Payroll Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

We are looking for a Payroll Specialist to support accurate and compliant payroll operations for a U.S.-based employee population in Santa Clara, California. This Long-term Contract position is ideal for someone who can confidently manage full-cycle, multi-state payroll while collaborating across payroll, benefits, and accounting functions. The role requires strong attention to detail, sound judgment with tax and commission-related payroll matters, and the ability to keep processes organized and well documented.

Responsibilities:

• Administer complete payroll processing for multi-state U.S. employees, ensuring each cycle is completed accurately and on schedule.

• Review earnings, deductions, tax withholdings, and commission payments to confirm payroll results are correct before finalization.

• Monitor payroll tax obligations across multiple states and help maintain compliance with applicable wage and hour requirements.

• Investigate and correct payroll variances, reconciling records in advance of each pay run to minimize errors and delays.

• Work closely with the benefits team to ensure payroll deductions tied to employee benefit programs are reflected properly in payroll.

• Oversee expense reimbursement activity through Concur, including validation and reconciliation of submitted amounts.

• Partner with accounting leadership on payroll-related journal entries, accruals, reporting, and related financial support tasks.

• Create clear process documentation and identify potential compliance concerns or operational risks to support long-term continuity in the role.

• Hands-on experience managing full-cycle payroll in a multi-state U.S. environment.
• Strong understanding of state payroll tax requirements and wage and hour compliance considerations.
• Practical experience using ADP Workforce Now for payroll processing is strongly preferred.
• Ability to accurately handle commission payments, tax calculations, and other payroll items with a high degree of precision.
• Experience reconciling payroll data, researching discrepancies, and resolving issues efficiently.
• Familiarity with payroll-related coordination across benefits and accounting teams.
• Experience working with expense reimbursement platforms such as Concur is preferred.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to learn quickly in a fast-paced contract assignment.