Staff Accountant

About Uphold

Uphold is a financial technology company that believes on-chain services are the future of finance. It provides modern infrastructure for on-chain payments, banking, and investments. Offering Consumer Services, Business Services, and Institutional Trading, Uphold makes pioneering financial services easy and trusted for millions of customers in more than 140 countries. Uphold integrates with more than 30 trading venues, including centralized and decentralized exchanges, to deliver superior liquidity and optimal execution. Uphold never loans out customer assets and is always 100% reserved. The company pioneered radical transparency and uniquely publishes its assets and liabilities every 30 seconds on a public website. Uphold strips away the complexity and lack of transparency to open up cryptocurrency and modern finance for everyone.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Payroll Processing & Administration

• Own end-to-end payroll processing for employees across multiple states and jurisdictions in the US.
• Oversee payroll and work with payroll processors in Portugal, UK, Lithuania and global EOR (employer of record).
• Manage and administer payroll workflows in BambooHR, ensuring data accuracy and system integrity.
• Improve payroll design and structure in BambooHR, and improve processes.
• Process new hires, terminations, salary changes, bonuses, equity exercise and buybacks, payroll corrections, and other compensation adjustments in a timely manner.
• Review and audit payroll for accuracy, ensuring that payroll related transactions are processed in compliance with external and internal policies.
• Respond to employee and inter-departmental inquiries.
• Develop and continuously improve efficient operating procedures.
• Coordinate employee termination payments in accordance with state regulations.
• Assist in the coordination of year-end processing and special projects.
• Establish relationships and collaborate with internal and external business partners and vendors.
• Reconcile payroll data and resolve discrepancies prior to each payroll cycle.
• Ensure accurate calculation of overtime, shift differentials, commissions, and other variable pay components.
• Handle all tax set ups, and update tax changes, update tax, unemployment, withholding tax information.
• Maintain and update withholding rates across all active states, ensuring accuracy against official state notices and rate tables.
• Manage login credentials and third-party portal access for each state tax account.
• Update tax IDs, account numbers, and configuration in the payroll system as changes occur.
• Create new payroll entities.

Annual ACA Filing

• Manage end-to-end Affordable Care Act reporting and filing obligations, including 1094-C and 1095-C preparation and submission.

Payroll Tax Remediation & Compliance

• Handle payroll tax setup and updates, including withholding rates.
• Triage, log, and resolve incoming state tax notices — determining required action (rate correction, registration update, or penalty response) for each.
• Lead resolution of rejected state tax filings.
• Resolve outstanding state tax ID registrations directly with state agencies.

HRIS Payroll Configuration (BambooHR)

• Maintain accurate payroll configuration in BambooHR, including tax codes, rates, account numbers, and employee/employer split setup by state.
• Update system records as corrections are confirmed and new accounts are registered.

Compliance & Regulatory

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of payroll legislation, tax regulations, and statutory requirements across all active jurisdictions.
• Ensure compliance with local tax filings, social security contributions, and statutory reporting requirements including:
  • UK: PAYE, National Insurance, pension auto-enrolment (The Peoples Pension / NEST)
  • Portugal: Social Security (Segurança Social), IRS withholding tax, and Autoridade Tributária requirements
  • Lithuania: SODRA contributions, GPM tax reporting, and State Tax Inspectorate compliance
  • Germany: Lohnsteuer, Sozialversicherung, and DATEV reporting standards
  • New states/regions we expand into organically and through acquisition
• Prepare and submit year-end payroll filings and employee tax documents (P60s, P11Ds, annual declarations) across all jurisdictions.
• Stay current on regulatory changes and proactively update payroll processes accordingly.

Systems & Process Improvement

• Serve as the internal BambooHR payroll subject matter expert, supporting configuration, testing, and optimization.
• Identify opportunities to streamline and automate payroll workflows to improve accuracy and efficiency.
• Maintain payroll process documentation, SOPs, and audit trails.
• Partner with the People team and Finance on HRIS integrations and data flows between systems.

Equity & Compensation Support

• Support administration of equity compensation including stock options (ISOs/NSOs), RSUs, and associated tax reporting (W-2 Box 12, P11D, etc.).
• Coordinate with Finance on payroll journal entries, accruals, and general ledger reconciliations.

Vendor & Stakeholder Management

• Manage relationships with external payroll providers, local employment law firms, and statutory bodies across jurisdictions.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for employee payroll inquiries, resolving issues promptly and professionally.
• Partner with the People team on compensation reviews, new market entries, and workforce planning.

Required Qualifications

• 4–7+ years of payroll experience, with at least 2 years in a multi-country payroll role.
• Hands-on experience with BambooHR payroll — and other payroll systems like Workday a plus.
• Demonstrated experience processing payroll in at least two or more of the following: US, UK, Portugal, Lithuania.
• Strong understanding of international payroll compliance, tax withholding, and social security frameworks.
• Proficiency in payroll reconciliation, audit preparation, and reporting.
• Proficiency in handling exercises of stock options and payroll and tax implications.
• High level of accuracy and discretion in handling confidential compensation data.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple payroll cycles simultaneously.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a fintech, cryptocurrency, or high-growth tech company
• Familiarity with equity compensation administration (stock options, RSUs)
• Experience with additional HRIS or payroll platforms (BambooHR, Papaya)
• Knowledge of crypto-specific compensation structures including token-based pay
• Professional payroll certification (CIPP, CPP, or equivalent)

What We Offer

• Innovation and Impact: Contribute to pioneering projects at the intersection of traditional finance and Web3
• Ownership: You will help create consumer financial products used by millions
• Competitive Compensation: Stock options, performance bonuses, and comprehensive benefits on top of a competitive salary
• Strong Company Culture: Thrive in a supportive, collegiate environment with values of integrity, teamwork, accountability, and excellence
• Global Collaboration: Participate in regular updates, strategy sessions, and networking opportunities across the group
• Development Opportunities: Access training and mentorship programs — this is a genuine growth role and we invest in our people
• Hybrid Flexibility: 3 days in our New York City office, with flexibility on the remaining days
• Inclusive Environment: We value and respect diverse perspectives

Our Benefits

• Annual bonus program based on individual, team, and company performance
• Generous PTO, healthcare, and employee assistance programs
• Engaging events and celebrations
• Well-stocked office kitchen with a foodie culture

Join us to grow, innovate, and contribute meaningfully. Be part of our talented team! Visit our careers page for more exciting opportunities if this role isn't the perfect fit.

Salary: $90k + + Bonus + Benefits

EEOC Employer

We're proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and we celebrate our employees' differences, including race, color, religion, gender identity, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, and any other protected classes. Difference makes us stronger and better — together.