Global Payroll Lead

About Mercor Mercor's mission is to organize human intelligence to power the AI economy. We're a leading AI data company, building the layer between human expertise and frontier models. Millions of domain experts on the platform are paid over $4 million per day to train frontier AI models. Mercor's APEX benchmark family measures AI's real-world impact on professional work. Mercor Enterprise brings this same infrastructure to Fortune 500 companies: helping companies capture how their best people actually work, translating that expertise directly back into agents. Mercor is creating a new category of work where expertise powers AI advancement. Achieving this requires an ambitious, fast-paced and deeply committed team. You’ll work alongside researchers, operators, and AI companies at the forefront of shaping the systems that are redefining society. Mercor is a profitable Series C company valued at $10 billion. We work in-person five days a week in our San Francisco, NYC, or London offices. About the Role Mercor is seeking a high-execution payroll leader to spearhead global payroll delivery while scaling our underlying operational infrastructure. In this role, you will hold end-to-end accountability for payroll execution schedules, vendor governance, internal controls, general ledger reconciliations, and complex issue resolution, all while driving high-impact automation initiatives. Additionally, you will orchestrate the seamless transition of acquired talent onto Mercor's unified payroll architecture. Working cross-functionally, you will collaborate closely with Accounting, People Ops, Finance Systems, Legal, and international payroll partners. This position demands a mix of strategic oversight and hands-on execution—diving deep into operational mechanics, driving swift decision-making within structured framework guidelines, and proactively flagging operational bottlenecks to executive leadership. What You'll Do Run employee payroll cycles across assigned countries, coordinating inputs, validations, approvals, funding deadlines, and provider processing so employees are paid accurately and on time. Review new hires, departures, compensation changes, bonuses, benefits, deductions, and equity-related payroll inputs with functional owners; investigate exceptions before approval. Reconcile payroll outputs to approved inputs, funding, and accounting records. Partner with Accounting on journals, accruals, balance sheet reconciliations, and month-end close. Maintain country calendars and evidence of required filings and remittances, working with providers and local advisers to resolve issues and complete year-end activities. Lead payroll workstreams for acquisitions and new-country launches, including data mapping, cutover planning, testing, parallel runs where appropriate, and post-launch reconciliation. Improve HRIS-to-payroll data flows, approval workflows, and reporting. Deliver scoped implementations and vendor transitions with documented requirements and acceptance criteria. Build operating procedures, backup coverage, access controls, and audit evidence, maintaining separate preparation and approval responsibilities for payroll and payments. Resolve employee pay questions clearly and promptly. Track accuracy, on-time delivery, reconciliation aging, and issue resolution, and address recurring causes. Automate repeatable checks and reporting using approved tools, with validation, human review, and appropriate protection of employee data. What We're Looking For 7+ years of progressive payroll experience in high-growth tech startups Hands-on ownership of US payroll and experience delivering payroll in additional countries through local teams or providers. Strong understanding of payroll processing, reconciliations, statutory deadlines, controls, and year-end reporting, with judgment about when to involve local tax or legal specialists. Experience delivering a payroll optimization, vendor transition, acquisition integration, or new-country launch from planning through stabilization. Practical experience with an enterprise HRIS and payroll platform, including data validation, reporting, testing, and troubleshooting. Rippling or comparable systems experience is valuable. Strong analytical skills and attention to detail, with the ability to manage competing deadlines and influence partners without direct authority. Clear communication, sound judgment with confidential information, and willingness to stay close to operational work. A degree in Accounting, Finance, HR, or a related field, or equivalent practical experience. Nice to Have EMEA or APAC payroll Equity or mobility payroll Hourly payroll and timekeeping CPP or comparable certification Compensation Base cash comp from $160K - $185k Generous equity grant vested over 4 years Up to $15k Relocation bonus $10K housing bonus (if you live within 0.5 miles of our office) $1.5K monthly stipend for meals Free Equinox membership $200 monthly laundry reimbursement $200 monthly personal wellness reimbursement Health, Dental, Vision insurance 401(k) with company match