Senior Payroll & Benefits Leader | Multi-State Expert

Join Parachute; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Join Parachute in Austin, TX is seeking a Senior Payroll & Benefits Specialist to own end-to-end payroll operations for 1,000–2,000+ employees across multiple locations. You will handle exempt and non-exempt payroll, tax compliance, and benefits administration.

You will partner with our broker on benefits, manage 401(k) contributions, reconcile benefits and payroll in the general ledger, and support year-end filings while guiding open enrollment and employee education.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of payroll experience in complex multi-state environments.
• Experience with 750+ employee population.
• Strong knowledge of federal/state payroll tax and wage & hour compliance.
• Hands-on experience with 401(k) administration and benefits reconciliation.
• Experience coordinating with benefits brokers and carriers.
• Proficiency in payroll accounting: journal entries, GL reconciliation, accruals.

Responsibilities

• Process multi-state, multi-location payroll for exempt and non-exempt employees, with multiple pay frequencies.
• Ensure accurate wages, deductions, garnishments, and off-cycle payments.
• Maintain payroll system configuration (rates, earnings/deduction codes, GL mapping).
• Manage federal, state, local payroll tax filings and remittances across jurisdictions.
• Monitor wage and hour laws and ensure compliance.
• Respond to tax notices and coordinate with third-party tax filing vendors.
• Administer payroll-related aspects of benefits enrollment, deductions, and reconciliation.
• Manage 401(k) contribution funding, employer match calculations, and compliance testing support.
• Serve as the primary resource for benefits questions—education, open enrollment support, and day-to-day coverage questions.
• Reconcile benefits invoices monthly against active census; reconcile to general ledger.
• Track claims history and utilization trends to inform renewal strategy.
• Lead employee education efforts on benefits.
• Prepare and post payroll and benefits journal entries.
• Reconcile payroll GL accounts, including clearing/offsetting accounts, monthly.
• Partner with Accounting on payroll accruals, PTO liability, and month-end close deadlines.
• Investigate and resolve discrepancies between payroll system and GL.

Skills

Payroll processing

Multi-state payroll

Benefits administration

401(k) administration

Payroll tax compliance

G/L reconciliation

Open enrollment

Broker/carrier coordination

Rippling

Journal entries

Tools

Rippling

Job description

Join Parachute in Austin, TX is seeking a Senior Payroll & Benefits Specialist to own end-to-end payroll operations for 1,000–2,000+ employees across multiple locations. You will handle exempt and non-exempt payroll, tax compliance, and benefits administration.

You will partner with our broker on benefits, manage 401(k) contributions, reconcile benefits and payroll in the general ledger, and support year-end filings while guiding open enrollment and employee education.