Payroll Manager- East Region

Applied Aerospace & Defense•Newington, CT

About The Position

The Payroll Manager leads payroll operations for Applied Aerospace & Defense’s East Region, supporting six operating locations, as well as Enterprise/Corporate payroll. The role provides end-to-end responsibility for payroll processing, controls, compliance, systems, and integrations to ensure team members are paid accurately and on time. The organization is transitioning to a new Enterprise payroll and workforce management environment, so this is a hands-on working manager role. The manager will work directly in UKG Pro Payroll and UKG Pro Workforce Management (WFM), participating in processing, configuration, testing, troubleshooting, reconciliations, and issue resolution while also providing functional leadership and direction. The role partners with People Services, Finance, Accounting, IT, and site leadership to stabilize, standardize, and continuously improve payroll operations. This includes supporting integrations between UKG, ERP and timekeeping systems, and other business applications; strengthening controls; reducing manual work; and supporting consistent payroll experiences across a multi-site organization. The Payroll Manager also supports acquisitions, integrations, and other organizational changes.

Requirements

8–10+ years of progressive payroll experience, including complex, multi-state payroll operations.
Prior experience in a Payroll Manager, Senior Payroll Analyst/Administrator, or comparable payroll role.
Demonstrated experience as a hands-on payroll leader, with the ability and willingness to personally execute payroll activities while providing functional leadership and oversight.
Experience administering payroll for union and non-union populations, including interpretation and administration of collective bargaining agreement provisions.
Strong knowledge of payroll taxation, wage and hour requirements, deductions, garnishments, year-end processing, and multi-jurisdictional compliance.
Strong understanding of ERP/payroll integrations and the movement and reconciliation of data between payroll, timekeeping, ERP, and financial systems.
Experience with payroll reconciliations, general ledger interfaces, financial controls, and audit support.
Strong analytical, Excel, problem-solving, and cross-functional communication skills.

Nice To Haves

Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation or comparable payroll certification.
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field.
Experience in multi-site manufacturing, aerospace and defense, or another complex operating environment.
Experience with SOX-controlled payroll operations.
Experience supporting acquisitions, payroll conversions, or HRIS/payroll implementations.

Responsibilities

Lead end-to-end payroll operations for six East Region locations and Enterprise/Corporate payroll, ensuring accurate and timely processing.
Oversee regular and off-cycle payrolls, bonuses, incentive and equity-related payments, adjustments, deductions, garnishments, taxes, and year-end activities.
Review and approve payroll, ensuring appropriate validation, reconciliation, controls, and issue resolution.
Establish consistent payroll processes and service standards across supported locations and serve as the escalation point for complex payroll matters.
Serve as the payroll subject matter expert for UKG Pro Payroll and UKG Pro Workforce Management (WFM), including configuration, testing, troubleshooting, and optimization.
Partner with HRIS, IT, Finance, and integration resources to support payroll and timekeeping data flows between UKG, ERP/timekeeping applications, and downstream financial systems.
Support integrations involving APIs, middleware, inbound and outbound files, data mapping, error handling, and reconciliation.
Identify opportunities to automate processes, strengthen controls, and reduce manual intervention.
Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local payroll, wage and hour, tax, and recordkeeping requirements.
Maintain payroll controls, approvals, documentation, audit trails, and SOX-compliant processes.
Partner with Finance and Accounting on payroll reconciliations, general ledger activities, audits, and financial controls.
Drive standardization and continuous improvement across locations while supporting acquisitions, integrations, and other organizational changes.
Administer payroll for union and non-union populations and ensure collectively bargained provisions are accurately reflected in payroll and timekeeping.
Partner with People Services and Operations to interpret and operationalize collective bargaining agreement provisions, including wage schedules, premiums, differentials, overtime, paid time, and other contractual requirements.
Support implementation and testing of negotiated wage increases, pay rule changes, and other CBA-related updates within UKG and applicable timekeeping systems.