Why This Job is Featured on The SaaS Jobs
This Senior Payroll Analyst role stands out in SaaS because payroll sits at the intersection of global hiring, equity-heavy compensation, and audit readiness. The listing signals a modern SaaS finance stack through deep Workday ownership and close partnering across HR, Legal, Benefits, and Stock Administration, reflecting how subscription businesses operationalise people operations at scale across jurisdictions.
For SaaS career progression, the most durable value here is the blend of operational control and systems optimisation. Exposure to equity payroll events, month end close, and SOX style controls builds a toolkit that transfers across many SaaS models, especially where headcount growth and multi region compliance create recurring complexity. Workday configuration, reporting, and troubleshooting experience also compounds over time, as payroll teams are often central to automation and data quality initiatives.
This position is best suited to someone who prefers being accountable for outcomes and enjoys structured problem solving with high stakes accuracy. It fits a professional who is comfortable navigating competing deadlines, collaborating across functions, and translating detailed payroll mechanics into reliable processes inside an evolving SaaS environment.
The section above is editorial commentary from The SaaS Jobs, provided to help SaaS professionals understand the role in a broader industry context.
Job Description
About The Role
We’re looking for a Senior Payroll Analyst who can operate as both an owner and a problem-solver—someone who takes pride in running payroll accurately, efficiently, and without surprises. This role is responsible for end-to-end payroll processing across the US and Canada and plays a critical role in ensuring employees are paid correctly and on time, every time.
You’ll sit within the Finance organization and partner closely with HR, Legal, Benefits, and Stock Administration. This isn’t just a processing role—you’ll be deeply involved in equity compensation payroll, month-end close, compliance, and system optimization within Workday. The environment is fast-paced and evolving, so success in this role requires both precision and adaptability.
If you enjoy building structure, improving processes, and being the person people rely on when things get complex, this role will give you a lot of room to make an impact.
As a Senior Payroll Analyst, you will:
- Own end-to-end payroll operations for US (multi-state) and Canadian employees across semi-monthly and bi-weekly cycles, ensuring all payroll inputs (new hires, terminations, tax updates, garnishments, etc.) are processed accurately and on time
- Act as the primary payroll point of contact for employees and internal stakeholders, resolving inquiries with a high level of accuracy, professionalism, and urgency
- Lead payroll system operations in Workday, including configuring deductions and withholdings, managing EIB uploads, building reports, and troubleshooting issues in partnership with HRIS
- Manage equity compensation payroll events, including RSUs, NSOs, and ISOs, ensuring proper taxation, reporting, and reconciliation in coordination with Stock Administration and external platforms
- Support month-end close and accounting activities, including preparing journal entries, reconciling payroll-related GL accounts, and analyzing variances in partnership with Accounting
- Ensure compliance across jurisdictions, staying up to date on US federal, state, and local regulations as well as Canadian provincial requirements
- Own year-end payroll processes, including W-2 T4, and T2200 preparation, reconciliations, and filings, ensuring everything is accurate and submitted on time
- Drive process improvements and automation, identifying opportunities to increase efficiency, reduce manual work, and strengthen internal controls
- Support audits and SOX compliance efforts, maintaining documentation, executing controls, and partnering with auditors as needed
You'll be a great addition to the team if:
- You’ve worked in a high-growth or fast-moving environment and know how to balance speed with precision (you don’t sacrifice one for the other)
- You’re comfortable navigating ambiguity and can independently prioritize when multiple deadlines compete for your attention
- You have experience working within SOX-controlled environments and understand the importance of documentation and audit readiness
- You’ve been involved in Workday Payroll implementations, upgrades, or system enhancements and enjoy improving how systems operate
- You take a proactive, ownership-driven approach—you don’t wait for problems to escalate, you spot and solve them early
- You’re a strong cross-functional partner who can build trust with Finance, HR, Legal, and external vendors
- You enjoy digging into the details but can also step back and think about process improvements at a higher level
At a minimum, you need to have:
- 5+ years of hands-on experience managing payroll in Workday, with Workday Payroll as the primary system of record
- Proven experience running full-cycle payroll for US (multi-state) and Canadian employees
- Deep understanding of equity compensation payroll, including RSU, NSO, and ISO taxation, processing, and reporting requirements
- Experience supporting month-end close, including preparing journal entries and reconciling payroll-related GL accounts
- Strong knowledge of US payroll tax laws (federal, state, and local), with working knowledge of Canadian payroll regulations
- Advanced proficiency in Excel, including pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, and managing large datasets
- Exceptional attention to detail and a track record of maintaining high levels of accuracy in complex payroll environments
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot issues and identify root causes
Who We Are
The Company: Amplitude is filled with humble, life-long learners who are eager to help one another and the company succeed. Our values of growth mindset, ownership, and humility are core to the way we work: we’re tenacious in the face of challenges, we take the initiative to solve problems that drive our shared success, and we operate from a place of empathy and openness, seeking to understand many points of view.
