Rippling
Principal Software Engineer - Global Payroll
Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system. Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third-party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds. Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B+ from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes. We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from @ Rippling.com addresses. About Rippling Payroll
Rippling Payroll is redefining how companies pay their people across the world — turning payroll from a cost center into a strategic advantage. Built on Rippling Unity — our unified workforce platform — Payroll connects HR, IT, and Finance so every policy, approval, and pay calculation automatically stays in sync across systems and countries. With $750M+ ARR, >23,000 customers, and >$70B in annualized payroll volume, we’re building the most intelligent, automated, and compliant payroll infrastructure on the planet. The Opportunity
We’re looking for a
Principal Engineer
to help architect and scale Rippling’s
next-generation Global Payroll Platform
— a system that powers payments, compliance, and computation for millions of employees across 50+ countries. This role sits at the intersection of
AI-powered automation ,
compliance-as-code , and
massive scale
— with direct ownership over core systems that define how Rippling processes global payroll, taxes, and payments at sub-second latency and near-zero error tolerance. What You'll Own
Architect Rippling’s next-gen Payroll computation engine
— modular, extensible, and capable of encoding multi-jurisdictional compliance logic declaratively. Design data models and pipelines
that handle versioned pay runs, audit trails, retroactive corrections, and time-based computations at global scale. Build scalable rules engines
to automate ever-changing tax, benefits, and labor laws across jurisdictions, ensuring compliance through dynamic, AI-generated logic. Modernize global payment infrastructure
for real-time or near-instant disbursements while balancing reconciliation, fraud detection, and regulatory constraints. Evolve reporting and permissions systems
to deliver real-time insights and granular access controls for complex, multi-entity organizations. Partner with Product, Compliance, and Finance
teams to convert ambiguous regulatory specs into clear, deterministic system behavior. Lead high-impact initiatives
like sandboxed “simulation” payrolls, AI-powered paystub explainability, and what-if analysis for enterprises. Shape the long-term platform vision , influencing 150+ engineers across Finance and HR Infrastructure as a multiplier, mentor, and architectural authority. What Success Looks Like
System Reliability:
Sub-second computation accuracy for global pay runs, with zero critical compliance defects. Extensibility:
New countries, pay types, and tax rules added with minimal engineering overhead. Performance:
Orders of magnitude improvement in latency and cost efficiency across distributed computation. Developer Velocity:
Simplified APIs, testing frameworks, and onboarding for internal and partner developers. Business Impact:
Reduction in country onboarding time, payroll failure rates, and manual compliance interventions. What We're Looking For
18+ years of experience building large-scale distributed systems in high-compliance or high-integrity domains (Finance, Payroll, Tax, Insurance, etc.). Deep expertise in
data architecture ,
domain-driven design , and
rule-based / event-driven systems . Experience scaling
compliance-heavy, multi-country systems
— ideally payroll, tax, or financial computation platforms. Proficiency in designing
modular service boundaries , ensuring backward compatibility and auditability. Strong understanding of
computation correctness ,
versioned state ,
precision handling , and
retroactive adjustments . Proven ability to partner across functions — translating legal/compliance constraints into elegant, maintainable systems. A strong architectural voice who can both design systems and mentor teams to scale them sustainably. Bonus Points
Experience with
AI-driven system automation
or
compliance-as-code
frameworks. Hands‑on work with
global payroll systems ,
real‑time payments , or
statutory tax logic . Familiarity with
event sourcing ,
CQRS ,
streaming pipelines , and
immutable data stores . Contributions to open‑source distributed computation frameworks or rule engines. Why Rippling
Backed by
world‑class investors (Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Bedrock, GIC, Elad Gil, Goldman Sachs) Valued among the
fastest‑growing SaaS companies
in history Build at the heart of Rippling’s
Finance platform , where Payroll, Spend, Bill Pay, and Banking converge into a unified ecosystem. Join a team that
pushes the limits of possible ,
builds winning systems, and moves fast with conviction . Additional Information
Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics, Rippling is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email accomodations@rippling.com. Rippling highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office-based employees (employees who live within a defined radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role. This role will receive a competitive salary + benefits + equity. The salary for US-based employees will be aligned with one of the ranges below based on location; see which tier applies to your location here. A variety of factors are considered when determining someone’s compensation— including a candidate’s professional background, experience, and location. Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed below.
