Senior Payroll Specialist

Relate Search; Cockeysville (MD); On-site; USD 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Relate Search is seeking a Senior Payroll Specialist to own hands-on payroll processing for a large, multi-state workforce. You will act as a key resource for complex questions, ensuring accurate processing and regulatory compliance across federal, state, and local levels.

You will handle tax activities, wage attachments, and year-end processes while supporting payroll initiatives and collaborating with a payroll team of varying experience levels.

Qualifications

• 3–10+ years of payroll experience in a large, multi-state organization.
• Strong understanding of FLSA and payroll compliance.
• Experience with Certified Payroll and/or Davis-Bacon reporting.
• Experience supporting prevailing wage environments is highly preferred.
• Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll taxes.
• Experience with payroll reconciliations, tax notices, wage attachments, and year-end processes.
• Experience working with a payroll/HRIS system (Dayforce preferred).
• Excellent Excel and general computer skills.

Responsibilities

• Process weekly payroll for a large, multi-state employee population.
• Serve as a primary point of contact for payroll-related questions from employees, internal teams, and external agencies.
• Ensure payroll is processed accurately and in compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.
• Support payroll tax activities, including new tax account registrations and resolution of tax notices.
• Reconcile quarterly and year-end payroll reports.
• Prepare and process Certified Payroll Reports on a weekly basis.
• Support Davis-Bacon and prevailing wage requirements.
• Set up and audit wage attachments/garnishments.
• Provide payroll information and documentation to Finance for audit purposes.
• Research and resolve more complex payroll issues and questions.
• Provide backup support to the Director of Payroll.
• Assist with payroll-related projects, process improvements, and system initiatives.
• Work collaboratively with a payroll team that includes both junior and mid-level team members.

Skills

Multi-state payroll

FLSA compliance

Payroll tax knowledge

Excel

Confidential information handling

Communication skills

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience

Tools

Dayforce

Job description

We are partnered with a long-established, rapidly growing organization. The company has experienced significant growth over the past several years with approximately 3,000 employees.

They are looking to add a Senior Payroll Specialist to their team who can take ownership of hands-on payroll processing while serving as a key resource to the broader payroll function. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who has strong payroll experience, understands the complexities of multi-state payroll and compliance, and is ready to take on more complex questions and projects without stepping into a management role.

What You'll Do

• Process weekly payroll for a large, multi-state employee population
• Serve as a primary point of contact for payroll-related questions from employees, internal teams, and external agencies
• Ensure payroll is processed accurately and in compliance with federal, state, and local regulations
• Support payroll tax activities, including new tax account registrations and resolution of tax notices
• Reconcile quarterly and year-end payroll reports
• Prepare and process Certified Payroll Reports on a weekly basis
• Support Davis-Bacon and prevailing wage requirements
• Set up and audit wage attachments/garnishments
• Provide payroll information and documentation to Finance for audit purposes
• Research and resolve more complex payroll issues and questions
• Provide backup support to the Director of Payroll
• Assist with payroll-related projects, process improvements, and system initiatives
• Work collaboratively with a payroll team that includes both junior and mid-level team members

What We're Looking For

• 3–10+ years of payroll experience, ideally within a large, multi-state organization
• Strong understanding of FLSA and payroll compliance
• Experience with Certified Payroll and/or Davis-Bacon reporting
• Experience supporting prevailing wage environments is highly preferred
• Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll taxes
• Experience with payroll reconciliations, tax notices, wage attachments, and year-end processes
• Experience working with a payroll/HRIS system; Dayforce experience is preferred but not required
• Strong Excel and general computer skills
• Excellent attention to detail and ability to work with confidential information
• Strong communication skills with a friendly, customer-service-oriented approach
• Ability to troubleshoot issues independently and serve as a resource for others
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience preferred
• FPC or CPP certification is a plus

Why This Opportunity?

The role is approximately half hands-on payroll processing, with the remainder focused on troubleshooting, compliance, projects, and supporting the team. You'll have the opportunity to work closely with payroll leadership, serve as a trusted right hand to the Director of Payroll, and take on increasingly complex responsibilities while remaining hands-on in the work.