect computer hardware entrusted to you from theft, loss or damage; return all computer hardware in your possession (including the data contained therein) upon termination of employment or end of assignment; and maintain the confidentiality of proprietary, confidential, and non-public information. In addition, job d