Green Card Senior Payroll Specialist Jobs
Senior Payroll Specialist roles qualify for employment-based green card sponsorship under EB-2 or EB-3, depending on your degree and the employer's requirements. PERM labor certification is the first filing step, and many payroll operations teams at mid-to-large employers have established sponsorship pipelines for this function.
Find Green Card Senior Payroll Specialist JobsOverview
Showing 5 of 14+ Senior Payroll Specialist jobs
See all Senior Payroll Specialist Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Senior Payroll Specialist roles.
Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Thornton Tomasetti applies engineering and scientific principles to solve the world’s challenges. An independent organization of creative thinkers and innovative doers collaborating from offices worldwide, our mission is to bring our clients' ideas to life and, in the process, lay the groundwork for a better, more resilient future. We provide support and opportunities to our employees to achieve their full potential and cultivate a rewarding career.
THE ROLE
We are seeking a payroll professional to join our growing Finance & Accounting team at Thornton Tomasetti and take overall responsibility for processing the U.S. payroll.
This role will report to the Global Payroll Manager and work closely with HR, Finance, IT, and external payroll vendors. This is an excellent opportunity for a payroll professional who wants ownership of the core portion of North America payroll operations while also contributing to process improvements, compliance, and the implementation of a new global payroll platform.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
- Own the end-to-end processing of the bi-weekly U.S. payroll for 1,300+ employees in Workday.
- Review payroll inputs, reports, and integrations to ensure payroll is processed accurately and on time.
- Resolve payroll discrepancies, adjustments, and employee inquiries in a timely manner.
- Ensure compliance with U.S. federal, state, and local payroll tax and reporting requirements.
- Review payroll tax filings, reconciliations, and vendor-generated reports for accuracy.
- Partner with HR, Finance, IT, and payroll vendors to resolve issues and support payroll operations.
- Maintain payroll procedures, controls, and documentation to support consistency, efficiency, and audit readiness.
- Support year-end activities, audits, and the transition to a new global payroll platform.
WHAT YOU’LL BRING
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- Experience with end-to-end processing of high-volume U.S. multi-state.
- Workday Payroll experience required; ADP Workforce Now experience a plus.
- Strong knowledge of payroll laws, tax requirements, and reporting obligations.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and reconciliation skills.
- Excellent attention to detail, organization, and follow-through.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with a customer-focused approach.
- Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and integrity.
- Ability to work independently and manage deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
COMPENSATION
The rate for this position generally is $1,000 - $800,000 annually. This range is a good faith estimate provided pursuant to the New York Pay Transparency Law. It is based on what a successful New York applicant might be paid and assumes that the successful candidate will be in New York or perform the position from New York. Similar positions located outside of New York will not necessarily receive the same compensation. Actual pay rates may vary from the range, as permitted by New York Equal Pay Transparency Law. Compensation offers will be based on various factors, including operational needs, individual education, qualifications and experience, work location and comparison to employee already in the role, as well as other considerations permitted by law. A potential new employee’s pay history will not be used in compensation decisions.
BENEFITS
Depending on your employment status, benefits may include:
- Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, AD&D, Disability and other voluntary benefits
- Flexible Spending Accounts for Medical and Childcare
- Paid Time Off, Family Leave for New Parents, Volunteer Time
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Commuter Transit (where available)
- 401k retirement savings with Company matching on employee contributions and/or qualified student loan repayments
- Fitness Reimbursement
- And other various wellness, diversity/inclusion and employee resource programs and initiatives
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Thornton Tomasetti is proud to be an equal employment workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Thornton Tomasetti are considered without regards to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
Thornton Tomasetti Global Terms of Use and Privacy Statement
Carefully read these Terms of Use before using this website. Your access to and use of this website and application for a job at Thornton Tomasetti are conditioned on your acceptance and compliance with these terms.
Please access the linked document by clicking here, select the country where you are applying for employment, and review. Before submitting your application you will be asked to confirm your agreement with the terms.
To request a reasonable accommodation during the application process for this role, please contact talentconcierge@throntontomasetti.com.
