Payroll & Benefits Administrator

About SonderMind

SonderMind focuses on making therapy easier to access and more personalized, with a mission to deliver strong mental healthcare outcomes. The company uses technology to help people connect with the right in-network therapist when insurance is involved, while supporting clinicians with tools for note-taking, telehealth, outcome tracking, messaging, and direct booking. The organization is centered on improving mental healthcare through innovative, patient-focused solutions.

About the Role

This position sits within the People Operations team and is responsible for running payroll and handling benefits administration for a growing workforce. A major part of the work involves managing payroll for California employees, where detailed wage-and-hour compliance is especially important. The role is based in UKG and requires accurate, timely processing of pay and benefits tasks in a fast-paced environment.

What You'll Do

• Run semi-monthly payroll for all employees through UKG Pro and Workforce Management, making sure pay is processed accurately and in line with applicable state wage-and-hour rules.
• Review payroll records before each cycle closes to catch errors, mismatches, and missing data.
• Handle employee questions about pay and resolve payroll issues quickly.
• Support payroll topics such as taxes, garnishments, and system setup and configuration.
• Assist managers with payroll-related needs, including timecard checks, approval steps, and UKG timekeeping troubleshooting.
• Administer employee benefits processes such as enrollment changes, life events, terminations, and carrier file transfers, while serving as a main contact for benefits questions.
• Keep employee records current in UKG, including compensation, deductions, and tax withholding details.
• Assist with year-end work such as W-2 preparation, commission letter administration and delivery, and related reconciliation.
• Support 401(k) plan administration, including reporting analysis and compliance reconciliation.
• Take on additional tasks as business needs change.

Success in This Role

• By 30 days, you have completed UKG onboarding and can process a full payroll cycle with supervision, showing solid accuracy across employee types.
• By 60 days, you are running payroll with limited oversight, applying California-specific requirements such as final pay, meal and rest premium rules, and SDI, while identifying issues early.
• By 90 days, you are working independently, managing payroll end to end, resolving discrepancies without escalation, and keeping all state requirements on track.
• By 1 year, you have a strong record of accurate, on-time payroll with no compliance misses, contribute ideas to improve UKG processes, and act as a trusted resource for California payroll questions.

Who You Are

• You have 1 to 2 years of hands-on payroll processing experience, including full-cycle payroll.
• You are comfortable using UKG (UltiPro or UKG Pro) and Kronos, or a similar HRIS/payroll system.
• You understand California payroll rules, including overtime, meal and rest break premiums, and final pay requirements.
• You know the basics of federal payroll compliance, including FLSA, taxes, and W-2 reporting.
• You can use Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to audit payroll and reconcile data.
• You pay close attention to detail and can spot and fix payroll errors.
• You think critically and solve problems by digging into the details.
• You hold an associate degree or higher in Accounting, Business, or a related field, or have equivalent experience.
• Experience with multi-state payroll is preferred.

Compensation and Benefits

The annual salary for this role is $68,000 to $75,000.

Benefits include flexible hybrid work, at least three weeks of PTO annually, free therapy coverage for employees enrolled in the medical plan, medical/dental/vision coverage with HSA and FSA options, employer-paid short-term and long-term disability plus life and AD&D insurance, salary top-up during short-term disability leave for up to seven weeks after the waiting period, eight weeks of paid parental leave, a 401(k) plan with 100% match on up to 4% of base salary that vests immediately, annual travel to Denver for the Shift gathering, 14 company holidays, a shutdown between Christmas and New Year, and supplemental life insurance, pet insurance, commuter benefits, and more.

Application Process

This role is being recruited on an ongoing basis and will remain open until it is filled.

Hiring Process and Use of AI

SonderMind uses AI-assisted tools to support recruiting tasks such as scheduling, note-taking, transcription, organizing candidate details, and coordinating outreach. These tools help streamline the process, but hiring decisions are made by people on the recruiting and hiring teams. If you need an accommodation, an alternative engagement method, or a review of a candidate decision, you can contact talent@sondermind.com.

Equal Opportunity

SonderMind provides equal employment opportunities and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, religion, veteran or military status, marital status, registered domestic partnership status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition including genetic information or characteristics, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.