We are looking for a Payroll Analyst to join a long-term contract opportunity in San Ramon, California. This position is ideal for someone in payroll who can examine complex payroll issues, identify underlying causes, and help move resolutions forward across Workday Payroll and related enterprise applications. The role requires strong analytical judgment, comfort working with cross-functional stakeholders, and the ability to manage multiple time-sensitive priorities in a client-facing environment.
Responsibilities:
- Investigate payroll discrepancies across Workday Payroll and connected systems, document findings, and support timely issue resolution.
- Review payroll results and gross-to-net outcomes, reconcile variances, and determine the factors contributing to defects or unexpected calculations.
- Support payroll-related build activities, data conversion efforts, and catch-up transaction processing to help maintain accuracy across impacted workflows.
- Perform validation of migrated payroll data, partner with stakeholders to resolve data issues, and ensure discrepancies are addressed before downstream processing.
- Manage defect intake by assessing business impact, setting priorities, tracking progress, and escalating critical blockers when necessary.
- Coordinate testing activities across teams, including planning, execution, retesting, and confirmation that end-to-end payroll processes function as expected.
- Work with internal teams and external vendors to troubleshoot integration issues affecting inbound and outbound payroll data exchanges.
- Monitor defect patterns, testing outcomes, and operational risks, then share clear insights, reports, and status updates with project leadership.
- Maintain detailed records of investigations, corrective actions, testing evidence, and final outcomes to support auditability and continuous improvement.
- 3+ years of experience in payroll analysis, payroll operations, or payroll systems support.
- Hands-on knowledge of full-cycle payroll processing, including gross-to-net calculations and payroll tax considerations.
- Experience supporting multi-state payroll environments and large employee populations of 500 or more.
- Practical expertise with Workday, including Workday Payroll, Workday HCM, or Workday HRIS.
- Familiarity with UKG Ready, UKG Pro, or comparable payroll platforms used in enterprise environments.
- Strong root cause analysis skills with the ability to investigate complex defects and recommend corrective action.
- Ability to work independently in a fast-paced setting while managing competing priorities and deadlines.