Director of Business Process Transformation (AI/Workday)

Location: Hybrid position based at HHMI headquarters in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with occasional travel to Janelia Research Campus.

Hiring pay range: $212,764–$265,955 annually.

Company

hirify.global is a nonprofit scientific research organization supporting biomedical scientists, educators, and students across the United States.

What you will do

• Lead the payroll team and own accurate, on-time payroll for staff at headquarters, Janelia, and host institutions, including tax, control, and audit requirements.
• Map payroll operations end to end, identify undocumented workarounds, and redesign the target process using Workday, AI, agents, and appropriate human judgment.
• Identify suitable uses for AI and agents, such as reconciliation, exception triage, and routine employee questions, and build and pilot solutions with Technology and EverydayAI teams.
• Partner on Workday configuration, integrations, and data so redesigned processes are implemented in the systems rather than layered over manual work.
• Extend the transformation method to expense, procurement, accounts payable, onboarding, benefits administration, compensation cycles, and other Finance and People & Culture processes.
• Establish baselines and measure cycle time, error rates, manual touches, hours spent, and results after implementation.

Requirements

• 10–15 years of experience in payroll, finance operations, process transformation, or management consulting focused on finance and HR operations, with meaningful hands-on AI work in recent years.
• Experience leading meaningful operational change or redesigning a critical function in partnership with operational leaders.
• Ability to trace real transactions from start to finish, identify gaps between documented and actual processes, and structure unfamiliar problems quickly.
• Practical experience applying AI tools to operational work beyond drafting emails, including evaluating results and identifying where human review remains necessary.
• Deep experience with Workday or a comparable enterprise platform, including sufficient understanding of configuration to assess what the system can support.
• Ability to design processes from first principles, coordinate across Finance, People & Culture, and Technology, and lead experienced teams through change.
• Evidence of implementing process changes that produced operational results.
• Bachelor’s degree required.

Nice to have

• Multi-entity or multi-state payroll experience.
• Management consulting experience in finance, HR, or payroll operations, especially leading implementation rather than only assessment.
• Experience building or deploying AI agents in a live business process.

Culture & Benefits

• Work within a nonprofit scientific research organization supporting scientists and educators.
• Hybrid work schedule at the HHMI headquarters.
• Competitive pay, health benefits, retirement plans, paid time off, recognition programs, and wellness programs.
• Work alongside Finance, People & Culture, Technology, and EverydayAI teams.

Hiring process

• Employment eligibility is verified through E-Verify.
• Reasonable accommodations are available for qualified persons with disabilities.