Senior Payroll Analyst

Overview

This role is responsible for running and safeguarding payroll for a growing workers’ compensation and liability third-party administrator (TPA). Payroll is processed for employees across multiple states and several legal entities, including integrations of acquired businesses with their own payroll providers, pay codes, benefit plans, tax registrations, and pay calendars.

The organization is consolidating a major acquisition onto its payroll effective January 2027, increasing the size and complexity of the payroll.

This is a senior individual-contributor position based remotely in Rocklin, CA. The role serves as the principal partner and backup to the Payroll Manager and is expected to operate with a high degree of independence. Reporting is to the Payroll Manager.

Responsibilities

• Process biweekly and off-cycle payrolls in Paylocity for multiple legal entities and divisions, including importing and reviewing time, earnings, and deductions; resolving exceptions before cutoff; and delivering payroll on the published calendar.
• Review every payroll register before approval by comparing to the prior cycle, investigating unusual hours, earnings, and net pay, and confirming that bonuses, commissions, retroactive pay, and other one-time payments have documented approval.
• Own multi-state payroll tax compliance, including federal, state, and local withholding, unemployment insurance, and local taxes; register new state and local tax accounts before an employee’s first pay date in a new jurisdiction.
• Review quarterly and annual payroll tax filings, W-2s, and amendments prepared by the payroll provider; reconcile to payroll records; and resolve agency notices.
• Lead payroll integrations tied to acquisitions by inventorying acquired payroll elements (pay codes, deductions, benefit plans, tax registrations, calendars, year-to-date balances), mapping into Paylocity, running parallel payrolls, and confirming the first combined payroll ties to the prior provider before go-live.
• Reconcile payroll to the general ledger in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central each cycle and each month, including payroll clearing, tax, benefit, and 401(k) liability accounts, accrued payroll, and intercompany funding by entity; resolve differences at the source.
• Prepare each cycle’s funding schedule by entity (gross pay plus employer taxes) for Treasury and for affiliated or acquired entities that fund their own payroll.
• Reconcile benefit and 401(k) deductions to carrier and recordkeeper invoices and remittances, and follow up on enrollment, arrears, and plan-limit issues with HR.
• Administer garnishments, levies, and child support orders; ensure taxable fringe benefits and imputed income are correctly coded and taxed.
• Partner with HR on new hires, status changes, terminations, and final pay to ensure approvals occur before payroll and final pay meets each state’s timing rules.
• Maintain payroll controls, including approval evidence, separation between entering and approving changes, Paylocity user access reviews, and documented procedures for recurring tasks.
• Support the annual external audit, SOC reporting, workers’ compensation premium audits, and benefit plan audits with payroll schedules and documentation.
• Answer employee payroll and tax questions promptly and confidentially, and provide full backup for the Payroll Manager.

Requirements

• Hands-on multi-state payroll processing and tax compliance experience, including state and local registrations, reciprocity, and multi-state employees.
• Experience converting or consolidating payrolls from another provider, including pay-code mapping, year-to-date balance loads, and parallel testing.
• Working knowledge of FLSA and state wage-and-hour rules, including overtime, final pay, and pay statement requirements, with particular attention to California.
• Paylocity experience strongly preferred; experience with another enterprise payroll platform (ADP, UKG, Workday, Paycom, iiPay, or similar) considered.
• Understanding of how payroll lands in the general ledger and ability to reconcile a payroll register to it; Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or a comparable ERP is a plus.
• Advanced Excel skills (complex formulas, pivot tables, lookups, and large-data cleanup).
• Strong control mindset to ensure every payment is approved and every difference is explained by resolving exceptions before payroll closes rather than after.
• Strict confidentiality and sound judgment with compensation and personal data.
• Ability to manage overlapping deadlines across several entities and pay calendars at once.
• Multi-entity or acquisitive company experience preferred; insurance, TPA, or professional services experience is a plus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) or Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC) is a plus.

Background

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related discipline, or equivalent payroll experience.
• Approximately 5+ years of progressive payroll experience, including at least 3 years processing multi-state payroll for 500 or more employees.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary range: $72,500–$85,000 annually (estimate; actual compensation determined based on experience, qualifications, skill set, and work location)
• Eligible for the organization’s full benefits package.

Benefits include:

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits
• Company contributions to HSA and FSA plans
• Employer-paid life and disability insurance
• 401(k) with company match
• Paid time off (PTO) and company-paid holidays
• Employee assistance resources and a supportive culture that values balance and wellbeing

Location

Remote, based in Rocklin, CA.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this role.

Equal Opportunity

Qualified applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.

Pursuant to the Los Angeles and San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered.