Senior Payroll Specialist (German Payroll)

TL;DR

Senior Payroll Specialist (German Payroll): Running and improving end-to-end native German payroll operations with an accent on DATEV administration, statutory compliance, payroll controls, and financial reconciliation. Focus on building scalable workflows, solving complex payroll escalations, and advising stakeholders on German tax, social insurance, labor law, and reporting requirements.

Location: Remote-first, but must be based in Germany and authorized to work there. The role operates largely asynchronously.

Salary: €63,000–€75,000 per year, plus equity.

Company

A global employment platform that helps companies hire, pay, and support employees across international markets.

What you will do

• Own the complete in-house German payroll cycle, including employee master data, variable pay, benefits, absences, garnishments, and payroll deadlines.
• Manage payroll controls, pre- and post-payroll validations, discrepancy resolution, journals, GL mappings, and Finance reconciliations.
• Handle statutory filings and government access, including wage tax, social insurance, annual reporting, U1/U2 claims, and ELStAM data.
• Configure and maintain DATEV-based payroll workflows, test legislative updates, troubleshoot issues, and improve automation with Product.
• Act as the subject matter expert for German wage tax, social insurance, labor law, collective agreements, GDPR, and pay transparency reporting.
• Resolve complex client payroll escalations, support audits, coach junior specialists, and maintain payroll playbooks and SOPs.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience independently running complete native German payroll processes at high volume.
• Advanced hands-on DATEV experience is mandatory.
• German at C1/C2 level is required for interaction with local authorities; fluent English is required for global collaboration.
• Current, in-depth knowledge of German wage tax, social insurance, and labor law.
• Experience handling sensitive payroll escalations, operating asynchronously, and driving process improvements in ambiguous environments.
• Completed commercial payroll training or qualification, such as Steuerfachangestellte/r or Lohnbuchhalter.

Nice to have

• Accounting qualifications or experience, including Bilanzbuchhalter-level knowledge, GL mapping, and reconciliations.
• Experience delivering cross-functional HR and payroll projects.
• Hands-on use of AI tools for payroll or operations workflows.
• Data transformation skills and experience with data analytics platforms.

Culture & Benefits

• Distributed, asynchronous work environment with a remote-first operating model.
• 40 days of annual time off, including holidays and vacation, or more where locally required.
• Mental health support and a monthly wellbeing allowance.
• At least three months of paid parental leave for new parents, with local job protection provisions.
• Work-from-home stipend for laptop and home-office equipment.
• Equity is included in the compensation package.