Payroll Operations Associate, US Payroll Tax

About the Role

This role supports U.S. payroll tax compliance across federal, state, and local jurisdictions. You will help maintain accurate employee tax setup, support reconciliations, and assist with filings and deposits to meet required timelines. You will partner with payroll, human capital management (HCM), finance, and vendors to resolve variances and respond to agency items. You will contribute to documentation and controls that support audit readiness and identify opportunities to automate and streamline payroll tax activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Support U.S. payroll tax compliance activities, including employee tax setup, rate updates, and accurate withholding calculations
• Assist with payroll tax reconciliations and balancing to identify and resolve discrepancies
• Coordinate quarterly and annual processes, including support for Forms 940 and 941, state unemployment returns, and local filings
• Help prepare and validate year-end deliverables, including W-2/W-2c processing support and amended items as needed
• Monitor agency notices and tax updates, and support implementation of changes to processes and tax configurations
• Maintain tax calendars, trackers, reconciliations, and documentation to support audit readiness and strong controls
• Support agency correspondence resolution, including research, documentation gathering, and penalty abatement requests when appropriate
• Partner with internal stakeholders to respond to payroll tax questions and explain next steps clearly
• Coordinate with external vendors to support data integrity between payroll, HCM, and tax filing systems
• Identify process gaps and contribute to automation and continuous improvement efforts to reduce errors and cycle time

Requirements & Tech Stack

• ADP SmartCompliance
• Oracle HCM
• Microsoft Excel (including reconciliations and data validation)

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience in payroll tax, payroll operations, accounting, or finance
• Experience with ADP SmartCompliance and Oracle HCM
• Working knowledge of U.S. payroll tax concepts across federal, state, and local jurisdictions
• Experience supporting payroll tax processes (withholding, deposits, filings, reconciliations, and variance resolution)
• Ability to interpret payroll tax notices and support resolution through research and documentation
• Experience working with enterprise payroll and tax systems and managing data accuracy across platforms
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including reconciliations and data validation
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple deadlines during quarter-end and year-end cycles
• Ability to document processes and follow established controls while identifying control gaps
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain tax-related items to partners
• Ability to handle confidential information with integrity and discretion

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting multi-state payroll tax operations in a mid-to-large organization
• Experience supporting payroll tax technology enhancements, automation, or process redesign
• Familiarity with W-2/W-2c research and correction workflows
• Exposure to audit support, documentation standards, or control testing routines
• Experience partnering with external payroll tax vendors or managed filing providers

This role is in office 5 days a week, and is located in Columbus, OH only.