Payroll Manager
Decagon is hiring a Payroll Manager in San Francisco, United States. It pays $140k-$170k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Decagon.
Level's read on this job
- Little AI ●○○○ is how Level rates this role: aI is not part of the work.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include Carta, AI agents and payroll management.
- Level classifies it as a mid-level role.
- Level lists 133 other open roles at Decagon.
AI in this role
Manage global end-to-end payroll operations, payroll accounting, and stock administration in a high-growth startup environment.
About Decagon
Decagon is the leading conversational AI platform empowering every brand to deliver concierge customer experiences.
Our technology enables industry-defining enterprises like Avis Budget Group, Block’s Cash App and Square, Chime, Oura Health, and Hunter Douglas to deploy AI agents that power personalized, deeply satisfying interactions across voice, chat, email, SMS, and every other channel.
We’re building a future where customer experiences are being redefined from support tickets and hold music to faster resolutions, richer conversations, and deeper relationships. We’re proud to be backed by world-class investors who share that vision, including a16z, Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, Coatue, and Index Ventures, along with many others.
We’re an in-office company, driven by a shared commitment to excellence and velocity. Our values — Just Get It Done, Invent What Customers Want, Winner’s Mindset, and The Polymath Principle — shape how we work and grow as a team.
About the Team
The Accounting team at Decagon is at the center of our growth, building the financial foundation that powers a rapidly scaling startup. We ensure accurate, timely financial reporting in accordance with U.S. GAAP while designing scalable processes and strong controls that support expansion across teams and geographies. Partnering closely with Sales, People, Legal, and Operations, we drive thoughtful spend management, contract oversight, and payroll excellence—balancing precision with agility in a fast-moving environment where our work directly enables the company’s next stage of growth.
About the Role
We’re looking for a high-impact Payroll Manager to build the finance engine that keeps our company scaling. You’ll own global payroll operations, payroll accounting, and stock administration transforming these core operations into smooth, scalable systems that support a fast-moving, high-growth team. This is a high-impact individual contributor role responsible for ensuring accurate, compliant, and timely payroll while helping build the processes and controls needed to support a rapidly scaling organization.
In this role, you will
Run end-to-end payroll for the U.S. and international entities, including new hires, terminations, bonuses, commissions, and equity compensation
Own stock administration in Carta: grants, exercises, terminations and repurchases, and the tax and reporting that follows
Close payroll and equity every month: accruals, reconciliations, support for stock comp expense, and the schedules auditors ask for
Get payroll tax right across states and countries, including new registrations, mobile employees, and year-end filings
Write the documentation and build the controls this function is missing, and automate the parts that shouldn't be manual
Expand into broader accounting operations over-time: own T&E policy, process, and compliance; take on accounts payable and month-end reconciliations as capacity allows
Your background looks something like this
4-6 years of progressive payroll experience, with full ownership of U.S. and international payroll
Payroll tax fluency, including registrations, multi-state nexus, and year-end forms
Deep knowledge of payroll compliance, tax regulations, and reporting requirements.
Working knowledge of equity compensation mechanics: ISO/NSO, exercises, dispositions, withholding, and reporting. Carta experience is a plus and the ability to pick it up quickly is not optional.
Comfort closing the books on your own work: journal entries, accruals, reconciliations
Rippling experience is helpful
Strong attention to detail and the ability to independently reconcile and resolve discrepancies
A proactive, ownership-driven mindset with comfort operating in a fast-moving startup environment
Even better if you have
Have worked in a hyper growth company
Have stood up payroll in a new country
Have worked directly with external auditors on payroll and equity testing
Have exposure to AP, AR, or T&E operations
Compensation
$140,000 - $170,000 + equity
Benefits
We proudly offer the following benefits for our full-time employees:
Medical, Dental, and Vision benefits for you and your family
Life Insurance and Disability Benefits
Retirement Plan (e.g., 401K, pension)
Parental Leave
Fertility and family building benefits through Carrot
Monthly stipend to support your wellness, lifestyle, and work-life balance
Daily lunches and snacks in the office to keep you at your best
Take what you need vacation policy (subject to local requirements; UK employees receive 25 days of statutory leave)
These benefits are described in more detail in Decagon’s policies, may vary by location, and can change at any time according to applicable compensation and benefits plans.
How we rate this
Payroll Manager at Decagon rates 0 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Little AI (AI Level 1 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Little AI. AI is not part of the work.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Questions you could be asked
- How do you decide when an AI agent can act on its own versus asking for approval first?
- Tell me about a project where payroll management was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where stock administration was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where global payroll was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where u s gaap was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: AI agents, Payroll Management, Stock Administration, Global Payroll, and U S Gaap. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
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