Payroll Administrator
at Instacart
Remote
We're transforming the grocery industry
At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.
Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.
Instacart is a Flex First team
There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.
Overview
About the Role - We are seeking a skilled Payroll Administrator to join our growing team and assist in processing high-volume U.S./ International Payroll. In this role, you will collaborate with cross-functional teams like HR, Legal, and Operations, ensuring compliance, accuracy, and efficiency in payroll processing. You'll solve complex payroll puzzles while supporting our growing workforce in a dynamic, fast-paced environment. By mastering payroll processes and leveraging your expertise, you’ll directly contribute to the satisfaction and success of teams across the organization.
About the Team - Our Payroll Team ensures everything runs smoothly, managing payroll operations across the U.S., Canada, and international regions, including Australia and China. We prioritize accuracy and timeliness in processing payroll while maintaining compliance with Federal, State, and company regulations. As a collaborative team, we focus on delivering exceptional service and efficiently managing payroll complexities. By partnering closely with departments like HR, Legal, and Finance, we cultivate strong interdepartmental relationships to create a seamless, employee-centric experience.
About the Job
As a Payroll Administrator, you will:
- Process bi-weekly and/or weekly multi-state/country payrolls for salaried, hourly, full-time, and part-time employees. Ensure high accuracy and compliance with company policies.
- Monitor, research, and address employee inquiries via Jira, email, and voicemail. Provide excellent service across all levels of the organization.
- Execute time-sensitive payroll tasks, including manual off-cycle checks, stop payments, reversals, benefit deduction reconciliations, and new hire/termination processing in compliance with State and Federal laws.
- Maintain payroll system configurations with meticulous attention to detail, including tax setup, timekeeping adjustments, direct deposits, and garnishments.
- Generate, audit, and analyze payroll data and reports to assist management and support special projects such as W-2 validation, workers’ comp audits, and compensation initiatives.
- Build and maintain relationships with area managers and department heads, assisting with complex payroll inquiries and interpreting payroll policies when necessary.
- Leverage cross-department collaboration with HR, Legal, and other stakeholders to enhance operational efficiency and improve employee payroll satisfaction.
About You
Minimum Qualifications
- Hands-on experience with Workday Payroll.
- Minimum 2 years of recent US/ Canada/ International payroll experience in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
- Strong understanding of Federal and State regulations, with proven ability to interpret payroll policies confidently.
- Proficiency in Excel, including advanced functions like xlookups, SUMIFS, and pivot tables.
- Exceptional attention to detail, organizational skills, and the ability to manage deadlines and competing priorities effectively.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills with a collaborative, team-oriented mindset.
- Competency in Google Suite tools (Docs, Sheets, Forms) and ease with learning new systems.
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with audit procedures, familiarity with state and local tax rules, compensation, and accounting practices, including but not limited to wage and tax reporting for remote employees across multiple states or regions.
- Exposure to rapidly-growing or high-volume work environments.
- Knowledge of benefit deduction reconciliations and garnishment management processes.
- Proven experience producing data analysis, insights, and recommendations for process improvement in payroll operations.
- Familiarity with RSU (Restricted Stock Unit) payroll processing.
- SmartCompliance experience related to payroll tax compliance and reporting.
- Knowledge of SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley) compliance and internal control requirements for payroll operations, including audit trail maintenance and reporting.
#LI-Remote
Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here.
Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.
For US based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.
