Payroll Specialist

Founded and based in Richmond, BC, Ideon Technologies uses the energy from supernova explosions in space to image deep beneath the Earth’s surface. The world pioneer in cosmic-ray muon tomography, Ideon has developed the REVEAL™ Subsurface Intelligence Platform™, comprising an advanced suite of proprietary data-generation hardware, software, AI-powered services, and multi-physics fusion that provide x-ray-like visibility deep underground and unlock the exponential power of integrated spatial data.

By transforming muon data into reliable 3D density maps, Ideon helps geologists identify, map, characterize, and monitor mineral deposits with confidence. This reduces risk and cost of traditional methods, while saving time, optimizing return, and minimizing environmental impact across the mining value chain. In turn, this is helping accelerate the world’s transition to low-impact mining and transform how companies recover the critical minerals required to power the global shift to clean energy – improving peoples’ lives and enhancing economic prosperity.

We are a dynamic tech scale-up of 80+ employees (and growing!). We are a team that is entrepreneurial by nature and focused on doing things right to deliver great customer outcomes. And we are committed to seeking out the best brains and the most exceptional humans, wherever they come from and however they happen to be packaged.

The Role

We are seeking a Payroll Specialist who will take end-to-end ownership of our payroll operations. You will process semi-monthly payroll with a primary focus on Canada and additional employees in the United States and Australia, and potential expansion into other countries. You will also play a key role in building and optimizing our payroll processes, systems, and controls to support our continued growth.

You will report to our Senior Controller and work closely with Accountants, a CFO, and a Financial Analyst.

You will impact and drive Ideon’s objectives forward by focusing on the following activities:

Payroll

• Manage and process semi-monthly Canadian payroll in Ceridian PowerPay for salaried, hourly, and commission-earning employees.
• Set up and validate payroll inputs, including new hires, terminations, salary changes, bonuses, commissions, overtime, leaves of absence, and other employee adjustments.
• Calculate field-day premiums and hourly pay from QuickBooks Time, and process pay changes, bonuses and taxable benefits (including stock-based items).
• Keep employee data in sync between our HRIS (UKG Ready) and payroll, working closely with the Talent team.
• Process US payroll for our US entity in ADP RUN, including state tax registrations and remittances, W-2s and year-end.
• Coordinate Australian payroll through our employer-of-record (EOR) provider (Remote), and review its invoices.
• Review payroll calculations and conduct thorough reconciliations to ensure the accuracy of gross-to-net pay, deductions, benefits, taxes, and employer contributions.  
• Serve as the primary point of contact for employee payroll-related inquiries, providing timely and knowledgeable support on compensation, deductions, taxes, and pay statements.

Compliance and Year-End

• Remit CPP, EI and income tax source deductions, plus WorkSafeBC and Employer Health Tax.
• Own year-end: T4s, T4As, the PD7A reconciliation and the WorkSafeBC annual return.
• Stay current on federal and BC payroll and employment standards rules.

Accounting and Reporting

• Prepare the payroll summary and journal entries for each run and reconcile payroll accounts to the general ledger each month.
• Support month-end close, audits, and payroll data gathering for government funding and SR&ED claims.

Documentation and Continuous Improvement

• Document payroll procedures and build checks that catch errors before pay day.
• Identify opportunities to streamline payroll workflows, improve efficiencies, and reduce manual processes through automation and system enhancements.

Success in the role looks like:

• Every pay run goes out accurate and on time, so our growing team across Canada can count on getting paid right, every time.
• Remittances and filings are always on time and in good shape, including CRA source deductions, provincial workers’ compensation, employer health taxes, year-end T4s and the PD7A reconciliation.
• Payroll procedures are written down as clear, repeatable SOPs.
• Payroll lines up with HRIS (UKG Ready) and accounting each month, with clean journal entries and reconciled payroll accounts.
• Employees get timely, clear, and confidential answers to their payroll-related questions.
• You’re using AI and automation to cut manual steps and catch errors before payday.

Priorities in the first few months will include:

• Taking over Canadian payroll in Ceridian PowerPay from the accounting team and becoming the go-to owner.
• Running the 2026 year-end: T4s and T4As, the PD7A reconciliation, and the WorkSafeBC annual return, all due by the end of February.
• Reviewing our employees outside BC (Alberta and Ontario) to make sure they’re set up correctly for each province’s employment standards and workers’ compensation.
• Documenting the payroll checklist and process as an SOP.
• Getting to know how US payroll runs in ADP RUN and how international payroll is handled.

Qualifications

Must-haves – You’ll need the following to move forward in the hiring process (and be successful in the role).

