Payroll Specialist and HR Operations (Bilingual in Korean)

Cesna Recruitment•Troy, MI

53d

About The Position

This role is responsible for payroll administration and HR operations, requiring accuracy, discretion, and the ability to meet firm payroll deadlines. The specialist will coordinate and process payrolls, maintain employee records, support onboarding and offboarding, administer HR workflows, and assist with employee benefits and support. Additionally, the role involves ensuring compliance with payroll and employment regulations and supporting audits. A key aspect of this position is providing clear, respectful service to a diverse workforce, including expatriate and visa-status employees, and utilizing bilingual skills in Korean and English.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, Accounting, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
Three or more years of experience in payroll administration and HR operations; hands-on multi-state U.S. payroll experience is required.
Working knowledge of payroll controls, wage-and-hour fundamentals, payroll taxes, deductions, garnishments, and year-end payroll processes.
Experience using an HRIS and payroll platform, with strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including lookups, pivot tables, reconciliation, and data validation.
Demonstrated accuracy, follow-through, discretion, customer service, and ability to meet firm payroll deadlines.
Clear written and verbal communication skills and the ability to explain payroll and HR processes to employees and managers.
Bilingual in Korean and English.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting employees across several states and working with geographically dispersed office and warehouse populations.
Experience with benefit administration, HR reporting, audits, and Canadian payroll coordination.
Payroll or HR certification, such as Fundamental Payroll Certification (FPC), Certified Payroll Professional (CPP), aPHR, PHR, or SHRM-CP.
Experience working in a Korean-headquartered, international, manufacturing, logistics, or automotive-related organization.

Responsibilities

Coordinate and process regular and off-cycle payrolls accurately and on schedule for employees in multiple U.S. states.
Collect, validate, and enter payroll changes, including new hires, terminations, pay changes, bonuses, allowances, deductions, garnishments, time-off activity, and other approved adjustments.
Review payroll registers and exception reports; reconcile employee changes and investigate discrepancies before payroll approval.
Maintain payroll calendars, approval documentation, audit trails, and standard operating procedures; ensure a trained backup can follow the process.
Respond to employee payroll questions professionally and confidentially, escalating complex tax, legal, or employee-relations matters appropriately.
Partner with Finance/Accounting on payroll funding, general-ledger reporting, reconciliations, accrual information, and year-end activities while maintaining appropriate separation of duties.
Support quarterly and year-end payroll activities, including W-2 coordination, tax notices, audits, and vendor follow-up.
Maintain accurate employee records in the HRIS, payroll system, personnel files, and organizational reports, including hires, transfers, promotions, leave status, and separations.
Coordinate onboarding and offboarding transactions, including offer-document administration, background checks, Form I-9 completion, benefit enrollment, and final-pay notifications.
Coordinate directly with the HQ IT team and hiring manager for each new hire's laptop, equipment, email, and system-access setup; submit requests on time, follow up across time zones, confirm readiness before the start date, and coordinate equipment return at separation.
Administer routine HR workflows and track deadlines for probationary periods, required documents, policy acknowledgments, training, and employment-status changes.
Prepare recurring headcount, turnover, payroll, benefit, and workforce reports for HR leadership and authorized business partners.
Maintain organized, audit-ready files and apply record-retention, privacy, and confidentiality requirements.
Identify opportunities to simplify, document, and automate HR processes while maintaining appropriate controls.
Support employee benefit enrollment, life-event changes, eligibility updates, invoice reconciliation, and vendor issue resolution.
Serve as a responsive first point of contact for routine questions regarding pay, benefits, PTO, policies, and HR processes.
Provide clear, respectful service to a culturally diverse workforce, including office, warehouse, expatriate, and visa-status employee populations.
Assist with employee communications, HR programs, open enrollment, surveys, and other team initiatives.
Support compliance with applicable federal, state, provincial, and local payroll and employment requirements; monitor assigned filing and notice deadlines.
Help ensure timely final-pay processing, lawful deductions, accurate time and attendance records, and appropriate documentation across operating locations.
Protect confidential payroll, compensation, immigration, medical, and employee-relations information using role-based access and sound judgment.
Support internal and external audits and promptly correct documented data or process errors.