Senior Specialist
Zalaris
Location: Chennai, India
Experience: 1–5 Years
Employment Type: Full-Time
Shift: US Shift / Night Shift
We are looking for a detail-oriented and motivated US Payroll Specialist with 1–5 years of experience in processing US payroll using SAP Payroll. The ideal candidate should possess a strong understanding of US payroll regulations, taxation, payroll operations, and employee lifecycle processes while ensuring timely and accurate payroll processing.
Your Responsibilities
- Process end-to-end US payroll accurately and within established payroll timelines.
- Validate payroll input data including new hires, terminations, salary changes, bonuses, overtime, commissions, and one-time payments.
- Process off-cycle payrolls, reversals, adjustments, and retroactive payroll transactions.
- Review payroll outputs and perform payroll reconciliations before payroll release.
- Ensure accurate calculation of:
- Federal, State, and Local Taxes
- Social Security and Medicare
- Garnishments
- Benefits and deductions401(k), HSA, FSA, and other pre-tax/post-tax deductions
- Investigate and resolve payroll discrepancies and employee payroll queries within agreed SLAs.
- Support payroll month-end, quarter-end, and year-end activities, including W-2 validations.
- Perform payroll audits and reconciliations between SAP Payroll and third-party payroll providers (e.g., ADP), where applicable.Coordinate with HR, Time Management, Benefits, Finance, and Tax teams for payroll-related activities.Maintain payroll documentation, SOPs, and process controls.
- Ensure compliance with federal, state, and local payroll regulations.
- Participate in payroll process improvement and automation initiatives.
Your Experience and Skills
- Hands-on experience in SAP HCM Payroll (US Payroll).
- Good understanding of:
- Payroll Control Record
- Payroll Simulation
- Live Payroll Processing
- Retroactive Accounting
- Payroll Results Analysis
- Strong Microsoft Excel skills (VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, Pivot Tables, formulas, data validation).
- US Payroll processing.
- Federal, State, and Local Taxes.
- FICA (Social Security & Medicare).
- Supplemental wages.
- Garnishments.
- Benefits and deductions.
- Payroll reconciliation.
- W-2 fundamentals.
- Payroll compliance.
- Bachelor's degree in Commerce, Business Administration, Finance, HR, or a related field.
- Certification in SAP HCM Payroll is an added advantage.
- Experience with ADP payroll or payroll interfaces is preferred.
- Exposure to SuccessFactors Employee Central is an added advantage.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Ability to work independently and within a team.
- Strong attention to detail.
- Ability to work under tight payroll deadlines.
- Customer-focused mindset.
- Good stakeholder management skills.
- 1–5 years of experience in US Payroll.
- Minimum 1 year of hands-on SAP Payroll experience.
- Experience supporting payroll operations for medium to large employee populations is preferred.
- End-to-End Payroll Processing
- Payroll Validation & Reconciliation
- Payroll Compliance
- Employee Query Resolution
- Process Documentation
- Continuous Improvement
- Data Accuracy
- Team Collaboration
- Experience working in a shared services or global payroll environment.
- Basic knowledge of payroll interfaces and inbound/outbound file validations.
- Knowledge of SOX controls and payroll audit processes.
- Opportunity to work on global payroll operations.
- Exposure to SAP Payroll and enterprise payroll processes.
- Learning and career growth opportunities.
- Collaborative and inclusive work environment.
- Competitive compensation and benefits.