Associate, Payroll Operations

Job Overview

Vestwell is seeking an Operations Associate to ensure accurate payroll processing, participant eligibility, deferrals, and data integrity while independently resolving high‑priority operational issues and maintaining compliance with ERISA and other regulatory frameworks.

• Exercise independent judgment on payroll accuracy, participant eligibility, deferrals, data integrity, and client outcomes.
• Identify, investigate, and resolve complex, high‑priority operational issues.
• Evaluate multiple potential courses of action and assess risk, urgency, and business impact.
• Determine remediation and escalation paths, communicating decisions to internal partners and external stakeholders.
• Prioritize workload volume and manage the timely remediation of a high volume of operational issues within established standards.
• Develop and maintain internal knowledge bases and recommend incremental process improvements based on investigative analysis.
• Collaborate across teams to surface operational insights, document trends, and provide input on platform enhancements.
• Apply ERISA and regulatory requirements consistently to fact‑specific operational scenarios.

• Strong Excel proficiency (pivot tables, VLOOKUPs) for data analysis and decision support.
• Experience working autonomously in a start‑up environment, exercising judgment in policy application.
• Exceptional analytical and detail‑oriented aptitude with high accuracy.
• Ability to manage time, balance competing priorities, and meet deadlines with minimal supervision.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills for documenting findings and escalating issues.
• Problem‑solving skills, including researching, analyzing, and applying judgment to determine next steps.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of formal education and work experience.
• Minimum 1 year of relevant experience in Financial Services, Operations, or SaaS industries.

• Payroll system experience.
• Proficiency with productivity tools, especially JIRA.
• Retirement industry experience, including exposure to ERISA‑governed processes.

Positions available in New York City, Austin, King of Prussia, or Scottsdale (hybrid in‑office model).

Base salary range: $60,000 – $72,000. Eligible for the company bonus pool and new‑hire equity. Benefits include comprehensive health coverage, generous paid time off, a 401(k) plan, and a dedicated Employee Wellbeing Committee.