Manager, Payroll Operations

Summary

ICON builds robotic systems that construct multi-story buildings. The company has raised more than $550 million in venture funding, holds more than $360 million in government contracts across the Army, Air Force, DARPA, and NASA, and brought its next-generation Titan system to commercial launch in March 2026. That growth means a payroll function that spans multiple states, a large hourly and field-based workforce, expanding international employment, and a headcount trajectory moving from roughly 500 toward 1,000 and beyond.

The Manager, Payroll Operations owns end-to-end payroll for ICON: multi-state and international processing, compliance, controls, reporting, and the vendor and system roadmap that has to hold up as headcount doubles. This is a hands-on ownership role in the near term. You will personally run payroll cycles while you standardize the process, then build the team and automation that let you step from processing into oversight.

You will work alongside People Operations, Total Rewards, HRIS, Accounting, and Legal, and you will be accountable for on-time, accurate pay for salaried, hourly, and field employees across every jurisdiction ICON operates in. You will also build the documentation, audit trail, and internal controls that a company working under federal contracts is expected to produce on request.

Payroll Processing & Operations

• Own and execute the full multi-state payroll cycle end to end, including off-cycle runs, retroactive pay, terminations, bonuses, commissions, and equity-related events, personally processing payroll until the function is staffed and stabilized.
• Administer payroll for a significant hourly and field-based population, including time and attendance integration, shift differentials, overtime, meal and rest premiums, and prevailing wage or certified payroll requirements where applicable.
• Design and document a standardized payroll calendar, processing checklist, and approval workflow, then hold the organization to the deadlines and inputs that calendar depends on.
• Coordinate international payroll delivery through in-country providers or an employer of record, reconciling those cycles to ICON's records and resolving discrepancies with the vendor.

Compliance & Controls

• Maintain compliance with federal, state, and local wage and hour, tax, and reporting requirements across all jurisdictions where ICON employs people, and manage new state registrations as the footprint expands.
• Build and operate the internal controls over payroll, including segregation of duties, change auditing, and pay data review, and serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external payroll audits.
• Own payroll tax filings, amendments, agency notices, and year-end processes including W-2 and 1099 issuance, working with the payroll provider and tax agencies to resolve issues before they become penalties.
• Partner with Legal and People Operations on wage and hour questions, pay practice changes, and employee escalations, documenting decisions and applying them consistently.

Systems, Reporting & Cross-Functional Partnership

• Own the payroll system configuration and roadmap, including earning and deduction codes, pay groups, costing, and integrations with HRIS, time tracking, benefits, and the general ledger.
• Partner with Accounting on payroll journal entries, accruals, and reconciliations, and with Finance on labor cost reporting by department, project, and contract; Accounting owns the close, and this role owns the accuracy and timeliness of the payroll inputs to it.
• Deliver recurring and ad hoc payroll reporting to People Operations, Finance, and leadership, and support data requests tied to government contracts, benefit plan audits, and workers' compensation.
• Evaluate and select payroll vendors and tools, manage those relationships and service levels, and lead system implementations or migrations driven by scale.

Team Leadership & Scaling

• Build the payroll team as volume justifies it, defining roles, hiring, onboarding, and developing payroll staff, and establishing a backup and cross-training model so no cycle depends on one person.
• Establish the procedures, documentation, and automation that let payroll absorb a doubling of headcount without a proportional increase in manual effort.
• Set and report operational metrics for payroll accuracy, on-time delivery, and issue resolution, and use them to prioritize process improvements.

Minimum Qualifications

• 6+ years of progressive payroll experience, including prior supervisory, lead, or people management responsibility.
• Demonstrated experience owning multi-state payroll processing and the associated tax registration, filing, and compliance work.
• Experience supporting a workforce with a significant hourly population, including time and attendance integration and overtime and wage and hour compliance.
• Experience on an established payroll team within a mature organization, with exposure to defined controls, audit requirements, and documented process.
• Willingness to personally process payroll in the near term while building toward an oversight model.
• Advanced proficiency with payroll and HRIS platforms and with spreadsheet-based reconciliation and reporting.
• Based in Austin, TX or able to relocate; this role is on-site at ICON's Austin campus.

Preferred Skills & Experience

• Hands-on Workday Payroll processing and configuration experience.
• International or global payroll experience, including in-country providers or employer of record models.
• Experience scaling a payroll function through rapid headcount growth, including system implementation or migration.
• CPP or FPC certification.
• Exposure to government contracting environments, certified payroll, or prevailing wage reporting.
• Experience in manufacturing, construction, logistics, or another environment with field-based and shift-based labor.