Lead Payroll Analyst - Customer Success

About the role

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. (MHIA) is seeking a Customer Success – Lead Payroll Analyst to join their team. This is an onsite role based in the Galleria District of Houston, TX.

Scope

The Lead Payroll Analyst oversees the accuracy and compliance of payroll delivered through MHIA's managed-service model. They do not execute payroll but ensure UKG's output aligns with expectations. The role involves managing vendor performance, validating outputs, and serving as a single point of contact for MHIA, its affiliates, and UKG.

Job Responsibilities

• Serve as the single point of operational contact between MHIA, its affiliates, and UKG; consolidate direction to the vendor so there is one voice on delivery.
• Hold UKG accountable for service delivery against contracted standards, including accuracy, timeliness, and responsiveness.
• Maintain visibility across all vendor engagements, including direct domain exchanges between the Senior Payroll Tax Analyst and UKG Tax with no side channels.
• Track vendor defects, processing errors, and service gaps; drive corrective action and confirm resolution.
• Validate payroll outputs produced by UKG earnings, deductions, taxes, and net pay against expected outcomes, internal policy, and applicable regulations.
• Manually calculate and recreate payroll scenarios outside the system to confirm accuracy and identify discrepancies.
• Review and challenge vendor outputs; require evidence rather than assertion when results do not reconcile.
• Investigate payroll discrepancies and perform root cause analysis to determine whether issues originate from inputs, system configuration, integrations, or vendor processing.
• Support US and Canadian expatriate payroll and other complex scenarios requiring advanced payroll expertise.
• Define expected payroll outcomes against which system outputs are validated; serve as the technical payroll subject matter expert for system behavior, without performing system configuration.
• Partner with MHIA HRIS and UKG HRIS to ensure system configurations produce accurate, compliant payroll results; validate that configuration changes deliver the intended outcomes before they go live.
• Develop test scenarios, execute user acceptance testing (UAT), and validate system, integration, and vendor changes that affect payroll outcomes.
• Support setup and validation of new state and local tax jurisdictions in partnership with the Senior Tax Analyst.
• Validate year-end system outputs, including W-2, W-2C, and T-4 reporting.
• Partner with the Senior Payroll Tax Analyst on tax-related matters; confirm payroll impact and route operational corrections through the Lead while tax technical exchange occurs directly with UKG Tax under Lead visibility.
• Cover coordination across HR, Finance, HRIS, and vendor teams to ensure payroll inputs, system behavior, and outputs remain aligned.
• Reinforce role boundaries and rules of engagement defined in the payroll operating model; escalate operational issues directly and route systemic patterns to the Senior Manager.
• Identify opportunities to improve vendor performance, system integrity, and operational efficiency; surface recurring issues to the Senior Manager for systemic resolution.
• Provide functional guidance to internal stakeholders on payroll-related inquiries and serve as the front-facing payroll resource for affiliates.

Minimum Required Qualifications

• Education Requirement: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Human Resources, Information Systems, or a related field; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience: Minimum of eight (8) years of payroll experience, including direct experience supporting payroll operations delivered through a managed-service model.
• Demonstrated experience holding outsourced payroll service providers accountable for delivery and performance.
• Multi-state US payroll experience; exposure to Canadian payroll requirements and reporting (T-4).
• Strong understanding of payroll calculations and payroll tax structures.
• Ability to manually calculate and validate payroll outputs independent of the payroll system.
• Experience supporting payroll system testing, including development of test scenarios, execution of UAT, and validation of system changes.
• Experience working with enterprise payroll systems (UKG, SAP, Workday, ADP, or similar).
• Advanced Microsoft Excel proficiency, including data analysis, reconciliations, and large dataset validation.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and reconciliation skills.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills across HR, Finance, HRIS, and vendor teams.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation preferred or ability to obtain within 12 months.
• Experience supporting payroll system implementations, integrations, or system upgrades.
• Experience supporting payroll tax reconciliation and year-end reporting.
• Canadian payroll experience preferred.
• Project or change management experience.

Working Conditions

• Travel %: 10%
• Standard Monday through Friday work week. Occasional extended hours during peak processing or year-end periods.
• Lifting/physical requirements: Regularly required to sit for long periods, stand, walk, talk and/or hear. Frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Benefits

• Excellent Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision & 401K Matching)
• Excellent growth and advancement opportunities
• Paid vacation, sick time and 15 holidays
• Committed to quality products and services.
• Great working environment and culture

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

MHIA is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer actively seeking to diversify the workforce and is committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity. Therefore, all qualified applicants are strongly encouraged to apply.