Payroll & Benefits Administrator

About SonderMind

SonderMind is focused on making therapy more accessible and personalized by connecting people with the right in-network therapist and using technology to support better mental health outcomes. The company equips clinicians with tools for secure telehealth, clinical notes, outcome tracking, messaging, and direct booking so they can deliver high-quality care.

The organization is building a technology-enabled approach to mental healthcare and emphasizes a people-first culture.

About the Role

In this position, you will be part of the People Operations team and take charge of payroll and benefits administration for a growing employee population. The role places strong emphasis on California payroll rules, where accuracy and current knowledge of wage-and-hour regulations are especially important.

You will work mainly in UKG systems to make sure employees are paid correctly and on schedule, while also handling benefits-related tasks with speed and accuracy. This opportunity is well suited to someone looking to deepen their payroll experience in a fast-paced environment with strong visibility across the business.

What You'll Do

• Run semi-monthly payroll for all employees using UKG Pro and Workforce Management tools while maintaining compliance with applicable state wage-and-hour laws.
• Review payroll records before each cycle closes to catch errors, mismatches, and missing information.
• Answer employee questions about pay and work through issues quickly.
• Handle payroll corrections and support matters related to taxes, garnishments, and system setup.
• Assist managers with payroll questions, timecard checks, approval flows, and UKG timekeeping problems.
• Administer employee benefits processes such as enrollments, qualifying events, terminations, carrier file transfers, and employee support for benefits questions.
• Keep employee data current in UKG, including pay rates, deductions, and tax withholding details.
• Support year-end activities such as W-2 preparation, commission letter distribution and tracking, and reconciliations.
• Assist with administration and reconciliation of the 401(k) plan, including related compliance reporting.
• Take on additional duties as business priorities require.

Success in This Role

• Within 30 days, you will complete UKG onboarding and be able to run a payroll cycle with supervision while showing basic accuracy across employee types.
• Within 60 days, you will process payroll with limited oversight and correctly apply California-specific requirements such as final pay, meal and rest break premiums, and SDI while identifying exceptions early.
• Within 90 days, you will independently manage end-to-end payroll, resolve discrepancies without escalation, and maintain compliance across state rules.
• Within 1 year, you will have a strong record of accurate, on-time payroll, contribute to process improvements in UKG, and become a trusted resource for California payroll questions.

Who You Are

• You have 1-2 years of practical payroll processing experience, including full-cycle payroll runs.
• You are familiar with UKG, including UltiPro or UKG Pro, and Kronos or similar HRIS/payroll systems.
• You understand California payroll rules, including overtime, meal and rest break premiums, and final pay requirements.
• You have working knowledge of federal payroll compliance topics such as FLSA, payroll taxes, and W-2 reporting.
• You can use Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to audit payroll data and reconcile records.
• You pay close attention to detail and can spot and fix payroll discrepancies.
• You bring strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills and enjoy working through complex issues.
• You hold an associate degree or higher in Accounting, Business, or a related area, or you have equivalent experience.
• Experience with multi-state payroll is preferred.

Compensation

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

Benefits

• Flexible hybrid work arrangement.
• At least three weeks of paid time off each year.
• Free therapy coverage for employees enrolled in the medical plan.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage, including HSA and FSA options.
• HSA with a $1,100 company contribution.
• Employer-paid short-term disability, long-term disability, life insurance, and AD&D coverage.
• Additional company-paid short-term disability salary support for up to seven weeks after the waiting period.
• Eight weeks of paid parental leave, with potential total paid leave of 8-16 weeks if STD also applies.
• 401(k) plan with 100% match on contributions up to 4% of base salary, with immediate vesting.
• Travel to Denver once each year for the annual Shift gathering.
• Fourteen company holidays.
• Company shutdown between Christmas and New Year’s.
• Supplemental life insurance, pet insurance, commuter benefits, and other offerings.

Application Timing

This role is part of an ongoing hiring process and will remain open until it is filled.

Hiring Process and AI Use

SonderMind uses technology, including AI-assisted tools, to support recruiting activities such as scheduling, note-taking, transcription, organizing candidate information, and coordinating outreach. These tools may process the information included in your application.

Final hiring decisions are always made by the recruiting and hiring teams. Automated systems are not used to decide whether a candidate is advanced, rejected, or offered the job.

If you need an accommodation, want an alternate process, or would like a human review of a hiring decision, you can contact talent@sondermind.com.

Equal Opportunity

SonderMind provides equal employment opportunity and does not discriminate based on race, color, creed, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, religion, veteran or military status, marital status, registered domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition including genetic information, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.