Beware Of Recruitment Fraud: Scammers may attempt to impersonate Thornton Tomasetti. Messages from our firm come only from the ThorntonTomasetti.com domain, Thornton Tomasetti does not use any third-party recruiters. When in doubt, please contact us through our web form here and see how you can protect yourself online here.
INTRODUCTION
Thornton Tomasetti applies engineering and scientific principles to solve the world’s challenges. An independent organization of creative thinkers and innovative doers collaborating from offices worldwide, our mission is to bring our clients' ideas to life and, in the process, lay the groundwork for a better, more resilient future. We provide support and opportunities to our employees to achieve their full potential and cultivate a rewarding career.
THE ROLE
We are seeking a payroll professional to join our growing Finance & Accounting team at Thornton Tomasetti and take overall responsibility for processing the U.S. payroll.
This role will report to the Global Payroll Manager and work closely with HR, Finance, IT, and external payroll vendors. This is an excellent opportunity for a payroll professional who wants ownership of the core portion of North America payroll operations while also contributing to process improvements, compliance, and the implementation of a new global payroll platform.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
- Own the end-to-end processing of the bi-weekly U.S. payroll for 1,300+ employees in Workday.
- Review payroll inputs, reports, and integrations to ensure payroll is processed accurately and on time.
- Resolve payroll discrepancies, adjustments, and employee inquiries in a timely manner.
- Ensure compliance with U.S. federal, state, and local payroll tax and reporting requirements.
- Review payroll tax filings, reconciliations, and vendor-generated reports for accuracy.
- Partner with HR, Finance, IT, and payroll vendors to resolve issues and support payroll operations.
- Maintain payroll procedures, controls, and documentation to support consistency, efficiency, and audit readiness.
- Support year-end activities, audits, and the transition to a new global payroll platform.
WHAT YOU’LL BRING
- Bachelor’s degree required.
- Experience with end-to-end processing of high-volume U.S. multi-state.
- Workday Payroll experience required; ADP Workforce Now experience a plus.
- Strong knowledge of payroll laws, tax requirements, and reporting obligations.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and reconciliation skills.
- Excellent attention to detail, organization, and follow-through.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with a customer-focused approach.
- Ability to handle confidential information with discretion and integrity.
- Ability to work independently and manage deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
COMPENSATION
The rate for this position generally is $1,000 - $800,000 annually. This range is a good faith estimate provided pursuant to the New York Pay Transparency Law. It is based on what a successful New York applicant might be paid and assumes that the successful candidate will be in New York or perform the position from New York. Similar positions located outside of New York will not necessarily receive the same compensation. Actual pay rates may vary from the range, as permitted by New York Equal Pay Transparency Law. Compensation offers will be based on various factors, including operational needs, individual education, qualifications and experience, work location and comparison to employee already in the role, as well as other considerations permitted by law. A potential new employee’s pay history will not be used in compensation decisions.
BENEFITS
Depending on your employment status, benefits may include:
- Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, AD&D, Disability and other voluntary benefits
- Flexible Spending Accounts for Medical and Childcare
- Paid Time Off, Family Leave for New Parents, Volunteer Time
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Commuter Transit (where available)
- 401k retirement savings with Company matching on employee contributions and/or qualified student loan repayments
- Fitness Reimbursement
- And other various wellness, diversity/inclusion and employee resource programs and initiatives
Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
Thornton Tomasetti is proud to be an equal employment workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Thornton Tomasetti are considered without regards to age, ancestry, color, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, protected family care or medical leave status, race, religion (including beliefs and practices or the absence thereof), sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.
Thornton Tomasetti Global Terms of Use and Privacy Statement
Carefully read these Terms of Use before using this website. Your access to and use of this website and application for a job at Thornton Tomasetti are conditioned on your acceptance and compliance with these terms.
Please access the linked document by clicking here, select the country where you are applying for employment, and review. Before submitting your application you will be asked to confirm your agreement with the terms.
To request a reasonable accommodation during the application process for this role, please contact talentconcierge@throntontomasetti.com.
