Payroll Specialist - US/Canada

About the Role

Sardine is seeking a Payroll Specialist to manage payroll across our global workforce. You'll handle payroll for employees in the United States, Canada, and Lithuania, as well as contractor and EOR payroll through Rippling and Deel. The ideal candidate will possess a solid understanding of payroll procedures and exceptional attention to detail.

You'll also manage payroll taxes and state registrations, retirement plan funding, workers' compensation coverage, and payroll corrections. You'll work closely with People Operations, Finance, and our vendors to make sure employees are paid accurately and on time.

What You'll Do

Global Payroll

• Oversee and execute the end-to-end global payroll across US and other global entities, as well as EOR and contractor arrangements worldwide.
• Process off-cycle and correction payroll runs, including retroactive pay, sign-on bonuses, commissions, garnishments, and short-term, long-term, and state disability payments.
• Manage relationships and SLA performance with global payroll, EOR, and benefits platforms (Rippling, Deel, Fidelity, Wealthsimple).
• Establish standard operating procedures (SOPs), internal controls, and variance reporting standards to ensure 100% precision in period-over-period payroll, off-cycle adjustments, and FX reconciliations.
• Support annual payroll compliance reporting for the US, including the preparation, review, and audit of W-2s.
• Manage payroll tax registrations, agency notices, quarterly amendments, unemployment claims, and year-end corrections.
• Oversee governance, funding, and reconciliation for domestic and international retirement programs (US 401k, Canadian RRSP), resolving complex regulatory or provider challenges.
• Partner with People Ops to ensure tax compliance for global equity awards, Carta transactions, sign-on bonuses, garnishments, and short-term/long-term/state disability disbursements.

Accounting Operations

• Manage employee stipends and expense reimbursements.
• Support accruals, including commissions, bonuses, payroll taxes, and benefits.
• Ensure accuracy of payroll-related balance sheet accounts and support monthly and year-end reconciliations.

What You'll Need

• 5+ years of payroll experience, including independently processing multi-state US payroll.
• Experience with payroll tax compliance and working with state agencies. Canadian payroll experience is required; additional international experience is a plus.
• Experience with correction runs, retroactive payments, tax notices, and year-end reporting.
• Experience with payroll platforms such as Rippling and Deel, and retirement plan vendors such as Fidelity or Wealthsimple.
• Strong knowledge of U.S. federal, state, and local payroll regulations and tax requirements.
• Strong understanding of payroll accounting, including accruals, liabilities, reconciliations, and year-end reporting.
• Experience supporting year-end financial statement audits and preparing payroll audit schedules.
• Ability to analyze payroll data, identify discrepancies, and resolve complex issues.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
• Ability to manage deadlines in a high-compliance, deadline-driven environment.
• High level of integrity, discretion, and professionalism in handling confidential information.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work cross-functionally with People, Finance, IT, and international teams.