Sr Manager, Payroll & People Operations

Job description

Description Who We Are: At Starbird, we’re not just serving crispy, crave-worthy chicken — we’re redefining what fast casual can be. We believe food should be fresh, flavorful, and feel-good — and the same goes for how we treat our people. As a rapidly scaling restaurant brand expanding corporate and franchise locations, our people systems must be as strong as our food and hospitality. We are building operational infrastructure that is compliant, data-driven, scalable, and designed for long-term growth. Your Role: The Sr. Manager, Payroll & People Operations is the central nervous system of the team and operational engine of the People & Culture function. This role owns the pay and HRIS systems and pay execution, related compliance programs, benefits administration, and workforce data infrastructure that support a complex, multi-location California workforce. You will directly manage the HRIS Data Lead and together you will help ensure data and compliance integrity across all people systems. This is a build-and-scale role — not a maintenance role, in a rapidly growing people and culture team. Success requires operational rigor, strong internal controls, comfort in ambiguity, and th...