Manager, Payroll & Equity Accounting

About CG Oncology, Inc.

Are you ready to make a difference in the world and become part of our patient-centered team that is focused on Attacking Bladder Cancer for a Better Tomorrow? At CG Oncology, we believe that by having exceptionally talented individuals on our team who share our passion and enjoy working together, we can truly achieve our Vision and Mission to benefit patients around the world.

Every day we are making significant advancements across our multiple pipelines and are growing rapidly to meet the needs of our patients who cannot afford to wait to benefit from our novel immunotherapies. Please review this job posting and our Values and if they resonate with you and are what you expect from your organization and team, then we would like to hear from you.

About the role

The Manager, Payroll & Equity Accounting serves as the process owner and primary escalation point for CG Oncology’s payroll operations and is responsible for the accounting and payroll/tax execution associated with equity compensation. This hands-on manager-level role leads end-to-end, multi-state U.S. payroll, including base pay, variable and incentive compensation, vehicle reimbursements, and equity-related payments, while establishing the review standards, controls, and vendor accountability needed to ensure accurate and timely results. Rather than owning equity administration, the role partners closely with the Director, Technical Accounting & SEC Reporting to translate equity activity into accurate payroll treatment, stock-based compensation accounting, reconciliations, and financial reporting support. Working across Finance, HR, Legal, and external providers, the Manager resolves complex payroll, tax, accounting, and control issues and leads process and system improvements. The Manager is expected to exercise independent judgment, influence cross-functional decisions, and build scalable processes as the organization grows. The ideal candidate brings deep public-company payroll expertise, meaningful experience with equity-related payroll and accounting activities, and demonstrated success leading critical processes in a regulated environment.

Essential Functions

• Own and lead full-cycle, multi-state U.S. payroll operations for exempt and non-exempt employees, including incentive-based and equity-related payments, with accountability for accuracy, timeliness, compliance, and final review.
• Establish and manage payroll workflows, review checkpoints, escalation paths, adjustments, and amendments to ensure transactions are processed accurately, timely, and in accordance with established controls.
• Partner with HR, Finance, and other process owners to establish clear data handoffs, resolve discrepancies, and ensure employee and compensation data are complete, timely, and synchronized across systems.
• Own the preparation and review of monthly payroll journal entries, bonus accruals, and related payroll accounting entries, investigating variances and ensuring accurate support for the financial close.
• Partner with the Director, Technical Accounting & SEC Reporting to obtain and validate equity award activity, including grants, exercises, releases, forfeitures, and other award changes, ensuring complete and accurate data is available for payroll, accounting, and reporting purposes.
• Prepare and maintain stock-based compensation expense workbooks and related monthly journal entries, reconciling source data and resolving discrepancies in partnership with the Director, Technical Accounting & SEC Reporting and Finance leadership.
• Own monthly reconciliations for payroll-related accounts and investigate reconciling items, aging issues, and recurring variances through timely resolution.
• Coordinate equity-related payroll events and payments in partnership with the Director, Technical Accounting & SEC Reporting, validating employee data, timing, withholding, and tax treatment before payroll execution.
• Lead quarterly and year-end payroll activities, including review of payroll filings, amendments, W-2 and 1099 reporting, and related reconciliations, escalating material issues and driving them to resolution.
• Own execution and ongoing improvement of payroll-related SOX controls, maintain audit-ready documentation, coordinate control testing, and drive timely remediation of identified payroll control gaps; support equity-related controls in partnership with the Director, Technical Accounting & SEC Reporting.
• Oversee review of international payroll processed through global Employer of Record (EOR) providers, validate key inputs and outputs, manage escalations, and hold vendors accountable to service and contractual expectations.
• Reconcile payroll data across payroll, benefits, 401(k), equity, and general-ledger interfaces, identify root causes of discrepancies, and coordinate corrective actions with the appropriate process owner.
• Lead payroll audit support for internal and external reviews, providing complete, audit-ready evidence and coordinating equity-related support with the Director, Technical Accounting & SEC Reporting and other control owners.
• Lead payroll process improvements, system enhancements, automation opportunities, and risk-mitigation initiatives; define requirements, coordinate testing, document changes, and monitor adoption and results.
• Serve as the escalation point for complex payroll and equity-related pay inquiries, resolve issues with urgency and discretion, identify recurring themes, and implement preventive process improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Seven (7) years of progressive payroll experience, including demonstrated ownership or lead responsibility for a complex, multi-state payroll function in a publicly traded or similarly regulated environment; biotech, pharma, or life sciences experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with equity-related payroll events, incentive compensation, tax withholding, stock-based compensation accounting support, vehicle reimbursements, and other complex compensation arrangements; experience partnering with a dedicated equity administration function strongly preferred.
• Hands-on expertise with Rippling, ADP, or a comparable payroll platform, including configuration, testing, reporting, issue resolution, and vendor escalation.
• Demonstrated experience owning payroll-related SOX controls and leading payroll audit support, including documentation, testing coordination, issue resolution, and remediation.
• Experience reviewing international payroll through EOR or global payroll models and managing third-party service quality, escalations, and reconciliations.

Work Authorization for US Applicants: Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa at this time.

Please note that CG Oncology does not accept unsolicited information and/or resumes from search firms or agencies for our job postings. Any resumes or client information submitted to our careers page or any employee of CG Oncology by any search firm or agency without an applicable contract in place will become the property of CG Oncology and no fee(s) will be paid.

Total Rewards

CG Oncology offers very competitive and comprehensive Total Rewards, helping to support and reward our global team of high-performing employees focused on developing bladder-saving therapeutics for patients afflicted with bladder cancer.

HIGHLY COMPETITIVE SALARIES

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE/MERIT REVIEWS

ANNUAL PERFORMANCE BONUSES

EQUITYSPECIAL RECOGNITION

Well-Being Benefits

In addition to our Total Rewards, CG Oncology offers a variety of Well-Being Benefits to meet the majority of the needs of our unique and growing workforce. These benefits are designed to support our team to achieve a healthy balance between work and their personal lives to remain refreshed, engaged, and creating an environment where each person can find a deeper meaning and purpose in their work.

Well-Being Benefits eligibility begins the 1st of the month after hire. While a majority of these benefits are for our US-based workforce, we continue to assess comparable levels of benefits for our international team members that are aligned with country-specific regulations and their national programs offered.

FULLY REMOTE WORK ENVIRONMENT

REST AND RECHARGE BENEFITS - Unlimited Flexible Time Off

HOLIDAYS - In 2026 we will observe 14 holidays

RETIREMENT - 401K with 100% company Safe Harbor match up to 4% of base salary

HEALTH (MEDICAL, DENTAL, VISION) - PPO & HDHP - Cigna/Principal

HEALTH SPENDING ACCOUNTS - HSA (with Annual Company Contribution), FSA, FSA-DC

ILLNESS & DISABILITY PROTECTION - Company Paid LTD Coverage + Voluntary Plans

LIFE INSURANCE - Company Paid 2 x base salary + Voluntary Plans

ADDITIONAL EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS - Voluntary Legal, Pet, Plus More

CG Oncology is an Equal Opportunity Employer:

All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status. At CG Oncology, we are building a community of intelligent and passionate team members that share our Vision, Mission and Values, and while the biotechnology space can feel limited in BIPOC, non-binary and even female representation, we endeavor to make hiring decisions that will continue to grow and support our team in the direction of maintaining cultural diversity and sustainability.