Payroll Analyst

Chainguard is the trusted source for open source. By delivering hardened, secure, and production-ready builds of all the open source software engineers and AI agents rely on, Chainguard helps organizations build faster, stay compliant, and eliminate risk.

Our customers include Fortune 500 enterprises and global industry leaders, including Anduril, Canva, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, OpenAI, Snap Inc., and Snowflake.

Chainguard is venture-backed by leading investors, including Amplify, IVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mantis VC, Redpoint Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and Spark Capital.

The role, in a nutshell:

We’re hiring a Payroll Analyst to support global payroll operations as Chainguard scales. This role focuses on payroll accuracy, compliance, and process improvement across multiple countries, with a strong emphasis on pre-payroll analytics and audit.

You’ll partner closely with Accounting, Finance, and cross-functional teams to ensure payroll runs smoothly, discrepancies are caught early, and systems continue to evolve with the business. This is a hands-on role for someone who enjoys working with data, improving workflows, and building scalable payroll processes.

If you’re detail-oriented, analytically strong, and comfortable operating in a fast-moving environment, this is a high-impact opportunity.

What you’ll do:

Own payroll accuracy and analytics

• Perform pre-payroll audits for U.S. payroll to identify and resolve discrepancies before submission
• Analyze payroll data and deliver reporting and insights to Finance and leadership
• Review payroll inputs (commissions, bonuses, adjustments) for accuracy
• Conduct regular audits and investigate variances or anomalies

Support payroll operations and execution

• Assist with payroll cycles, including off-cycle payments and adjustments
• Prepare payroll inputs and support EIB uploads
• Maintain accurate payroll data across systems and vendor platforms
• Respond to employee payroll inquiries and troubleshoot issues

Partner on global payroll compliance

• Support payroll tax administration across state and local jurisdictions
• Partner with global payroll vendors on tax registrations, jurisdiction setup, and compliance
• Track and resolve tax-related cases, including TPA/POA documentation and tax ID issues

Improve systems and processes

• Identify opportunities to improve payroll workflows, reporting, and automation
• Collaborate with Finance and HRIS teams to strengthen integrations and data integrity
• Support payroll reporting, reconciliations, and ad hoc projects as the company scales

What we’re looking for:

• 5+ years of payroll experience, ideally in a high-growth or global environment
• Strong analytical skills with experience auditing payroll data and identifying discrepancies
• Experience supporting U.S. payroll operations, with exposure to international payroll
• Hands-on experience with Workday Payroll
• Familiarity with OneSource Virtual (OSV)
• Experience working with global payroll vendors (e.g. Deel, Remote)
• Experience preparing payroll imports or EIB uploads
• High attention to detail and ability to manage data across multiple systems
• Comfort partnering with Finance, People, and cross-functional teams
• Self-starter mindset with the ability to operate in a fast-moving environment
• Interest in improving payroll processes, reporting, and automation

Who we need:

We need someone who is an equal parts analyst and operator.

You should be comfortable digging into payroll data, catching issues before they surface, and working across systems and teams to keep payroll accurate and compliant. At the same time, you’re always looking for ways to make things better—whether that’s improving reporting, automating workflows, or strengthening processes as we scale.

This is a role for someone who enjoys solving problems, operating with precision, and building more efficient systems over time.

If you’re looking for a high-impact role where you can help shape global payroll operations and contribute to scalable infrastructure, we’d love to talk.

About Us

We live and breathe our company values:

• We are customer obsessed — We focus on delivering solutions to our customers that create value and make their lives better.
• We have a bias for intentional action — We prioritize, plan, try things, and fail fast.
• We don't take ourselves too seriously (but we do serious work) — We are solving an important problem which takes focus, but we also like to enjoy the journey.
• We trust each other and assume good intentions — We're transparent with decisions to empower team members to make well informed decisions.

A few of the benefits we offer:

• Flexible & Remote-First Culture: Work remotely with team meetup opportunities, bi-annual destination summits, and a monthly stipend for coworking spaces, phone and internet costs.
• Our Approach to Equity: Receive stock options upon hire and promotion. Plus, you can participate in secondary offerings and have 10 years to exercise your options (yes, you read that correctly: 10 years!).
• 100% Covered Health Insurance: We cover 100% of your health, vision and dental insurance premiums for you and your dependents. Nothing comes out of your paycheck.
• ∞ Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need – to do our best work, we need to recharge and reset.
• 18 Weeks Paid Parental Leave: We offer 18 weeks for birthing parents and 12 weeks for non-birthing parents, with the option to use it all at once or throughout your child's first year.

If your experience is close but doesn't fulfill all requirements, please apply. We're building the best team in technology and are focused on hiring "Chainguardians" with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences.

Chainguard is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based upon race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health decisions, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, political views or activity, or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law.

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Chainguard will process your personal data in accordance with Chainguard's Global Candidate Privacy Notice.