Payroll Specialist
About Evaratus (Scaler AI Labs)
Evaratus partners with frontier AI companies on RL environments, evaluation systems, and expert-curated data. We are around 150 people in one Bengaluru office and growing fast.
About the role
You own India payroll end to end for Scaler AI Labs Private Limited. The job is judged on one thing above all others: it is correct. Payroll and statutory filings are where a young company quietly accumulates liability, and our first audited financial statements are ahead of us. We would rather this be slow and right than fast and approximate.
The entity is young and compliance is still being put on a proper footing, so you are not inheriting a clean machine. You are building it, clearing what is outstanding, and then holding the line every month.
You will work alongside external partners rather than in place of them: a payroll calculation vendor, our CA firm, and an EPF consultant. Owning those relationships and holding them to deadlines is a real part of the job.
What you will own
Accuracy, first and last. Zero tolerance for a wrong net pay, a missed challan, or a statutory deadline. You design the checks that make errors structurally hard, not the heroics that catch them late.
Monthly payroll. The full cycle in Zoho Payroll for around 150 people: new joiners, mid-cycle changes, arrears, and full and final settlements.
Statutory compliance. EPF and EPFO filings, Professional Tax, ESI where applicable, and TDS on salaries. Challans generated, paid and evidenced within due dates, every period.
Clearing the backlog. There is existing statutory catch-up to complete, including PF contributions registered but not yet remitted, and earlier Professional Tax periods where evidence needs reconstructing. Your first quarter is largely this.
Audit evidence. A clean, retrievable pack: payroll registers, challans, reconciliations and per-employee statutory records. When an auditor asks, the answer is a file, not a search.
Year-end. Form 16 issuance, Form 24Q quarterly returns, and investment declaration and proof cycles.
Reconciliation. Tie payroll to the books every month. Salary, statutory liabilities and payments must agree between Zoho Payroll and Zoho Books.
Controls. Maker-checker on payroll changes, a clear audit trail, and absolute discretion with compensation data.
Vendor and EoR transition. Manage the calculation vendor, CA firm and EPF consultant. We are moving short-term interns to an Employer of Record, and you will help run that migration cleanly.
Employee experience. Payslips, tax queries, PF transfers and withdrawals, and salary letters answered quickly and correctly.
What we are looking for
We care more about calibre and judgement than about years served. If you are strong, we will pay for it.
4 to 8 years running India payroll end to end, with at least 2 as the primary owner rather than a support pair of hands
A visible growth trajectory. Promotions, scope that widened, moves to better companies. We look at the slope, not just the total
Evidence of rigour. A track record of catching things before they break, and of work that stands up to scrutiny
Genuinely hands-on with the statutory side: EPFO portal, Professional Tax payment portals, TDS challans and Form 24Q. Not just handing data to a consultant
Experience with a payroll platform such as Zoho Payroll, Keka, Darwinbox, greytHR or RazorpayX Payroll. Zoho Payroll is a strong plus
Has cleaned up a compliance backlog or carried payroll through a statutory audit, and can talk through exactly what was wrong and how it was fixed
Comfortable where the process does not exist yet and you have to build it
Strong Excel, and the judgement to spot a number that looks wrong before it is paid
Discreet, accurate, and calm under a payroll deadline
Based in Bengaluru and happy to work from the office
Nice to have
Exposure to a company with both an Indian entity and a foreign parent, including intercompany cost recharges
Experience moving contract or short-term staff to an Employer of Record
Working knowledge of GST and TDS beyond payroll
Part-qualified CA, CMA, MBA Finance or equivalent. Full qualification is not required
How we will assess you
A short practical exercise. We will show you a payroll month with statutory gaps in it and ask what you would fix first, in what order, what you would need from whom, and what control you would put in so it cannot happen again.