Payroll Staff Accountant

About The Role Sift is hiring a Staff Accountant to own end-to-end payroll operations for a multi-state and global employee population. This role sits within the Finance & Accounting organization and is designed for a detail-oriented payroll professional who can run bi-weekly and monthly payroll cycles with precision, maintain accounting accuracy through timely journal entries and reconciliations, and partner cross-functionally with Finance and HR to support a growing organization. The ideal candidate brings deep multi-state payroll experience, comfort with ADP, and a continuous improvement mindset — someone who's as focused on building better processes as they are on getting every cycle right.

Responsibilities

Payroll Processing

• Process bi-weekly payroll for a multi-state employee population and monthly payroll for a global employee population, including pay calculations, validations, audits, and finalization
• Maintain payroll accuracy for earnings, deductions, garnishments, taxes, retro adjustments, leave pay, and off-cycle payments
• Support year-end activities including W-2 preparation, audits, and payroll calendar planning

Accounting & Reconciliation

• Post payroll-related journal entries to the General Ledger and perform payroll reconciliations, resolving variances in a timely manner
• Partner with Finance on payroll reporting and balancing
• Review, code, and approve employee expense reports and corporate card transactions; post related journal entries and perform reconciliations

Reporting & Systems

• Create and enhance payroll reports and dashboards to support operational needs, trend analysis, and leadership requests
• Support system enhancements, testing, and implementations, including upgrades, configuration changes, process documentation, and user support

Process & Controls

• Maintain documentation, SOPs, and internal controls aligned with company policy and audit expectations
• Assist with continuous improvement initiatives that streamline payroll workflows, strengthen controls, and improve the employee experience
• Take on ad hoc projects and requests as assigned

Minimum Qualifications

• 3–5 years of hands-on payroll processing experience, including bi-weekly payroll cycles
• Multi-state payroll experience with a proven ability to research and apply changing payroll laws and regulations
• Experience with ADP Workforce Now
• Strong Excel skills, including lookups, pivot tables, and data validation
• High attention to detail, strong sense of ownership, and a commitment to accuracy and confidentiality
• Ability to manage competing priorities and meet payroll cutoff timelines

Collaborative, service-oriented communicator who can explain payroll topics clearly to non-payroll stakeholders

• Continuous improvement mindset with comfort learning new tools and processes

Nice to Have

• ERP experience, Netsuite preferred
• Expense Software experience (Navan, Expensify, Brex)

Let’s build it together: At Sift, we are intentionally building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We believe that diversity drives innovation, equity is a fundamental right, and inclusion is a basic human need. We envision a place where all Sifties feel secure sharing their authentic selves and diverse experiences with their teams, their customers, and their community – ultimately using this empowerment and authenticity to build trust and create a safer Internet. This document provides transparency around how Sift handles the personal data of job applicants: https://sift.com/recruitment-privacy A little about us: Sift is the AI-powered fraud platform securing digital trust for leading global businesses. Our deep investments in machine learning and user identity, a data network scoring 1 trillion events per year, and a commitment to long-term customer success empower more than 700 customers to grow fearlessly. Global brands rely on Sift to unlock growth and deliver seamless consumer experiences. Visit us at sift.com and follow us on LinkedIn.