Director of Payroll at Anthropic
- Company: Anthropic
- Location: San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA
- Employment type: full-time
- Posted: 2026-08-21
About Anthropic
Anthropic’s mission is to create reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems. We want AI to be safe and beneficial for our users and for society as a whole. Our team is a quickly growing group of committed researchers, engineers, policy experts, and business leaders working together to build beneficial AI systems.
About the role
You'll own US and Canada payroll operations end-to-end — hands-on in Workday, close to the details — while also managing and developing 1–2 direct reports on the US team. You'll report directly to the Head of Global Payroll and be a key leader in making sure North American payroll keeps pace with Anthropic's growth.
Strategic importance: You'll be a key contributor to our compliance initiative — our framework for managing payroll tax obligations across US & Canada. You'll also be part of the team driving AI adoption within payroll: we're actively building out how AI tools can improve reconciliation accuracy, error detection, and reporting workflows. This isn't a future initiative — it's happening now.
Responsibilities
US Payroll Operations
- Own full-cycle payroll processing for all US entities — multi-state, multi-frequency, exempt and non-exempt populations
- Process complex equity compensation including RSUs, ISOs, and NSOs, ensuring accurate tax withholding and timely reporting
- Manage high-volume payments: bonuses, commissions, severance, and equity events
- Oversee quarter-end, W-2 preparation, year-end reconciliations, and resolution of federal and state tax notices
- Maintain and continuously improve Workday payroll configuration — identify automation opportunities and lead optimization initiatives
Canada Payroll Management
- Oversee Canada payroll operations in partnership with our PwC Global Payroll Platform, developing expertise in CRA compliance, T4s, Records of Employment, and multi-province processing
- Partner with our international payroll team to ensure Canada stays integrated into our global compliance posture
- Build out Canada payroll SOPs as the function matures
Team Leadership & Development
- Manage and develop 1–2 direct reports on the US payroll team — set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, and invest in their growth
- Build a team culture of accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement
- Serve as the escalation point for complex payroll issues and employee inquiries
Cross-Functional Partnership & Compliance
- Partner with Corporate Accounting on payroll journal entries, accruals, and month-end close
- Work closely with Tax, Benefits, People Systems, and Employment Legal to ensure data integrity and compliance
- Support audit readiness and internal & systems controls
AI Adoption & Process Improvement
- Champion the use of AI tools within the payroll function — identify high-value use cases for reconciliation, anomaly detection, and reporting
- Lead or support process improvement projects that reduce manual effort, increase accuracy, and improve the employee payroll experience
- Document processes, build SOPs, and contribute to the team's knowledge infrastructure
You may be a good fit if you have
- 8+ years of payroll experience, with at least 3 years in a senior or manager-level role owning US multi-state payroll end-to-end
- Hold a CPP (Certified Payroll Professional) certification
- Direct people management experience — you've managed at least one FTE directly, not just contractors or mentorship relationships
- Strong Workday experience — payroll module preferred; HCM with direct payroll involvement and a clear path to Workday Payroll ownership is considered
- Deep familiarity with equity compensation processing (RSUs, ISOs, NSOs) and the tax implications at both federal and state levels
- Demonstrated ability to thri
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