Administrative Specialist

Payroll Specialist

We are seeking a highly organized and detail-focused Payroll Specialist to oversee payroll administration and support a multi-state workforce within a professional services environment. This position plays a key role in ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time while maintaining compliance with applicable payroll regulations and company policies. The successful candidate will possess strong payroll processing expertise, experience working within ADP Workforce Now, and a thorough understanding of payroll best practices in fast-paced business environments.

Key responsibilities include:

• Manage end-to-end payroll processing for employees across multiple states, ensuring timely and accurate payroll execution.
• Review, validate, and reconcile employee time records, making adjustments as needed to ensure accuracy and compliance with company policies and applicable labor regulations.
• Maintain employee payroll data, including compensation changes, tax elections, direct deposit information, benefit deductions, and other payroll-related updates.
• Generate and analyze payroll reports, perform payroll reconciliations, and investigate discrepancies to ensure data integrity.
• Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll tax requirements, wage and hour laws, and other payroll-related regulations.
• Coordinate the processing of employee expense reimbursements, manual payments, and ACH transactions.
• Administer paid time off (PTO), leave balances, and other employee time-off programs in accordance with company guidelines.
• Support retirement plan administration activities, including employee enrollment changes, reporting requirements, and payroll-related contributions.
• Partner with Human Resources, Finance, and Operations teams to resolve payroll inquiries and provide payroll-related support.
• Assist with year-end payroll activities, audits, tax reporting, and documentation requests from internal and external stakeholders.
• Contribute to payroll process improvements and help maintain efficient payroll procedures and controls.
• Perform additional payroll and administrative duties as assigned to support organizational objectives.

Required qualifications include:

• Associate degree or higher in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related discipline; equivalent professional experience may be considered.
• Three or more years of progressive payroll experience, preferably supporting multi-state employee populations.
• Demonstrated proficiency using ADP Workforce Now for payroll administration and reporting.
• Strong understanding of payroll regulations, including wage and hour requirements, payroll taxes, and compliance practices.
• Experience managing payroll for large employee populations and high-volume payroll cycles is preferred.
• Background within professional services, engineering, construction, consulting, or other project-driven industries is highly desirable.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including data analysis, reconciliations, reporting, and spreadsheet management.
• Exceptional attention to detail with a commitment to accuracy and meeting recurring deadlines.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and organizational skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments.
• Ability to handle confidential information professionally and exercise sound judgment when managing sensitive employee data.

Preferred experience includes:

• Experience supporting payroll operations for organizations with 250+ employees.
• Familiarity with project-based time tracking, labor allocations, billable hours, or prevailing wage reporting.
• Exposure to payroll audits, compliance reporting, and retirement plan administration.
• Knowledge of payroll process optimization and continuous improvement initiatives.

Job type and location:

This is a permanent position based out of New Windsor, NY.

Pay and benefits:

The pay range for this position is $65000.00 - $95000.00/yr. Full benefits package including medical, dental, vision, and 401k.

Workplace type:

This is a hybrid position in New Windsor, NY.

Application deadline:

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 20, 2026.

About Actalent:

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation, and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia, and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.