Senior Payroll Specialist

McKinstry; Seattle (WA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

McKinstry in Seattle, WA is seeking a Senior Payroll Specialist to join our Finance and Accounting team. This expert-level role owns the most complex payroll processing workload, including union reporting, prevailing wage compliance, staff bonuses and allowances, and multi-system instant check processing.

In addition to processing, you will train and develop Specialists, contribute to SOP documentation, and ensure consistent, high‑quality execution under weekly deadlines.

Qualifications

• Strong payroll expertise and knowledge of union reporting.
• Experience with prevailing wage compliance and multi-system processing.
• Ability to train others and contribute to SOP documentation.

Responsibilities

• Execute weekly payroll for an assigned population with prevailing wage rates and overtime.
• Manage data movement via system imports/exports and validate loads.
• Perform in-cycle data validation to resolve discrepancies before cycle closes.
• Process all deductions including benefits, 401(k), union dues, garnishments.
• Lead pre- and post-cycle balancing, exception reporting, and reconciliation.

Job description

Build the future, spark innovation and align your career with purpose.

McKinstry is innovating the waste and climate harm out of the built environment and creating lasting impact. Together, we’re building a thriving planet.

Buildings are a leading contributor to the climate crisis, generating nearly 40% of total global energy-related carbon emissions. We’re making a lasting impact on our industry and within our communities by addressing the climate, affordability and equity crises through:

• renewables and energy services
• engineering and design
• construction and facility services

To get where we’re going, we need big thinkers, problem solvers and collaborative mindsets. Does that sound like you?

The Opportunity with McKinstry

McKinstry is looking for a Senior Payroll Specialist to join our Finance and Accounting division in Seattle, WA. The Senior Payroll Specialist is an expert-level processing professional who carries a full payroll processing workload while simultaneously serving as the primary escalation point and peer leader for the Processing Team. This role owns the most complex payroll scenarios in the department — union reporting, prevailing wage compliance, staff bonuses and allowances, and multi-system instant check processing — and is the team's go‑to resource when Payroll Specialists encounter issues they cannot resolve independently. In addition to processing, the Senior Payroll Specialist plays an active role in training and developing Specialists, contributing to SOP documentation, and ensuring consistent, high‑quality execution across the team. This role requires deep payroll expertise, strong technical skills, and the judgment to make sound, independent decisions under weekly deadline pressure. Additional responsibilities may include:

PAYROLL PROCESSING

• Execute weekly payroll for an assigned employee population — including field crews, union trades, equipment operators, and office staff — applying the appropriate prevailing wage rates, CBA‑specific rules, and overtime calculations for each group.
• Manage all payroll data movement via system imports and exports — preparing, formatting, and validating data files to match each platform's required import template; confirm successful load after each import.
• Perform in‑cycle cross‑system data validation using multiple systems — identifying and resolving discrepancies in real time before the cycle closes.
• Process all deductions each cycle including health benefits, 401(k) contributions, union dues, garnishments, and involuntary levies.
• Lead pre‑ and post‑cycle balancing, exception reporting, and reconciliation; review and sign off on the accuracy of the weekly payroll before submission to the Payroll Manager.

EMPLOYEE DATA MANAGEMENT & VALIDATION

• Perform daily employee data validation — reviewing new hires, terminations, pay rate changes, and deduction updates to confirm all records transferred correctly across integrated HR and time systems.
• Identify and resolve discrepancies between integrated applications before each processing cycle; serve as the escalation point for Specialists who cannot resolve mismatches independently.
• Process complex employee data changes including multi‑rate setups, union classification changes, prevailing wage rate updates, and retroactive adjustments.

INSTANT CHECK PROCESSING

• Process instant (off‑cycle) checks independently across all scenario types — missed wages