• 3+ years’ experience of full-cycle Canadian payroll experience, ideally supporting 75 or more employees across multiple provinces.
• Diploma or degree in accounting, payroll, or equivalent combo of training and experience.
• Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) designation.
• Direct, hands-on experience with Ceridian (PowerPay or Dayforce) or a similar payroll system.
• Solid knowledge of CRA source deductions, ROEs, T4 year-end, and BC Employment Standards Act.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and a high standard for accuracy and confidentiality.
• Enthusiasm for AI-enabled work with the critical thinking to question results and enhance as needed.
• Well-developed communication skills in English at a fluent or professional level; able to be assertive and respectful.
• Legally able and currently documented to work full time hours in Canada.

We also look for the following from all new Ideon team members:

• Experience in or excitement for working in a tech scale-up; happy to wear a few hats and adjust on the fly.
• An ambitious, can-do attitude; you get that we’re doing challenging work and are excited to dive in.
• Enthusiastic and confident to take initiative and be adaptable in an agile, fast-paced environment.
• Solid teamwork skills; you’re accountable to yourself and your team and will jump in to help where you can.
• Creative solutioning mindset with great problem-solving skills.
• Insatiable curiosity paired with a drive to deliver.
• Able to work well under pressure and to meet committed deadlines.
• Great interpersonal skills; able to build relationships with colleagues, customers, and external stakeholders.
• Able to contribute something “extra” to our culture beyond the work that you do, like wowing people with your home-baked goods, sharing improv comedy skills, or organizing sports games.

Nice-to-haves – While it would be nice to if you had some of the below, we’re happy to train, coach and share our experience.

• Certified Payroll Manager (CPM) designation.
• Accounts payable experience, such as a previous AP clerk role: invoice processing, coding and payment runs.
• US payroll experience, ideally in ADP RUN, or experience with EOR providers.
• Exposure to payroll journal entries, GL reconciliations or QuickBooks Online.
• Familiarity working with UKG Ready or other HRIS.
• Startup or high-growth company experience.

More Role Details

Location: Ideon’s office is located at #150 - 4611 Viking Way in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

Ideon is a hybrid workplace, with some roles required to work fully in office (it’s tricky to manufacture from home!).

This is a hybrid role. We love seeing folks in the office 2+ times a week; you’re welcome to work from home the remainder of the week or come into the office all 5 days if you prefer. Our “be an adult” approach means you have the flexibility to determine your in-office schedule while factoring in the positive impact of face-to-face connection and communication with your leader and teammates.

During your first few months, it’s anticipated you’ll spend more time in the office to support role-specific onboarding and relationship building.

Hours of work: 8 hrs/day, M-F. Typical working hours are 9AM-5PM-ish pacific time; some employees shift slightly earlier or later based on business and personal needs. As Ideon is a high technology company, you may be asked to be flexible with your hours due to business requirements.

What We Offer

The annual salary range for this role, in Canadian dollars, is $68,000 - $85,000.

• Early equity option allocations upon hire.
• An opportunity to work with a dynamic tech scale-up. You will contribute to advancing a ground-breaking solution that generates significant economic and environmental benefit.
• Financial support for accreditation membership, exams, continuing professional development (i.e. P.Eng, P.Geo, CPA)
• Tuition support ($2500/year).
• Extended health and dental benefits, employee assistance program, and health/personal spending accounts to cover things that may not fall into other categories (i.e. exercise classes, transit, daycare, pet insurance).
• Minimum 3 weeks paid time off to start, including an annual paid closure between the Christmas and New Year’s stat holidays.
• 5 paid sick days + other leaves per employment standards legislation.
• For hybrid/remote roles, 2 weeks/year work-from-almost-anywhere.
• Parental leave top-up.
• Employee referral bonus.
• Casual dress – we like our jeans and hoodies.
• Free parking & tasty snacks at the office!
• While we work hard, we also sprinkle social events and learning opportunities into our days (in person and virtually).  

Ideon’s salary ranges are set by role and level, benchmarked against similarly sized Vancouver-area companies. Most new hires start below the top of the range, unless their experience significantly exceeds role requirements. You’ll be asked to share your salary expectations during the application process.

What It’s Like at Ideon

Great ideas and rich company culture come from diversity of thought, experience, and perspective. The Ideon culture is anchored in a set of core values that directly shape how we hire, coach, evaluate, and develop our people:

• Driven by industry, informed by science
• Inspired to create, wired to deliver
• Unified team, personally accountable
• Boldly ambitious, exceptionally human

How to Apply, Accommodation Requests, and the Hiring Process

Optional cover letters help us learn more about you beyond what’s on your resumé (i.e. a payroll problem you’ve solved by thinking outside the box, what you’re looking for, role or industry shifts, chocolate or vanilla, cats or dogs, etc.). Also – please submit your documents as PDF files (they display the best).

We aim to provide an approachable and accessible hiring process for every candidate. If there are accommodations our team can make so you can show up as your best self, please let us know in your application.

Once you have submitted your application (via Collage), you will receive a confirmation email outlining what to expect during the hiring process.