Payroll Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

We are looking for a Payroll Specialist to support accurate and timely payroll operations for a large, multi-state workforce in San Luis Obispo, California. This Long-term Contract position is ideal for someone who brings strong end-to-end payroll knowledge, attention to detail, and confidence working across high-volume payroll environments. The person in this role will help ensure employees are paid correctly, payroll records remain compliant, and tax-related processes are handled with precision.

Responsibilities:
• Process full-cycle payroll for a high-volume employee population, ensuring each payroll run is completed accurately and on schedule.
• Administer payroll activities across multiple states while applying applicable wage, tax, and compliance requirements.
• Use payroll platforms such as ADP Workforce Now and Dayforce to maintain employee records, validate payroll data, and resolve processing issues.
• Review earnings, deductions, garnishments, and benefit changes to confirm all payroll inputs are correctly reflected.
• Reconcile payroll totals and investigate discrepancies before final submission to reduce errors and rework.
• Support payroll tax activities, including reviewing withholdings, assisting with filings, and helping address tax-related questions or exceptions.
• Coordinate payroll processing for large employee groups of more than 500 workers while maintaining consistency and confidentiality.
• Assist with international payroll-related tasks as needed, helping align data and timelines across payroll cycles.• Demonstrated experience managing full-cycle payroll from data review through final payroll completion.
• Strong background processing multi-state payroll with a solid understanding of payroll compliance requirements.
• Hands-on experience with ADP Workforce Now and familiarity with Dayforce in a payroll environment.
• Proven ability to support payroll for employee populations exceeding 500 individuals.
• Working knowledge of payroll taxes, deductions, and related reconciliation activities.
• Experience handling sensitive payroll information with a high degree of accuracy and discretion.
• Exposure to international payroll processes is preferred.
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to meet recurring deadlines in a fast-paced setting.