Payroll Specialist

We are looking for a Payroll Specialist to join a machinery manufacturing company in Sacramento, California. This contract-to-permanent opportunity is ideal for someone who thrives in a fast-paced, onsite environment and brings strong experience managing complex payroll operations across multiple states. The role will support a high-volume employee population while partnering closely with HR, managers, and accounting to ensure payroll accuracy, compliance, and timely reporting.

Responsibilities:

• Manage biweekly and special payroll runs for a large multi-state workforce, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on schedule.
• Administer monthly payroll processing for an international employee group while maintaining consistency with established procedures.
• Review timekeeping records, identify discrepancies, and work with department leaders to secure timely corrections.
• Oversee payroll system updates and assist with adding new state tax setups to support business needs.
• Monitor adherence to federal, state, and local payroll regulations and help maintain compliant payroll practices.
• Perform detailed payroll audits, reconcile payroll-related reports, and investigate complex pay issues to resolution.
• Track leave activity, benefit-related deductions, and manual payment requests such as final checks or payroll adjustments.
• Prepare preliminary calculations for commissions, bonuses, and incentive payments based on company guidelines.
• Support accounting operations through reconciliations, draft journal entries, management reporting, and maintenance of payroll documentation.
• Partner with HR, employees, and leadership to answer payroll questions and provide responsive issue resolution.