US Payroll Specialist Sr Associate / Lead - Urgent Hiring

Sutherland; Chennai; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,400,000; Full time

Job summary

Sutherland in Chennai seeks a Senior Payroll Specialist / Lead to manage US payroll operations with night shift support. The role emphasizes accuracy, compliance, and continuous improvement, including tax, benefits, and multi-state processing.

You will mentor juniors, review inputs, and drive governance across Workday/ADP/Kronos while collaborating with HR and Finance. The position offers leadership growth in a global setting.

Qualifications

• 1–9 years US payroll experience.
• Hands-on Workday/ADP/PeopleSoft/Dayforce.
• Experience with Kronos/Compass time systems.
• FPC/CPP certification preferred.
• Bachelor’s in Accounting/Finance; masters preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Payroll SME to resolve multi-state payroll issues.
• Review pre-payroll inputs and validate time and earnings.
• Lead post-payroll validations, reconciliations, and audits.
• Ensure SOX readiness and regulatory compliance.
• Manage vendor relationships (ADP, Sedgwick, Equifax).
• Mentor junior staff and drive process improvements.

Skills

US Payroll

Stakeholder Management

Team Leadership

Process Improvement

Education

Bachelor's in Accounting/Finance

FPC/CPP certification

Tools

Workday

ADP

Kronos

Compass

PeopleSoft

Dayforce

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Senior Payroll Specialist / Lead to serve for US payroll operations. Candidates are preferred to work in US shift timings. This role is responsible for ensuring compliant, accurate, and efficient payroll delivery while driving continuous improvement initiatives. The position offers exposure to complex multi-state payroll, global governance, advanced system operations, and leadership opportunities.

The Lead will additionally review and validate pre-payroll inputs, analyze payroll outputs, administer post-payroll activities, mentor junior specialists, and ensure adherence to SLAs/KPIs. This role requires night shift support with rotational weekly offs and is based out of our Chennai office.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Payroll SME Support & Issue Resolution

Act as SME for escalated payroll issues including multi-state taxation, leave calculations, adjustments, wage garnishments, retro payments, and complex earnings/deductions.

Support troubleshooting of timekeeping discrepancies (Kronos, Compass), ensuring accurate payroll-impacting data.

2. Payroll Processing & Validation

Review and validate pre-payroll inputs, ensuring accuracy and completeness of time, earnings, deductions, and exceptions.

Analyze payroll reports and manage all post-payroll activities including validations, corrections, and reconciliations.

Perform Build-to-Gross input reconciliation and Gross-to-Net validation across all employee population groups.

Reconcile pre- and post-payroll audit reports, addressing discrepancies with client SMEs and internal stakeholders.

3. Payroll Tax, Compliance & Audit

Compile wage, tax, and other taxable information; validate payroll registers and reconcile 401(k)/benefits deductions.

Prepare and validate payroll tax data supporting quarterly and annual tax filings.

Lead reconciliation and auditing of payroll runs across Workday, ADP, and Kronos, ensuring accuracy and compliance.

Own compliance activities including SOX readiness, vendor audits, federal/state reporting, and statutory submissions.

Implement payroll process changes aligned with evolving US tax regulations and internal policies.

4. Stakeholder & Vendor Management

Handle escalations and complex data issues; provide guidance to resolve Tier 0/Tier 1 queries.

Collaborate with HR, Finance, and Legal teams to align payroll execution with organizational goals.

Manage relationships with third-party vendors (ADP, Sedgwick, Equifax), ensuring service quality and compliance adherence.

5. Transformation, Automation & Process Excellence

Drive payroll process improvements, automation initiatives, and digital transformation using RPA, AI, or analytics tools.

Conduct RCA for payroll errors, implement corrective actions, and lead retraining as needed.

Ensure exceptional service delivery through process optimization, documentation updates, and governance practices.

6. Leadership & Team Enablement (Lead Role)

Mentor junior payroll specialists, oversee workload distribution, and ensure SLA/KPI achievement.

Support capability-building initiatives within the payroll team through training and knowledge sharing.

Eligibility & Qualifications:

• 1-9 years of experience in US Payroll / Payroll Audits / Compliance.
• Strong hands-on experience with Workday or ADP or Peoplesoft or Dayforce.
• Exposure to Kronos / Compass / Time & Attendance systems preferred.
• FPC / CPP certification highly preferred.
• Bachelor's in accounting, Finance, HR (Masters preferred).
• Excellent knowledge of US payroll laws, multi-state taxation, FICA, garnishments, and statutory compliance.