GAQ127R61

Join Databricks’ dynamic and expanding Global Payroll Team, part of the Finance organisation. As a Compliance Lead, you’ll play a critical role in designing and maintaining a best-in-class global payroll compliance framework that protects the company, our employees, and our brand. We are in an exciting phase of transformation, implementing key projects to scale our operations, strengthen controls, and enhance service quality.

As a Compliance Lead, you will be the subject matter expert for global payroll compliance, ensuring that payroll processes, policies, and controls remain aligned with statutory, regulatory, and internal audit requirements. You’ll partner closely with regional payroll teams, Finance, Legal, HR, and external advisors to identify compliance risks, drive remediation, and support the continued maturity of our global payroll operating model.

Key Responsibilities:

Own and maintain the global payroll compliance framework, including controls, policies, and standard operating procedures (SOPs) across regions.
Monitor legislative and regulatory changes impacting payroll (e.g., tax, social security, labor law, reporting) and translate them into operational requirements.
Partner with regional payroll teams and vendors to ensure timely and accurate implementation of new compliance requirements.
Lead and support internal and external payroll audits, including SOX, statutory, and internal control reviews, ensuring timely responses and remediation of findings.
Design, document, and continuously improve key payroll controls, including approval workflows, reconciliations, segregation of duties, and data validation checks.
Develop and maintain compliance-related documentation (policies, control narratives, risk registers, and process maps) to support standardization and automation.
Define, track, and report compliance and control metrics (e.g., defect rates, control failures, audit findings, remediation status) to leadership.
Provide guidance and training to payroll and cross-functional partners on compliance requirements, policies, and best practices.
Collaborate with Legal, Tax, Finance, HR, and Procurement on compliance topics such as equity taxation, fringe benefits, gifts, travel & expense, and vendor obligations.
Act as an escalation point for complex compliance issues, investigations, and high-risk cases, driving root cause analysis and sustainable solutions.

What We’re Looking For:

7+ years of experience in payroll, tax, compliance, or related fields, preferably within a fast-paced, multi-national environment.
Strong understanding of global payroll regulations and statutory requirements across multiple countries (e.g., US, EMEA, APAC, LATAM) or deep expertise in one major region with exposure to others.
Demonstrated experience designing, testing, and operating internal controls (e.g., SOX, internal audit frameworks, control testing, remediation planning).
Proven track record in managing audits and working with internal and external auditors, regulators, or tax authorities.
Experience working with Workday or similar HCM systems; familiarity with global payroll vendors (e.g., ADP, Safeguard, BDO, TMF, etc.) is a plus.
Advanced Excel/Sheets skills (e.g., complex formulas, pivot tables, lookups) and comfort working with large data sets for reconciliations and analysis.
Familiarity with case management tools, SLA-driven environments, and using metrics to monitor risk, quality, and performance.
Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate complex compliance topics into clear, practical guidance.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and documentation skills with keen attention to detail and a focus on scalability and standardization.

About Databricks

Databricks is the data and AI company. More than 10,000 organizations worldwide — including Comcast, Condé Nast, Grammarly, and over 50% of the Fortune 500 — rely on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform to unify and democratize data, analytics and AI. Databricks is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices around the globe and was founded by the original creators of Lakehouse, Apache Spark™, Delta Lake and MLflow. To learn more, follow Databricks on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Benefits

At Databricks, we strive to provide comprehensive benefits and perks that meet the needs of all of our employees. For specific details on the benefits offered in your region, please visit https://www.mybenefitsnow.com/databricks.

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

At Databricks, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where everyone can excel. We take great care to ensure that our hiring practices are inclusive and meet equal employment opportunity standards. Individuals looking for employment at Databricks are considered without regard to age, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other protected characteristics.

Compliance

If access to export-controlled technology or source code is required for performance of job duties, it is within Employer's discretion whether to apply for a U.S. government license for such positions, and Employer may decline to proceed with an applicant on this basis alone.

Global Payroll Compliance & Audit Lead