Payroll Specialist - North America

Payroll Specialist - North America

Job Title: Payroll Specialist (North America)

Location: Ottawa, ON or Houston, TX

Employment Type: Permanent, Full-Time

Annual Salary: $55,000- $75,000

BMT is dedicated to tackling the most crucial engineering challenges of our era, fostering an environment where individuals with exceptional technical expertise provide meaningful, practical solutions. Committed to creating a safer, more efficient, effective, and sustainable future, BMT values diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing their pivotal role in achieving our business purpose.

Reporting to the People Director, the Payroll Specialist is responsible for the accurate and timely processing of payroll across North America (Canada and the United States). This role ensures compliance with all applicable legislation, internal policies, and reporting requirements, while delivering accurate and timely payroll to employees across North America.

Key Responsibilities

• Process end to end payroll for Canadian and US employees on a biweekly / semi monthly basis
• Ensure all earnings, deductions, and statutory remittances are calculated accurately
• Maintain payroll records and ensure data integrity within payroll systems
• Coordinate payroll changes including new hires, terminations, compensation changes, and benefits updates
• Administer time and attendance processes, including timesheet submission, review, and approval workflows
• Validate employee hours, overtime, and project coding for accuracy and completeness
• Partner with managers to resolve timesheet discrepancies in a timely manner
• Ensure alignment between approved timesheets and payroll processing timelines
• Support continuous improvement of time tracking processes and system utilization
• Ensure compliance with federal, provincial, and state payroll legislation
• Prepare and reconcile statutory filings including CRA, IRS, and relevant state agencies
• Manage year end processes including T4, RL1, W2, and related filings
• Support internal and external audits by providing payroll documentation and analysis
• Administer employee benefits programs including enrolments, changes, and deductions
• Reconcile benefit invoices and work closely with vendors
• Ensure accurate processing of RRSP, and 401k contributions
• Perform regular payroll reconciliations and resolve discrepancies
• Partner with Finance to ensure alignment between payroll, general ledger, and financial reporting
• Maintain strong internal controls and identify opportunities for process improvements
• Respond to employee payroll inquiries in a timely and professional manner
• Provide guidance on payroll related matters including deductions, taxation, and benefit impacts

Skills, Knowledge & Expertise

• 3 to 5 years of payroll experience, including Canada and United States
• Experience using ADP Workforce Now for payroll processing and reporting
• Solid understanding of Canadian and US payroll legislation, taxation, and compliance requirements
• Payroll certification (e.g., PCP) or working towards is considered an asset
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel
• Experience with time and attendance systems, including timesheet management
• Experience supporting payroll system implementations, migrations, or enhancements is an asset
• Experience in an engineering, consulting, or project-based environment is an asset
• Strong attention to detail with a high degree of accuracy and accountability
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and meet tight deadlines
• Strong problem solving and communication skills, with a customer-service mindset
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively across teams

About BMT

BMT is a maritime-orientated high-end design house and technical consulting firm driven by a passion for solving complex, real-world problems Our core business comprises distinctive and sustainable capabilities, which we leverage to address the needs of our customers and markets and are the primary focus of future capability development. We exist to navigate the most important and impactful engineering challenges of our time. We create environments where people with outstanding technical knowledge deliver meaningful, practical solutions. We are driven by a commitment to a safer, more efficient, effective, and sustainable future.