The Product: Amplitude is a digital analytics platform—we help companies capture data they can trust, uncover clear insights about customer behavior, and take faster action. This empowers teams to build better product experiences that drive business growth. We’re super proud of what we’ve built and continue to expand: a platform that empowers companies to thrive in the digital era.
We care about the well-being of our team: We offer competitive pay and benefits packages that reflect our commitment to the health and well-being of our Ampliteers.
Some of our benefit programs include:
- Excellent Medical, Dental and Vision insurance coverages, with 100% employer-paid premiums for employee Medical, Dental, Vision on select plans
- Flexible time off, paid holidays, and more
- Generous stipends to spend on what matters most to you, whether that’s wellness (monthly), commuter transit/parking (monthly), learning and development (quarterly), home office equipment (annual), and much more
- Excellent Parental benefits including: 12-20 weeks of Paid Parental Leave, Carrot Fertility Benefits/Adoption/Surrogacy support, Back-up Child Care support
- Mental health and wellness benefits including no cost employee access to Modern Health coaching & therapy Sessions and high quality physician office experience via One Medical membership (select U.S. locations only)
- Employee Stock Purchase Program (ESPP)
Other fun facts about Amplitude:
- We were recognized in the Newsweek Excellence Index 2024.
- Our customers love us! They've said we're the #1 product analytics solution for 19 quarters in a row on G2.
- We care A LOT about product innovation. Fast Company called us the #3 most innovative enterprise company in the world.
- We invest in our people. We offer mentorship programs, management training, and wellness initiatives.
- We give back to our communities. We give every Ampliteer a charitable giving grant and paid volunteer time off.
- We were founded in 2012, went public via a direct listing in September 2021, and are now trading under the ticker $AMPL.
- We’re a global and fast-growing team! We have employees around the world and offices in San Francisco (HQ), New York, Vancouver, Amsterdam, London, Paris, Singapore, and Tokyo.
- Our mascot is Data Monster, who loves to chow down on numbers, charts, and graphs. Nom nom.
Amplitude provides equal employment opportunities (EEO). All applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or sexual orientation.
This role is eligible for equity, benefits and other forms of compensation.
Based on Colorado law, the following details are for individuals who will work for Amplitude in Colorado. Colorado range: $107,000 - $161,000 total target cash (inclusive of bonus or commission)
Based on legislation in New York City, the following details are for individuals who will work for Amplitude in New York City. New York City salary range: $121,000 - $181,000 total target cash (inclusive of bonus or commission)
Based on legislation in California, the following details are for individuals who will work for Amplitude in San Francisco Bay Area of California. Salary range: $121,000 - $181,000 total target cash (inclusive of bonus or commission)
Based on legislation in California, the following details are for individuals who will work for Amplitude in California outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. California salary range: $107,000 - $161,000 total target cash (inclusive of bonus or commission)
Based on legislation in Washington state, the following details are for individuals who will work for Amplitude in Washington state. Washington salary range: $107,000 - $161,000 total target cash (inclusive of bonus or commission)
Based on legislation in Washington state, the following details are for individuals who will work for Amplitude in Washington only: unlimited PTO, 10 to 13 holidays annually (will vary), medical dental and vision PPO and CDHP plans. Finally, a company sponsored 401(k) retirement plan.
