What are the responsibilities and job description for the Sr. Payroll, Benefits & Equity Specialist position at Astrolab?
Application Deadline: 2 June 2026
Department: People Operations
Location: Hawthorne, California
Compensation: $131,000 - $148,000 / year
Venturi Astrolab, Inc. (Astrolab) is pioneering new ways to explore and operate on distant planetary bodies. We are singularly focused on designing, building, and operating a fleet of multi-purpose commercial planetary rovers to extend and enhance humanity’s presence in the solar system. We are seeking motivated, creative, and exceptional people to join our world-class team.
This position plays a critical role in ensuring payroll accuracy, compliance with California wage and hour laws, and a positive employee experience. The ideal candidate thrives in a high-growth environment, maintains exceptional attention to detail, and enjoys improving processes and systems across People Operations.
What you'll do:
Payroll Administration
- Own end-to-end processing of biweekly multi-state payroll through Insperity, ensuring accuracy, timeliness, and compliance
- Calculate and coordinate final pay for California terminations in compliance with state wage and hour laws
- Process employee changes including compensation updates, promotions, transfers, leaves of absence, and terminations
- Conduct payroll audits and reconciliations to ensure accurate employee pay data, deductions, and tax reporting
- Resolve payroll discrepancies and partner with employees and managers on payroll-related questions
- Administer employee benefit programs including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), FSA/HSA, COBRA, and leave-related benefits
- Serve as a primary point of contact for employee benefits support and vendor coordination
- Manage benefit enrollments, qualifying life events, terminations, and open enrollment activities
- Ensure benefit-related records and documentation remain accurate and compliant
- Own day-to-day administration of the company’s equity compensation program in partnership with the Head of People & Culture
- Manage equity transactions including stock option grants, exercises, vesting schedules, RSU activity, and employee terminations via Carta
- Create, maintain, and audit equity administration records, trackers, and electronic filing systems
- Prepare and route equity documentation and approval workflows in a timely and accurate manner
- Partner closely with Accounting, Finance, Legal, and external equity vendors to ensure compliance and reporting accuracy
- Help ensure equity administration processes comply with applicable federal, state, and local regulations
- Maintain data integrity across HRIS for payroll, benefits, and equity administration systems
- Support reporting and audits related to payroll, benefits, and equity administration
- 4 years of recent experience in payroll and benefits administration
- Direct experience administering employee equity compensation programs, including stock options and/or RSUs (highly preferred)
- Strong knowledge of California wage and hour laws and payroll compliance requirements
- Experience with HRIS/payroll systems such as Insperity, ADP, Rippling, Paylocity, or similar platforms
- Exceptional attention to detail and ability to manage highly sensitive and confidential information
- Strong organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills
- Advanced Excel skills and proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite
- Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to work cross-functionally across Finance, Legal, Accounting, and People teams
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-growth environment with shifting priorities
- Experience in aerospace, manufacturing, engineering, or high-growth technology companies (preferred, not required)
- CPP certification or related payroll certification is a plus
- Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
- Equity ownership in the company
- Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Flexible PTO and parental leave
- Home office set up reimbursement
- Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
- Once a month social hour on-site with food and drinks
Salary : $131,000 - $148,000