Sr. Payroll Administrator

At Penguin Solutions (Nasdaq: PENG) - The AI Factory Platform Company - we’re building a team of innovators who thrive on collaboration, creativity, and the opportunity to help shape the future of AI. As part of the AI technology revolution, our teams design, build, deploy, and manage AI factories for enterprises, sovereign AI initiatives, and neocloud providers worldwide.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, Penguin Solutions operates globally through a network of R&D, manufacturing, and sales locations. For nearly three decades, we have operated at the intersection of memory and AI/HPC infrastructure. That engineering expertise positions us to power the next generation of AI workloads, from training to inference and agentic AI at scale.

Penguin Solutions brings together differentiated infrastructure software, advanced memory, compute systems, end-to-end services, and industry-leading partner solutions in a full-stack AI factory platform designed to help customers deploy and scale AI workloads with speed and precision.

At Penguin Solutions, we value ideas over hierarchy and believe in servant leadership, where leaders enable teams to do their best work. We empower employees to take ownership, drive innovation, and grow through challenging work, continuous learning, and exposure to advanced AI tools and technologies. With flexibility where it matters and a strong focus on outcomes, Penguin Solutions is a place to do your best work, grow your career, and make a meaningful impact.

Job Overview

We are seeking an experienced, detail-oriented, and hands-on Sr. Payroll Administrator to join the Global Payroll team. This role will support payroll processing, validations, reconciliations, employee inquiries, audit support, vendor coordination, and other payroll-related activities as needed.

The ideal candidate will bring strong payroll experience and the ability to thrive in a deadline-driven environment. This role will be focused on U.S. Payroll operations, but may support global payroll as needed.

Responsibilities

• Support ongoing U.S. and global payroll processing activities.
• Assist with payroll-cycle tasks, including payroll input collection, data validation, payroll calculations, review, approvals, funding support, settlement, and post-payroll reconciliation.
• Review and validate payroll data, including employee changes, earnings, deductions, taxes, benefits, equity-related income, terminations, and final pay, as applicable.
• Perform pre-payroll and post-payroll audits, variance reviews, exception checks, and reconciliations to help ensure payroll results are accurate, complete, and timely.
• Partner with internal teams and external payroll vendors to support payroll processing, issue resolution, reporting, compliance, and timely payroll delivery.
• Research and resolve payroll questions, employee inquiries, payroll discrepancies, tax notices, and vendor follow-up items in a timely, professional, and confidential manner.
• Support quarterly, year-end, and audit-related payroll activities, including reconciliations, reporting, documentation, and coordination with internal and external partners.
• Provide flexible support across U.S. payroll, global payroll, payroll reporting, reconciliations, vendor coordination, and other payroll team priorities as needed.
• Assist with maintaining payroll records, process documentation, payroll calendars, control evidence, and audit-ready support materials.
• Identify recurring issues, process gaps, or control concerns and escalate appropriately, recommending practical improvements where possible.
• Protect confidential payroll and employee information and follow company data privacy, security, and access-control requirements.
• Support the Global Payroll Manager and broader Payroll team with additional payroll-related projects and operational needs as assigned.

Qualifications

• Typically 5 or more years of progressive, hands-on payroll experience, with experience supporting U.S. payroll, global payroll, or a combination of both.
• Strong understanding of payroll processing practices, payroll-cycle controls, reconciliations, variance reviews, issue resolution, and audit-ready documentation.
• Experience working in ADP, including payroll processing, reporting, troubleshooting, and vendor coordination.
• Solid working knowledge of U.S. payroll requirements, including federal, state, and local payroll taxes, wage-and-hour rules, deductions, benefits, garnishments, final pay, and year-end reporting.
• Experience with global or multi-country payroll processing, payroll vendor models, statutory requirements, data validation, and cross-border payroll coordination is preferred.
• Ability to quickly learn established payroll processes, follow controls, and provide reliable support in an evolving, deadline-driven environment.
• Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, sound judgment, and ability to identify discrepancies, risks, or process gaps.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet strict payroll deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Clear, professional written and verbal communication skills for working with employees, vendors, and cross-functional partners.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive payroll and employee data with discretion.
• Strong Microsoft Excel skills and comfort working with payroll reports, reconciliations, data validations, and large data sets.
• Experience with ADP Celergo or other global payroll platforms is preferred.
• Experience supporting 401(k), equity-related payroll income, quarterly payroll activities, and year-end payroll processes is a plus.
• Payroll certification such as CPP or FPC is preferred but not required.

Location

Hybrid in Durham, NC

Travel

None

Compensation & Benefits

The base pay range that the Company reasonably expects to pay for this position in the United States is $78,000-98,000; the pay ultimately offered may vary based on business considerations, including job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and education. The position is bonus-eligible, and there are medical, dental, and vision benefits available. There is a 401k saving plan and other benefits, such as Paid Time Off, Life Insurance, and an Employee Assistance Plan.

Inclusion & Belonging Statement

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment that embraces differences and fosters belonging for all.

Equal Opportunity Statement

We are an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly committed to all policies which will afford equal opportunity employment to all qualified persons without regard to age, national origin, race, ethnicity, creed, gender, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.