Sr Payroll Associate Jobs in Minnesota (NOW HIRING)

Job Title: Sr. Payroll Specialist

FLSA Status: Exempt

Department: Human Resources

Reports to: Manager, Payroll and HRIS

GENERAL DESCRIPTION / PURPOSE:

The Sr. Payroll Specialist is responsible for the execution of U.S. and Canadian payroll, ensuring accurate, timely, and compliant payroll delivery aligned with established processes and controls. This role operates within the Total Rewards function and partners closely with HRIS, Finance, and external providers to ensure data integrity, audit readiness, and consistent payroll outcomes. The position includes ownership of complex payroll calculations and coordination activities, including prevailing wage compliance, flexible work week calculations, and support for tax equalization processes in partnership with Global Mobility. This role is accountable for identifying, resolving, and preventing payroll errors and compliance risks, and is expected to independently assess payroll inputs, challenge inconsistencies, and ensure accurate payroll outcomes. This position plays an integral role in maintaining the quality and consistency of HR services in alignment with Loram’s ICARE values.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

• Execute end-to-end payroll processing for U.S. and Canadian employees in alignment with established schedules, controls, and compliance requirements
• Perform payroll validation, audit checks, and issue resolution prior to and following payroll processing to ensure accuracy and completeness

• Administer and validate complex payroll calculations, including prevailing wage compliance, flexible work week (FWW) calculations, and multi-jurisdictional earnings and tax treatment
• Independently review and validate payroll inputs, with authority to escalate, reject, or halt payroll processing when inaccuracies or compliance risks are identified
• Support tax equalization and hypothetical tax calculations in coordination with the Global Mobility Specialist
• Coordinate with HRIS, Finance, and system providers to ensure accurate payroll inputs, calculations, and outputs
• Maintain payroll documentation, audit trails, and control processes to support regulatory compliance and internal audit standards
• Respond to payroll-related inquiries from employees, managers, and HR with accurate and timely guidance
• Identify root causes of payroll errors and process breakdowns, and implement corrective actions to improve accuracy, control, and scalability
• Support payroll processing stabilization, system enhancements, and testing within Dayforce and related systems

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, Business, or related field or equivalent experience.

Experience:

• 5+ years of payroll processing experience, including multi-state payroll
• Experience with Canadian payroll or cross-border payroll considerations
• Demonstrated experience handling complex payroll calculations and compliance requirements.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong knowledge of U.S. payroll regulations, taxation, and wage/hour requirements
• Working knowledge of Canadian payroll fundamentals (CRA, provincial requirements)
• Experience with prevailing wage rules and complex earnings calculations
• Understanding of payroll impacts related to global mobility (tax equalization, hypo tax)
• Experience with payroll systems (Dayforce preferred)
• Strong analytical and problem-solving capability
• High attention to detail with ability to manage time-sensitive processes
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills
• Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and data integrity

*9+ years combination of education and experience in payroll administration also acceptable

Preferred Qualifications, Licenses/Certifications:

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP)
• Experience supporting project-based or field-based workforce environments
• Exposure to multi-country payroll environments

PRE-EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS:

This position requires successful completion of the following:

• Social Security Verification: The individual’s name must correspond to their Social Security number and date of birth.
• Nationwide, federal and state, multi-county criminal background check. Up to a seven-year history is considered.
• Drug and Alcohol Testing: All applicants must successfully pass a pre-employment drug and alcohol test. Employees in safety-sensitive positions are subject to random, reasonable suspicion, and post-incident drug and/or alcohol testing in compliance with federal regulations and company policy.
• Employment Verification: Current and prior relevant employment experience will be verified to confirm the candidate meets the minimum required years of experience for the position.
• Education Verification: Post-secondary education at the associate degree level or higher will be verified, including degree(s) earned and dates of completion.

WORKING CONDITIONS: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that an employee must meet to perform the essential functions of this role. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Office deskwork, requiring sitting, walking, and regular use of phone and computer
• Occasional lifting up to 30 lbs.
• 5% or more travel expected
• Ability to tolerate variable and sometimes challenging conditions during site visits or inspections of company equipment in a railroad environment