Payroll Tech Lead

Role overview

A professional services organization is looking for an experienced payroll leader to manage and improve payroll operations from a remote location tied to New York, NY. This position centers on Workday payroll execution, compliance, reconciliations, tax support, reporting, and process optimization. The compensation for this role is $135K–$175K plus bonus.

Payroll operations

• Run payroll end to end in Workday Payroll, with a focus on accuracy, timeliness, and regulatory compliance.
• Support the Payroll Manager with regular payroll cycles, including earnings, deductions, taxes, garnishments, and out-of-cycle payments.
• Maintain accurate payroll data across connected systems and interfaces.

Reconciliation and financial control

• Reconcile payroll results against the general ledger, tax filings at the federal, state, location, and international levels, as well as cash disbursements and bank funding.
• Track down and correct mismatches between payroll, tax, and finance records.
• Work with Finance on month-end and year-end close activities.

Tax and compliance

• Use ADP SmartCompliance to handle tax filing, reporting, and compliance tasks.
• Ensure payroll taxes and required regulatory submissions are completed correctly and on time.
• Stay current on legal and regulatory changes that affect payroll.
• Provide documentation and analysis to support internal and external audits.

Systems and technical work

• Act as the technical point person for Workday Payroll, including configuration support, testing, and issue resolution.
• Investigate payroll system problems, integration issues, and data inconsistencies.
• Assist with Workday releases, system enhancements, and payroll-related project work.

Reporting and analytics

• Create and share payroll reports using Workday and other reporting tools.
• Analyze trends, variances, and unusual payroll patterns, then present clear insights.

Partnership with People Function

• Collaborate with the People Function on employee data updates, benefit and compensation alignment, and issue resolution for employee inquiries.
• Serve as a dependable advisor on how People policies and programs affect payroll.

Process improvement

• Look for ways to improve payroll workflows, controls, and overall efficiency.
• Document and maintain standard operating procedures.
• Help strengthen internal controls to reduce risk and support compliance.
• Drive automation and optimization across Workday and ADP SmartCompliance.

Qualifications

• A bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related discipline is required.
• CPP certification, or an equivalent credential, is preferred.
• At least 10 years of hands-on payroll processing experience, including full end-to-end ownership.
• Advanced experience with Workday Payroll processing and reporting is required.
• Strong familiarity with ADP SmartCompliance is strongly preferred.
• Experience in a complex multi-state or global payroll environment is a plus.
• Advanced Excel capability, including reconciliations, pivot tables, and data analysis, is required.