Sr. Payroll & Tax Analyst (contract)

About the Role

An interim Sr. Payroll & Tax Analyst is sought to support accurate payroll delivery and payroll tax compliance for a multi-state employee population in Dallas, Texas. This contract role requires strong technical payroll knowledge, an analytical approach, and collaboration with internal partners and external providers to maintain compliance and improve payroll processes in a fast-moving environment. What You'll Do

• Manage full-cycle biweekly payroll processing for a large employee population, ensuring all regular and non-routine payments are completed correctly and on schedule.

• Maintain payroll records, pay elements, deductions, and system settings to support accurate processing and compliance with company policies and regulations.

• Review and coordinate payroll-related funding activities, including employee payments and remittances to benefit providers and other third parties.

• Work with finance partners on payroll accounting tasks such as journal entries, accruals, reconciliations, and month-end close support.

• Oversee multi-state payroll tax administration, including account setup and closure, tax withholding accuracy, timely payments, and review of federal, state, and local filings prepared by vendors.

• Investigate and resolve payroll tax notices by researching discrepancies, preparing reconciliations, and communicating with applicable agencies or service providers.

• Support year-end payroll activities by validating wage and tax data and assisting with required employee tax form distribution.

• Conduct audits and detailed reviews of payroll, benefits, and liability accounts to identify issues, enhance accuracy, and maintain audit readiness.

• Partner with HR, Accounting, Tax, Legal, and external vendors to address payroll questions, interpret tax treatment, and contribute to special projects and process improvements. What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience in payroll, accounting, finance, or a related area.

• At least 5 years of experience handling end-to-end payroll operations and multi-state payroll tax compliance.

• Minimum of 2 years of hands-on experience with Workday Payroll and ADP tax services or comparable payroll tax platforms.

• Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local payroll tax rules, filings, and remittance requirements.

• Advanced Excel capabilities, including the ability to analyze payroll data using functions such as lookups and pivot tables.

• Proven ability to solve problems, evaluate discrepancies, and produce accurate results in a deadline-driven environment.

• Experience supporting payroll controls, reconciliations, audits, or compliance-focused reporting activities.

• Payroll certification such as FPC or CPP is preferred, along with exposure to complex pay scenarios such as expatriate or multi-jurisdiction payroll.

• Must have Workday experience. Nice to Have

• Payroll certification such as FPC or CPP is preferred, along with exposure to expatriate or multi-jurisdiction payroll. Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: 50-53 USD hourly. Benefits available including medical, vision, dental, life and disability insurance. Employees hired for our FTEP Program are also eligible to enroll in our company’s 401(k) or deferred compensation plan (if eligible). FTEP employees also earn paid time off for vacation, personal needs, and sick time and paid holidays. The amount of Choice Time Off (CTO) varies based on years of service and is pro-rated based on the hours worked per week. Up to 13 days CTO and up to 10 paid holidays per calendar year.