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Senior People Ops Manager - Payroll & Systems

Convergent Research· People Ops
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Hybrid (Philadelphia, PA), Remote$165k - $175kFull-timePosted 1w ago

About the role

Senior, hands-on people operations leader responsible for payroll, benefits, HRIS, compliance, and systems for Convergent Research and its Funded Research Organizations (FROs). Owns payroll accuracy (US and UK), benefits, HRIS governance, policy development, and setup/wind-down of new and existing FROs, with a focus on scalable infrastructure and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities

  • Own payroll and make it bulletproof. Manage US and UK payroll end to end with TriNet and Rippling, including controls, reconciliation, approvals, and audit trails; document processes.
  • Keep benefits, retirement, and leave running smoothly, including COBRA, open enrollment, US 401(k) and UK pension administration, and leave management.
  • Make our people systems work for us by owning HRIS architecture, integrations, data integrity, governance, reporting, vendor management, and system optimization.
  • Keep policies and compliance ahead of growth by writing and maintaining compliant policies across US federal/state jurisdictions, the UK, and EOR-covered countries; manage compliance calendar and liaison with outside counsel when needed.
  • Coordinate immigration and compensation processes; facilitate immigration counsel introductions, coordinate vendors, track timelines, and support compensation reporting while Head of People owns strategy.
  • Help new FROs become functioning employers by standing up people infrastructure, entity/EOR setup, payroll and benefits activation, policies, and a Notion workspace; manage dependencies with TriNet and Rippling onboarding.
  • Help FROs wind down responsibly by managing terminations, final pay, benefits termination, platform and entity closures, and records retention; coordinate with Sr. HRBP and Head of People on severance and counsel matters.

Qualifications

  • 12+ years in HR ops, payroll administration, or closely related field (or 8+ years with directly relevant master’s degree).
  • 5+ years direct ownership of payroll administration across multiple jurisdictions, including California.
  • Experience standing up or building people ops processes for a new entity/location/country.
  • Hands-on experience administering benefits including at least one open enrollment cycle.
  • Experience owning an HRIS, including configuration, integrations, data integrity, governance, and reporting.
  • Experience developing compliant policy suites across multiple states or countries and knowing when to engage legal counsel.
  • Strong documentation and process-building skills with measurable examples of playbooks, controls, or operational systems.
  • Familiarity with AI-enabled tools for documentation, reporting, and workflow automation.

Skills

Required:Payroll administrationHRIS managementBenefits administrationPolicy development & complianceVendor management

Benefits

  • Competitive Salary: $165,000 - $175,000 per year with 5-10% premium for high cost of labor locations or NYC office
  • Up to 6% 401k match
  • Top-tier medical, dental, and vision insurance with dependents coverage
  • Company-paid life insurance, AD&D, long- and short-term disability, and voluntary options
  • 19 holidays (including year-end week off)
  • 3 weeks PTO with tenure-based increases; separate sick and parental leave provisions
  • Fertility benefits and childcare reimbursement
  • Education and professional development benefits
  • Wellness allowance for fitness and wellness activities
  • Quarterly offsite team retreats and opportunities to meet in person
Last updated Oct 21, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.

About Convergent Research

A mission control for frontier technology

A mission control for frontier technology

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