Payroll Specialist III

Dudek•Encinitas, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

Dudek is seeking a meticulous and organized Payroll Specialist to support accurate, compliant, and timely payroll processing across multiple states. This role requires hands-on payroll expertise, including weighted average overtime, wait time rules, multi-state taxation, and end-to-end payment processing. You’ll partner closely with Accounting, Benefits, and HR to deliver seamless payroll operations and exceptional service. We’re looking for someone who values accuracy, collaboration, and payroll as a long-term career. This role will be on-site for the first 90 days after which eligibility for hybrid work will be evaluated.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in finance, Accounting, or a related field preferred.
Minimum of 5+ years of experience processing full-cycle, multi-state payroll for 500+ employees, including tax filings, reconciliations, and general ledger integration.
Demonstrated hands-on experience managing federal and multi-state payroll tax compliance, quarterly and annual filings, audits, and agency communications.
3+ years of payroll tax experience
Strong knowledge of payroll laws, compliance, and operations
Excellent organizational, communication, and attention-to-detail skills
Ability to manage confidential information.
Ability to work independently.
Must possess a valid driver’s license and have active personal automobile liability insurance by the first day of employment.

Nice To Haves

3 years Experience with Dayforce
Experience with Deltek VantagePoint or similar systems
Professional services industry experience
Prevailing Wage Certified Payroll experience
Experience with systems implementations and special projects
CPP or FCP certification.

Responsibilities

Oversee and execute end-to-end payroll processing for 900+ employees accurately and by deadline.
Review and validate payroll data for completeness and accuracy.
Ensure timecards are compliant and submitted by the employees prior to payment processing.
Process payroll adjustments: missed payments, salary changes, bonuses, gift cards, and other payments.
Manage complex payroll issues and resolve discrepancies thoroughly and promptly.
Engage current payroll tax and mandates to all facets of the payroll payment process, impounds, reporting, distribution and filings.
Process voids, reissues, and stop payments to ensure the proper impact on the tax documents.
Reconcile, enter, and approve payroll entries, labor detail, and checks to the general ledger in correlation to the monthly accounting schedule.
Understand and review the federal and multiple state payroll tax requirements and mandates.
Maintain timely reviews, reconciliations, escalations, and payment processing to various tax agencies.
Process registration forms, SUI rate updates, POAs and agency notices.
Review quarterly and annual filings for any form of discrepancies.
Apply the proper payroll taxation in accordance with IRS regulations for various payment types.
Prepare for and assist leadership with payroll audits, such as Benefit, Labor Detail, Workers' Comp and 401k annual audits.
Ensure requested documentation and records are readily available and managed.
Maintain thorough documentation associated with all collaborations with third-party administrators and internal departments.
Cooperate with various audits by consolidating data requested timely to meet periodic, quarterly, and annual audit deadlines.
Interact with outside entities, government agencies, third-party administrators, and insurance companies for research, reporting or processing.
Act as the liaison between payroll and other internal departments to ensure employee data remains in-sync between all business functional systems.
Research Masterfile or labor discrepancies to avoid reporting issues.
Perform Dayforce Ceridian payroll module upgrade testing and audits.
Stay current with payroll and benefit regulations, industry best practices, technological advancements to recommend and implement process improvements.
Adapt to new department and firmwide systems as provided for business operations and engage in routine training.
Participate in special projects including implementation of new time and attendance system.