Payroll Specialist
Pay: $29.89/hour on W2
Work Type: Onsite – Irvine, CA 92618
Work Schedule: Monday – Friday | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Occasional overtime required)
Duration: 6-month contract (potential conversion not guaranteed)
Job Overview:
The Payroll Specialist is responsible for accurate and timely payroll processing for U.S. employees, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. This role independently manages payroll transactions, conducts audits, supports reporting requirements, and collaborates with internal teams and external vendors.
Key Responsibilities:
- Process bi-weekly payroll for U.S. employees, ensuring accuracy and compliance
- Support payroll team with daily operations, audits, and reporting
- Ensure compliance with federal and state payroll regulations, including year-end processing and tax filings
- Process manual and off-cycle payroll transactions with proper controls
- Coordinate with third-party payroll vendors for issue resolution and audit readiness
- Validate payroll inputs, including UKG time data
- Conduct payroll audits and verify tax withholdings
- Process reimbursements, one-time payments, and corrections
- Administer garnishments, tax levies, and support orders
- Respond to payroll inquiries from employees, HR, and management
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, HR, or related field (or equivalent experience)
- Minimum 3+ years payroll experience required
- Strong knowledge of U.S. payroll laws, taxation, and compliance
- Experience with multi-state and multi-entity payroll processing
- Strong analytical skills with ability to identify discrepancies
- Experience in shared services or matrixed environments
- Advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, reporting)
- Ability to manage multiple priorities with strong attention to detail
- Strong communication and customer service skills
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with ADP, UKG, Workday, or similar payroll systems
- Experience in SOX-controlled or regulated environments
- Experience supporting audit processes and internal controls
- Experience handling payroll across multiple legal entities and states
Key Qualities:
- High attention to detail and accuracy
- Organized and proactive
- Ability to work in a fast-paced payroll environment
- Strong sense of urgency and ability to prioritize tasks
- Ability to work independently with minimal supervision
- Strong communication skills across multiple stakeholders
Looking for meaningful work? We can help
Raise is an established hiring firm with over 65 years of experience. We believe strongly in making the world a better place through work, which is why we’re a certified B Corporation and donate 10% of our profits to charity.
We strive to build teams that reflect the diversity of the communities we work in. We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, including people from traditionally underrepresented groups such as women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, people identifying as LGBTQ2SI, veterans, and people with visible/nonvisible disabilities.
We have a dedicated webpage for accommodations where you can learn more about what we offer, and request accommodation: https://raise.jobs/accommodations/
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