Payroll Specialist

Job Description

Kepler is seeking a Payroll Specialist to join their team in San Jose, Costa Rica. Kepler executes engineered marketing, where every message and ad delivered helps create a more personalized and productive relationship between brands and their consumers. Kepler prides itself on being a great place to work and was recognized among the Best Place to Work in 2022 by AdAge.

The Payroll Specialist will work closely with the HR, Payroll, and Finance teams to ensure accurate payroll processing, maintain payroll records, and provide excellent support to employees. The ideal candidate will be detail-oriented, proactive, and possess strong communication and problem-solving skills.

What this role involves:

• Overseeing the administrative aspects of payroll to ensure 100% accuracy and compliance.
• Processing payroll changes and updates in the HRIS system.
• Partnering with the HR team to maintain accurate employee data across systems.
• Serving as the first point of contact for employee payroll and tax-related inquiries.
• Maintaining up-to-date payroll information in the knowledge base.
• Managing payroll shared drives, pay date folders, and reporting documentation.
• Maintaining and updating the tax notice tracker and assisting in resolving tax notices as needed.
• Generating and formatting employee data reports.
• Preparing first drafts of payroll working files for each pay cycle.
• Reviewing and reconciling employee expenses, time sheets, and PTO for payroll processing.
• Conducting regular audits of payroll data to ensure accuracy.
• Supporting quarter-end and year-end reconciliations and reporting.
• Acting as a liaison with third-party payroll vendors and tax agencies.
• Assisting with data validation and documentation as part of the HRIS implementation project.
• Providing support for global payroll processes as needed.

Requirements:

• 1–3 years of US payroll experience, ideally in a multi-state organization with 350+ employees.
• A high level of discretion and ability to handle sensitive information confidentially.
• Familiarity with US payroll practices, processes, and deadlines.
• Experience with payroll systems such as Paylocity and/or Paycom.
• Strong working knowledge of Excel, Google Sheets, and Gmail.
• Prior experience resolving US tax notices.
• Excellent data entry, reconciliation, and math skills.
• Understanding of current US payroll legislation and compliance requirements.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to stay organized across multiple priorities.
• Clear and effective written and verbal communication skills.
• A proactive mindset and eagerness to learn and grow.

What Kepler offers:

• Competitive health and dental benefits
• Tuition reimbursement and training stipend
• Hybrid Office/WFH Schedules: office supplies, internet, and phone stipend
• “Work from Anywhere” 4 weeks per year
• Stocked kitchen, and other team outings
• Collaborative and friendly work space, easily commutable location
• Volunteering & altruism opportunities
• Team building lunches and events, and company celebrations: Summer, Halloween, Holidays, and many multicultural holidays recognized/celebrated
• Ongoing learning and development for education opportunities such as webinars, books, classes, relevant conferences and events
• Opportunities to pursue business related side projects and Hackathons
• Environment of learning from peers, including 30+ class training program, Kepler University, powered by Center of Excellence and Tiger Team subject matter expert groups
• Opportunity to work with cutting edge technology and industry thought leaders
• Kepler Rocket Mentorship Program: beneficial for the development of both mentors and mentees