Senior Specialist - US Payroll

ZALARIS Deutschland AG; Chennai District; On-site; INR 1,500,000 - 2,100,000; Full time

Job summary

ZALARIS Deutschland AG in Chennai, India seeks a Senior Specialist – US Payroll with 10–20 years of payroll experience. You will lead end-to-end US payroll processing, ensure regulatory compliance, and partner with HR and Finance to drive accuracy and process improvements.

The role requires strong knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll regulations and hands-on experience with SAP, Workday, ADP, and Ceridian Dayforcel. You will mentor junior staff and support audits.

Qualifications

• End-to-end US payroll processing across multiple cycles.
• Ensure compliance with Federal, State, and Local regulations.
• Lead year-end activities including W-2 processing and reconciliations.
• Perform payroll audits and maintain SOPs and controls.
• Resolve payroll inquiries within SLAs and provide SME guidance.

Responsibilities

• Execute end-to-end US payroll processing for weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly cycles.
• Review payroll inputs including hires, terminations, transfers, promotions, bonuses, stock transactions, and deductions.
• Validate payroll calculations for earnings, taxes, deductions, and net pay.
• Perform payroll audits and reconciliations before payroll release.

Skills

US payroll

Payroll regulations

Stakeholder mgmt

SOX compliance

Taxation

Process improvement

Vendor management

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Finance

Payroll certification

Tools

SAP Payroll

Workday Payroll

ADP

Ceridian Dayforcel

Job description

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Job Title: Senior Specialist - US Payroll

Location: Chennai, IN

Senior Specialist- US Payroll

We are seeking an experienced and detail-oriented Senior Specialist – US Payroll with 10–20 years of payroll experience, including significant expertise in US payroll processing, taxation, compliance, year-end activities, and payroll systems. The role will be responsible for end-to-end payroll operations, ensuring accurate and timely payroll processing, statutory compliance, issue resolution, stakeholder management, and continuous process improvement.

The ideal candidate should possess strong knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll regulations, payroll accounting concepts, and payroll systems such as SAP, Workday, ADP

Your Responsibilities

Payroll Processing

• Execute end-to-end US payroll processing for weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, and monthly payroll cycles.
• Review payroll inputs including hires, terminations, transfers, promotions, bonuses, stock transactions, and benefit deductions.
• Validate payroll calculations to ensure accuracy of earnings, taxes, deductions, and net pay.
• Perform payroll audits and reconciliations before payroll release.

Compliance & Taxation

• Ensure compliance with all applicable Federal, State, and Local payroll regulations.
• Monitor payroll tax updates and legislative changes impacting payroll operations.
• .

Year-End Activities

• Lead W-2 processing, validation, reconciliation, and employee support activities.
• Manage year-end balancing activities for wages, taxes, deductions, and benefits.

Payroll Audits & Controls

• Perform payroll variance analysis and identify anomalies.
• Ensure SOX compliance and adherence to internal controls.
• Support internal and external payroll audits.
• Develop and maintain payroll process documentation and SOPs.

Employee & Stakeholder Support

• Resolve complex payroll inquiries and escalations within defined SLAs.
• Partner with HR, Finance, Benefits, Compensation, and Tax teams.
• Provide payroll guidance to employees and business stakeholders.
• Collaborate with payroll vendors and third-party providers.
• Act as a subject matter expert (SME) for US payroll processes.
• Mentor junior payroll specialists and support team development.
• Drive knowledge-sharing initiatives and best practices across the payroll function.

Your Experience and Skills

Education

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Human Resources, US Payroll exp or related field.
• Professional payroll certification preferred.

Experience

• 10–20 years of payroll experience, with a minimum of 7+ years in US payroll operations.
• Experience managing payroll for large employee populations (1,000+ employees preferred).
• Strong experience handling multi-state payroll processing.

Technical Skills

• Expertise in US Payroll taxation and compliance.
• Hands-on experience with payroll systems such as:
  • SAP Payroll
  • Workday Payroll
  • ADP
  • Ceridian Dayforcel

Preferred Qualifications

• Certification such as FPC (Fundamental Payroll Certification) or CPP (Certified Payroll Professional).
• Experience in global payroll environments.
• Knowledge of payroll accounting and general ledger reconciliations.
• Experience with payroll governance, controls, and compliance audits.
• Exposure to payroll transformation, automation, and process improvement initiatives.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• Strong stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple payroll cycles and deadlines.
• High level of confidentiality and professionalism.