Payroll Specialist

Exciting, well-funded VC-backed software firm in the McLean/Vienna area is adding a Payroll Specialist to its growing Accounting/Finance/HR team. This is a newly created role due to careful planning and subsequent amazing growth.

***This position is in-office, with reasonableness and flexibility…. Come experience our amazing culture!!!***

***Note: compensation is a starting base salary of $90,000 – $100,000 + disc. bonuses + equity grant + outstandingly competitive benefits***

A brief rundown about the opportunity….

This individual will own core payroll, support compensation, and Accounts Payable processes. This hire will create real leverage for the VP Finance/Controller by taking on meaningful projects, not just transactions. He/she will help build scalable people and finance infrastructure as the company grows in headcount, customers, and geographies. Will have the chance to work around a technically exceptional product and team in a company that values autonomy and clear results.

The Payroll Specialist will run recurring cycles (payroll, commissions, AP/credit cards) while creating leverage for the VP Finance/Controller by taking on ad-hoc projects that support headcount growth, international expansion, and future system upgrades. This person is a core member of a lean Finance team, responsible for accurate, timely payroll and sales compensation while keeping day-to-day operations tight and well-controlled.

Here's a little bit about the role….

This is a hands-on, operator/builder role for someone who likes clean execution, simple processes, and jumping in where the business needs help most:

• Run end-to-end of all payrolls each cycle, ensuring accurate, timely pay, deductions, withholdings, tax fillings and clean payroll-related JEs, reconciliations, and accruals.
• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations as headcount and locations grow, and help lay the groundwork for future international payroll (e.g., via EORs or local providers).
• Own calculations for sales commissions and variable compensation, translating plans into clear, auditable logic and preparing simple statements for eligible employees.
• Administer corporate credit card and expense program and support AP bill processing (coding, operations, payment scheduling, vendor and tax documentation).
• Act as a responsive point of contact for employee payroll and comp questions while upholding strong documentation and controls.
• Spot and implement process improvements across payroll, comp, and AP to reduce manual work, errors, and cycle time.
• Partner closely with People, Sales, RevOps, and Finance leadership to ensure HRIS, payroll, and GL data stay aligned and useful for decision-making.
• Take on ad-hoc and growth projects that create leverage for the Controller, from tool evaluations and data clean-up to supporting new entities, countries, or compensation programs.

The type of experience we would like!

• 3–5+ years of hands-on experience in payroll, compensation operations, and/or AP, ideally in a high-growth or startup environment.
• Track record owning multi-state U.S. payroll and contributing to sales commission or other variable compensation calculations.
• High integrity and discretion with confidential payroll, compensation, and employee data, with strong attention to detail and follow-through.
• Clear, empathetic communicator who can explain payroll and comp topics to non-finance stakeholders and build trust with employees.
• Process- and systems-minded operator who enjoys simplifying, documenting, and improving how work gets done.
• Strong command of payroll fundamentals and comfort working in modern payroll/HRIS, AP, and expense tools (e.g., Gusto, Rippling, Justworks, ADP, Ramp, Brex, Bill.com, or similar).
• Proficiency with spreadsheets (Excel or Google Sheets) for building and auditing models, reconciliations, and simple analyses.
• Comfortable in a fast-changing, lean environment and motivated to pick up ad hoc projects that support firm’s growth and create leverage for the VP Finance/Controller.
• Bring a great attitude, team spirit and the ability to grow your career!