Payroll and Benefits Administrator
$85k - $100k USD
About Nirvana
Nirvana is on a mission to harness the power of data to revolutionize commercial insurance and enable a safer world. We are bringing much-needed innovation into the legacy, trillion-dollar commercial insurance industry. We have developed cutting-edge predictive models that use real-time IoT data from billions of connected devices, allowing us to better understand and price risk. Our AI-driven platform fundamentally changes the way an insurance company operates with personalized risk scoring, faster underwriting, modernized claims, and proactive, data-driven insights to help customers prevent accidents.
We’ve already proven the scale—serving thousands of fleets and more than doubling our written premiums year over year. Our data moat is growing exponentially with more than 30 billion miles of telematics data, leading to more predictive models and new insights into how we can better understand and reduce risk. Altogether, our loss ratio, efficiency, and customer experience are redefining what can be done in the industry.
With $270+ million raised, including our Series D round in December 2025, we’re only accelerating our growth, with strong support from top-tier VCs including Lightspeed, General Catalyst, and Valor. Nirvana’s leadership team has previously helped scale multi-billion-dollar companies from scratch, including Samsara, Rubrik, and Flexport, and includes industry veterans from Hiscox, The Hartford, and RLI.
Why this role matters
Payroll and benefits are foundational to employee trust. In this role, you’ll ensure every Nirvana employee is paid accurately, on time, and supported by benefits that work as expected—while helping us scale cleanly as we grow. Your work directly impacts the day-to-day experience of the team and enables the People Operations function to move faster and smarter.
About the Role
As a Payroll and Benefits Administrator, you’ll join our People Operations team and report to the Senior Manager of Compensation and Benefits. This is a hands-on, execution-focused role ideal for someone early in their People Ops career who wants to deepen their expertise across payroll, benefits, systems, and compliance in a high-growth environment. You’ll be the primary owner of payroll and benefits operations, partnering closely with external providers, Finance, and internal stakeholders. This role is fully remote within the United States.
What You’ll Do
Administer end-to-end, multi-state U.S. payroll, including time and earnings validation, off-cycle payments, garnishments, tax setup, reconciliations, and year-end processing
Partner with our payroll provider to resolve issues, improve workflows, and ensure accurate, timely processing every cycle
Manage health and welfare benefits administration, including eligibility changes, life events, open enrollment project management, carrier data accuracy, COBRA coordination, and monthly invoice reconciliation
Maintain clean, reliable data across HRIS, payroll, benefits, and finance reporting by owning lifecycle changes, running audits, correcting discrepancies, and producing routine and ad hoc reports
Serve as the primary point of contact for employee payroll and benefits questions, delivering timely support and creating clear communications, guides, and educational materials
Ensure strong compliance and internal controls by adhering to federal, state, and local regulations (including FLSA, ERISA, ACA, HIPAA, COBRA, and tax withholding), maintaining documentation and SOPs, and supporting audits and required filings
What You Bring
Must-Haves
Experience running U.S. multi-state payroll with a strong attention to detail
Familiarity with benefits administration, including open enrollment and employee lifecycle events
2–5 years of experience in payroll, benefits, People Operations, or a related role
Working knowledge of payroll and benefits compliance requirements
Strong organizational skills and a customer-service mindset when supporting employees
Nice-to-Haves
Experience implementing or optimizing new payroll systems, benefits platforms, or an HRIS
Experience partnering closely with Finance or Accounting teams
Exposure to fast-growing or startup environments
Why Join Nirvana
Play a critical role in scaling a People Operations foundation that supports rapid company growth
Gain broad, hands-on exposure to payroll, benefits, systems, and compliance
Work with a collaborative, kind, and high-velocity team that values ownership and learning
Build a strong People Ops career path as the company continues to grow
Benefits & Perks (United States)
We offer competitive compensation including equity and believe in taking care of our team holistically. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; a 401(k) with company match; unlimited PTO; and a work-from-home friendly culture. You’ll join a highly collaborative, distributed team with biannual company offsites and a strong emphasis on work-life balance.
Our Commitment to Inclusion
Nirvana is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you’re excited about this role but don’t meet 100% of the qualifications listed above, we encourage you to apply. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other protected characteristic.
We set our salary ranges using compensation data from companies similar to our stage and size. For this role, the estimated salary for this position is $85,000 - $100,000. The actual base salary will vary depending on multiple factors unique to each candidate, including location, job-related knowledge, transferable skills, work experience and our assessment of your level during the interview process. Nirvana offers equity for all full-time employees, which is not included in the range listed above and will have an impact on your overall compensation.
Nirvana offers a wide range of best-in-class, comprehensive benefits including 100% employer paid healthcare plans, an up to 4% 401k match program, paid time off, parental leave, wellness reimbursement, work-from-home stipend and more.Nirvana is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce. If you’re interested in this role, but do not meet 100% of the qualifications listed above, we encourage you to apply. We'd like to consider you for this position and roles that may be a fit in the future.
Nirvana is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetics or any other basis forbidden under federal, state, or local law. Nirvana considers all qualified applicants in accordance with the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance.