Payroll Lead - TikTok USDS-JV - Los Angeles

The TikTok USDS-JV Payroll team is growing, and we're seeking an enterprise-caliber, strategic, and operationally strong Payroll Lead to build team capability and drive operational excellence. Operating as a team lead within the HR Operations team, and partnering with executive business, finance, and technical leaders, this role will drive payroll capability modernizations, long-term operational scaling strategies, and macro payroll architecture transformation inside a highly secure environment. The ideal candidate will have deep experience analyzing, designing, and implementing scalable, compliant payroll operations within complex corporate matrices and technical talent bases. You will possess the ability to assess current-state processing effectiveness and build future-state payroll delivery models that support rapid growth, system efficiency, and strict alignment with national security and data sovereignty goals.

Responsibilities

• Project-manage and execute the end-to-end migration of payroll functions to a self-managed model, including vendor selection, contract negotiations, and system integrations
• Design and implement the global payroll infrastructure, compliance frameworks, and internal controls for US, UK, and Australia entities
• Hire, mentor, and manage a small team of payroll professionals (Senior Specialist and Administrator), establishing OKRs and workflows
• Select and manage global payroll vendors, ensuring seamless APIs and data flows between HRIS, Time & Attendance, and Finance systems
• Act as the final escalation point for complex tax filings, multi-state registrations, corporate audits, and regulatory changes across all three jurisdictions
• Prepare and present labor cost analysis, variance reporting, and funding forecasts to leadership
• Review and audit end-to-end payroll processes regularly to eliminate manual work, mitigate risk, and maximize efficiency

Minimum Qualification(s)

• 5+ years of progressive payroll experience, with a proven track record in a payroll leadership or supervisory role
• Demonstrated success leading a payroll system migration, or implementation from scratch
• Strong expertise in US multi-state payroll regulations and compliance, with exposure to or experience managing payroll in non-US environments (UK (HMRC) and Australian (ATO) preferred)
• Master-level proficiency in modern enterprise payroll/HRIS tools (e.g., ADP, Workday, Dayforce) and complex data mapping
• Exceptional leadership, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills

Preferred Qualification(s)

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting, or a related field preferred