Head of Payroll, North America

About Us:

How many companies can say they've been in business for over 179 years?!

Here at ZEISS, we certainly can! As the pioneers of science, ZEISS handles ever-changing environments in a fast-paced world, meeting it with cutting edge of technologies and continuous advancements.

ZEISS believes that innovation and technology are the key to a sustainable future and solutions for global change.

We have a diverse range of portfolios throughout the ZEISS family in segments like Industrial Quality & Research, Medical Technology, Consumer Markets and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology.

We are a global company with over 46,000 employees and have over 4,000 in the US and Canada alone! Make a difference, come join the team!

What's the role?

The Head of Payroll is a strategic and passionate leader responsible for driving and elevating payroll operations to service over 3,500 colleagues across North America.

This role will be required to develop and lead a high-performing team focused on delivering accurate, compliant, and timely payroll and related topics across the US and Canada.

More than transactional, this position requires a strategic , people leader who thrives in complexity, champions process standardization through Workday, and prioritizes both employee experience, financial integrity and is unafraid to contribute as a hands-on operator .

The ideal candidate brings deep payroll expertise, strong regulatory and financial acumen, project management capabilities and a commitment to service, excellence, and resilience.

Sound Interesting?

Here's what you'll do:

Strategic Leadership and Governance


* Further develop and execute a long-term payroll strategy for North America, ensuring scalability, efficiency, and alignment with organizational objectives.


* Drive transformation initiatives to streamline processes, improve internal controls, and ensure best-in-class service delivery.


* Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on payroll-related risks, performance, and compliance posture.


* Drive harmonization and automation of payroll processes across key areas, including 401(k) reconciliation, Workday earning code definition incl.

mapping to GL, and other critical workflows.


* Lead and manage payroll-related projects, including system upgrades, integrations/migrations, vendor transitions, and process improvement initiatives.


* Partner with HR, Finance and HR Digital Solutions teams to align payroll operations with broader organizational strategies and to optimize end-to-end processes.

Payroll Operational Excellence


* Oversee the accurate processing of multi-state U.S.

and Canadian payroll, special payments, garnishments, tax withholdings, and benefit deductions.


* Ensure compliance with federal, state, provincial, and local payroll tax laws and regulations, including multi-state payroll tax registrations and updates.


* Ensure absolute accuracy, timeliness, and compliance in payroll oper...