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Cognition is an applied AI lab building end-to-end software agents, including Devin, the first AI software engineer. The founding team includes world-class competitive programmers, former founders, and leaders from Scale AI, Palantir, Cursor, Waymo, Tesla, and Google DeepMind.
You will own and scale the global payroll function while building operational foundations for the company's next growth stage. This is a full-cycle payroll operations role managing employees, contractors, and commission recipients across multiple countries.
Key responsibilities:
- Own global payroll end-to-end across U.S. and international jurisdictions, ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely processing every cycle
- Design and improve systems, automation, controls, and documentation to enable 2x-10x volume scaling without proportional effort increase
- Manage relationships with payroll providers, EORs, and benefits administrators, holding them to high standards
- Coordinate domestic and international payroll tax registrations, withholding, deposits, filings, reconciliations, and tax notice resolution
- Ensure accurate payroll treatment of commissions, bonuses, taxable benefits, relocation payments, and other complex compensation
- Administer 401(k) contributions, payroll deductions, contractor payments, garnishments, and benefits inputs
- Partner cross-functionally with Finance, Accounting, People Ops, Tax, and Legal teams
Required qualifications:
- 5+ years in payroll, accounting operations, or finance operations with ownership of complex payroll in high-growth environments
- Deep domestic and international payroll experience with exposure to EORs, global payroll providers, and cross-border employee matters
- Strong command of U.S. payroll tax compliance (federal, state, local withholding, deposits, filings, reconciliations, reporting)
- Working knowledge of international payroll tax and withholding concepts
- Fluency with enterprise payroll platforms (ADP, Workday, Rippling, or similar)
- Based in San Francisco, willing to work in-office 5 days per week
