Director of Payroll

<div class="content-intro"><h2><strong>About Anthropic</strong></h2> <p>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.</p></div><h2><strong>About the role</strong></h2> <p>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.</p> <p><strong>Strategic importance: </strong>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.</p> <h2><strong>Responsibilities </strong></h2> <p><strong>US Payroll Operations</strong></p> <ul> <li>Own full-cycle payroll processing for all US entities — multi-state, multi-frequency, exempt and non-exempt populations</li> <li>Process complex equity compensation including RSUs, ISOs, and NSOs, ensuring accurate tax withholding and timely reporting</li> <li>Manage high-volume payments: bonuses, commissions, severance, and equity events</li> <li>Oversee quarter-end, W-2 preparation, year-end reconciliations, and resolution of federal and state tax notices</li> <li>Maintain and continuously improve Workday payroll configuration — identify automation opportunities and lead optimization initiatives</li> </ul> <p><strong>Canada Payroll Management</strong></p> <ul> <li>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</li> <li>Partner with our international payroll team to ensure Canada stays integrated into our global compliance posture</li> <li>Build out Canada payroll SOPs as the function matures</li> </ul> <p><strong>Team Leadership & Development</strong></p> <ul> <li>Manage and develop 1–2 direct reports on the US payroll team — set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, and invest in their growth</li> <li>Build a team culture of accuracy, accountability, and continuous improvement</li> <li>Serve as the escalation point for complex payroll issues and employee inquiries</li> </ul> <p><strong>Cross-Functional Partnership & Compliance</strong></p> <ul> <li>Partner with Corporate Accounting on payroll journal entries, accruals, and month-end close</li> <li>Work closely with Tax, Benefits, People Systems, and Employment Legal to ensure data integrity and compliance</li> <li>Support audit readiness and internal & systems controls</li> </ul> <p><strong>AI Adoption & Process Improvement</strong></p> <ul> <li>Champion the use of AI tools within the payroll function — identify high-value use cases for reconciliation, anomaly detection, and reporting</li> <li>Lead or support process improvement projects that reduce manual effort, increase accuracy, and improve the employee payroll experience</li> <li>Document processe