Payroll Specialist

Align is seeking a motivated and detail-oriented Payroll Specialist to join our Accounting team. This role is responsible for owning and executing end-to-end, bi-weekly payroll for a multi-state workforce of 260+ employees. The ideal candidate will have strong hands-on payroll processing experience, knowledge of payroll laws and requirements, and the ability to independently manage day-to-day payroll processing, reporting, and reconciliations.

This is a hybrid role based out of our Iselin, NJ office. The Payroll Specialist will work in the office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and remotely three days per week.

This is a full-time, non-exempt position offering $85,000 to $100,000 annually, plus benefits and paid time off.

Key Responsibilities

Own and process end-to-end, bi-weekly payroll for a multi-state workforce of 260+ employees

Maintain employee payroll records, including changes to pay, location, status, taxes, deductions, and garnishments

Resolve payroll discrepancies and process corrections, manual checks, voids, and reversals as needed

Process employee overtime, benefits deductions, garnishments, and expense reimbursements

Respond to employee and management payroll inquiries

Prepare payroll reporting and perform quarterly General Ledger (GL) vs. payroll system reconciliations

Prepare and journalize bi-weekly payroll entries

Support quarterly and year-end payroll processes, including W-2 verification and reporting

Support insurance and Workers' Compensation audits

Coordinate with ADP on payroll-related issues and initiate new-state registrations as needed

Work with ADP HRIS data and Time & Attendance and ConnectWise time-entry data as part of payroll processing

Work with employee data from onboarding and benefits systems as needed

Maintain security and confidentiality of payroll and employee information

Qualifications

Required

5+ years of hands-on payroll processing and administration experience

Experience owning end-to-end payroll for a multi-state workforce

Hands-on experience with a payroll processing system; ADP Workforce Now experience is strongly preferred

Strong knowledge of payroll laws, tax compliance, deductions, and garnishments

Understanding of exempt and non-exempt employee classifications and overtime calculations

Experience with payroll reporting and reconciliations

Proficiency in Microsoft Excel

Strong attention to detail, organization, and ability to manage multiple priorities

Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work independently

Ability to maintain confidentiality of sensitive payroll and employee information

Preferred

Experience creating and running standard and custom payroll reports

Experience with ADP Workforce Now, including familiarity with ADP HRIS and exposure to Onboarding and Benefits modules

Knowledge of Time & Attendance processes and employee time-entry data

Experience with employee benefits and related payroll deductions

Experience with expense management systems

Experience supporting Workers' Compensation or insurance audits

Experience performing General Ledger payroll reconciliations

To support a fair, consistent, and high-quality hiring experience, some interviews may be recorded. These recordings help our team focus fully on the conversation at hand, rather than note-taking, and allow us to better evaluate and improve our recruitment process. Recordings are used solely for internal purposes such as training, quality assurance, and process improvement. Candidates will be informed in advance and asked to provide consent before any recording takes place.

Tier 2