Beware Of Recruitment Fraud: Scammers may attempt to impersonate Thornton Tomasetti. Messages from our firm come only from the ThorntonTomasetti.com domain, Thornton Tomasetti does not use any third-party recruiters. When in doubt, please contact us through our web form here and see how you can protect yourself online here.
See all Green Card Senior Payroll Specialist Jobs
Sign up for free to unlock all listings, filter by visa type, and get alerts for new Green Card Senior Payroll Specialist Jobs.
Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Green Card Sponsorship as a Senior Payroll Specialist
Translate your payroll credentials into PERM language
PERM requires your employer to define the minimum requirements for your role. Document your degree field, any CPA or CPP certification, and specific payroll systems experience so the job description reflects your actual qualifications without overstating them.
Target employers with dedicated payroll departments
Companies processing payroll in-house across multiple states or entities are more likely to sponsor than those using outsourced payroll vendors. Look for postings that list multistate tax compliance, HRIS administration, or union payroll as core duties.
Search sponsoring employers using Migrate Mate
Use Migrate Mate to filter Senior Payroll Specialist roles by employers with active EB-2 and EB-3 sponsorship history, so you spend time on applications where a PERM pathway already exists rather than negotiating it from scratch.
Verify the prevailing wage before your offer stage
DOL sets the prevailing wage for your role based on location and experience level using the OFLC Wage Search. Confirm your offered salary meets at least the Level II or Level III threshold before signing, since PERM filings are rejected if the wage falls short.
Understand why EB-3 avoids the H-1B lottery problem
Unlike H-1B visa, EB-3 green card sponsorship has no annual lottery and no cap concerns for most nationalities. Your employer files PERM and I-140 directly, and the process runs on a deterministic timeline rather than a random selection event.
Ask about concurrent filing eligibility before accepting
If your priority date is current when the I-140 is approved, you can file I-485 adjustment of status concurrently. For Senior Payroll Specialists from most countries outside India and China, this can significantly compress the time to permanent residency.
Green Card Senior Payroll Specialist: Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Senior Payroll Specialist role qualify for EB-2 or EB-3 green card sponsorship?
Most Senior Payroll Specialist positions qualify under EB-3 as a skilled worker or professional, since the role typically requires a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field plus meaningful work experience. EB-2 sponsorship is available if the employer can document that the position requires an advanced degree, which is less common for standard payroll roles but possible for senior or strategic-level positions at larger organizations.
How is the green card PERM process different from H-1B sponsorship for payroll roles?
H-1B is a temporary nonimmigrant visa subject to an annual lottery, with a maximum stay of six years for most holders. PERM-based green card sponsorship has no lottery, no annual cap concerns for EB-3 in most countries, and leads directly to permanent residency. The tradeoff is a longer process: PERM labor certification, I-140 petition, and I-485 adjustment of status can take two to four years or more, depending on your country of birth and DOL processing times.
What does the PERM labor certification process involve for a payroll employer?
PERM requires your employer to conduct a DOL-supervised recruitment campaign to demonstrate no qualified U.S. workers are available for the role. This includes job postings, newspaper ads, and internal notices over a defined period. Your employer then files the ETA-9089 with DOL, which currently takes several months to over a year to certify. You cannot file the I-140 immigrant petition until PERM is certified.
How do I find Senior Payroll Specialist jobs where the employer will actually sponsor a green card?
Migrate Mate lets you search specifically for Senior Payroll Specialist roles filtered by employers with documented EB-2 and EB-3 green card sponsorship history, so you can focus your search on companies already familiar with the PERM process rather than trying to convince an employer to sponsor for the first time.
Can a Certified Payroll Professional credential strengthen my EB-2 or EB-3 petition?
Yes. A CPP or FPC certification from the American Payroll Association can reinforce the employer's case that the role requires specialized skills, which supports both the job description in the PERM filing and the EB-2 or EB-3 classification. USCIS looks at whether the position genuinely requires the qualifications listed, so a recognized industry credential adds credibility to that argument.