US Payroll Lead

Sutherland; Chennai District; On-site; INR 800,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Sutherland in Chennai, India is seeking a Senior Payroll Specialist (Level 3) to lead complex US payroll operations from the Chennai delivery center. The role requires 4–7 years of experience, working night shift, and close collaboration with global payroll teams to ensure accuracy and compliance.

You will own end-to-end payroll execution, handle audits and escalations, and drive process improvements using Workday, ADP, SAP Payroll, and other systems.

Qualifications

• 4–7 years of progressive payroll experience in payroll administration or shared services.
• Strong expertise in payroll calculations, reconciliation, reporting, and adjustments.
• Hands-on with enterprise payroll systems (Workday, ADP, SAP Payroll).
• Knowledge of US payroll regulations and audit readiness.
• Experience handling escalations and high-volume payroll support.

Responsibilities

• End-to-End Payroll Execution for assigned population.
• Ensure 100% accuracy of payroll outputs and adjust off-cycle payrolls.
• Handle compliance and audit documentation; support audits.
• Work with Workday/ADP/SAP payroll systems and validate data flow.
• Drive standardization and automation of payroll processes; train junior staff.

Skills

Payroll calculations

Payroll reconciliation

Payroll reporting

Payroll adjustments

Workday Payroll

ADP

SAP Payroll

Audit readiness

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/HR/Accounting

Tools

Workday Payroll

ADP

SAP Payroll

Job description

Job Description: Senior Payroll Specialist (Level 3)

Location: Chennai, India (Mandatory Work from Office)

Shift: US Night Shift (5 Days a Week)

Experience: 4-7 Years

Region Supported: United States (US)

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Role Overview:

As a Senior Payroll Specialist, you will act as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for payroll operations, handling complex payroll scenarios, ensuring compliance, and driving process improvements.

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Key Responsibilities:

1. End-to-End Payroll Execution

• Manage complete payroll cycles for assigned population
• Review payroll outputs and ensure 100% accuracy
• Handle off-cycle payrolls and adjustments

2. Compliance & Audit

• Ensure compliance with US payroll laws and statutory regulations
• Prepare audit documentation and support audits
• Monitor changes in payroll regulations

3. Escalation & Issue Resolution (Tier 2/3)

• Handle complex payroll discrepancies
• Perform root cause analysis (RCA)
• Ensure permanent resolution of recurring issues

4. Systems & Data Management

• Work with Workday and ADP systems for payroll processing
• Validate system integrations and data flow
• Identify system issues and coordinate fixes

5. Process Optimization

• Drive standardization of payroll processes
• Support automation initiatives
• Train L1/L2 team members

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Qualifications & Skills

• Experience: 4 - 7 years of progressive experience in payroll administration, payroll shared services, or payroll operations.
• Technical Mastery: Strong expertise in payroll calculations, payroll reconciliation, payroll reporting, and payroll adjustments.
• System Expertise: Hands-on experience with enterprise payroll systems such as Workday Payroll, ADP, SAP Payroll, or similar platforms.
• Compliance Knowledge: Strong understanding of payroll compliance requirements, tax regulations, and payroll audit readiness.
• Case Management: Experience managing payroll escalations, employee payroll disputes, and high-volume payroll support requests.
• Leadership Exposure: Experience guiding payroll analysts or supporting payroll team operations.
• Education: Bachelors degree in Finance, HR, Accounting, or related field.

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Core Competencies

• Accuracy & Compliance: Maintains high standards of payroll accuracy while ensuring payroll calculations and deductions comply with regulatory requirements and internal payroll policies.
• Analytical Problem Solving: Ability to analyze payroll data, reconcile discrepancies between HRIS and payroll systems, and implement corrective actions.
• Operational Efficiency: Focuses on improving payroll workflows and reducing operational inefficiencies through improved processes and system utilization.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Works closely with HRIS, Compensation & Benefits, HR Operations, and Finance teams to ensure seamless payroll data management.
• Escalation Management: Handles complex payroll issues and employee payroll escalations, ensuring timely and effective resolution.
• Team Guidance: Provides operational support and guidance to payroll analysts and senior analysts to maintain payroll processing quality.
• Data Governance: Ensures payroll data accuracy, documentation completeness, and compliance with payroll governance standards