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Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system. Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third-party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds. Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B+ from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes. We prioritize candidate safety. Please be aware that all official communication will only be sent from @ Rippling.com addresses. About Rippling Payroll
Rippling Payroll is redefining how companies pay their people across the world — turning payroll from a cost center into a strategic advantage. Built on Rippling Unity — our unified workforce platform — Payroll connects HR, IT, and Finance so every policy, approval, and pay calculation automatically stays in sync across systems and countries. With $750M+ ARR, >23,000 customers, and >$70B in annualized payroll volume, we’re building the most intelligent, automated, and compliant payroll infrastructure on the planet. The Opportunity
We’re looking for a
Principal Engineer
to help architect and scale Rippling’s
next-generation Global Payroll Platform
— a system that powers payments, compliance, and computation for millions of employees across 50+ countries. This role sits at the intersection of
AI-powered automation ,
compliance-as-code , and
massive scale
— with direct ownership over core systems that define how Rippling processes global payroll, taxes, and payments at sub-second latency and near-zero error tolerance. What You'll Own
Architect Rippling’s next-gen Payroll computation engine
— modular, extensible, and capable of encoding multi-jurisdictional compliance logic declaratively. Design data models and pipelines
that handle versioned pay runs, audit trails, retroactive corrections, and time-based computations at global scale. Build scalable rules engines
to automate ever-changing tax, benefits, and labor laws across jurisdictions, ensuring compliance through dynamic, AI-generated logic. Modernize global payment infrastructure
for real-time or near-instant disbursements while balancing reconciliation, fraud detection, and regulatory constraints. Evolve reporting and permissions systems
to deliver real-time insights and granular access controls for complex, multi-entity organizations. Partner with Product, Compliance, and Finance
teams to convert ambiguous regulatory specs into clear, deterministic system behavior. Lead high-impact initiatives
like sandboxed “simulation” payrolls, AI-powered paystub explainability, and what-if analysis for enterprises. Shape the long-term platform vision , influencing 150+ engineers across Finance and HR Infrastructure as a multiplier, mentor, and architectural authority. What Success Looks Like
System Reliability:
Sub-second computation accuracy for global pay runs, with zero critical compliance defects. Extensibility:
New countries, pay types, and tax rules added with minimal engineering overhead. Performance:
Orders of magnitude improvement in latency and cost efficiency across distributed computation. Developer Velocity:
Simplified APIs, testing frameworks, and onboarding for internal and partner developers. Business Impact:
Reduction in country onboarding time, payroll failure rates, and manual compliance interventions. What We're Looking For
18+ years of experience building large-scale distributed systems in high-compliance or high-integrity domains (Finance, Payroll, Tax, Insurance, etc.). Deep expertise in
data architecture ,
domain-driven design , and
rule-based / event-driven systems . Experience scaling
compliance-heavy, multi-country systems
— ideally payroll, tax, or financial computation platforms. Proficiency in designing
modular service boundaries , ensuring backward compatibility and auditability. Strong understanding of
computation correctness ,
versioned state ,
precision handling , and
retroactive adjustments . Proven ability to partner across functions — translating legal/compliance constraints into elegant, maintainable systems. A strong architectural voice who can both design systems and mentor teams to scale them sustainably. Bonus Points
Experience with
AI-driven system automation
or
compliance-as-code
frameworks. Hands‑on work with
global payroll systems ,
real‑time payments , or
statutory tax logic . Familiarity with
event sourcing ,
CQRS ,
streaming pipelines , and
immutable data stores . Contributions to open‑source distributed computation frameworks or rule engines. Why Rippling
Backed by
world‑class investors (Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia, Bedrock, GIC, Elad Gil, Goldman Sachs) Valued among the
fastest‑growing SaaS companies
in history Build at the heart of Rippling’s
Finance platform , where Payroll, Spend, Bill Pay, and Banking converge into a unified ecosystem. Join a team that
pushes the limits of possible ,
builds winning systems, and moves fast with conviction . Additional Information
Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics, Rippling is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for candidates with disabilities who need assistance during the hiring process. To request a reasonable accommodation, please email accomodations@rippling.com. Rippling highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office-based employees (employees who live within a defined radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role. This role will receive a competitive salary + benefits + equity. The salary for US-based employees will be aligned with one of the ranges below based on location; see which tier applies to your location here. A variety of factors are considered when determining someone’s compensation— including a candidate’s professional background, experience, and location. Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed below.
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