Senior Payroll Specialist – Product Support

Position Summary

We are looking for an experienced Senior Payroll Specialist Product Support with strong hands-on knowledge of Indian Payroll statutory compliance and payroll processing. The role will provide functional support to customers using a SaaS HRMS & Payroll platform and will act as a senior domain point of contact for complex payroll compliance and product-related queries.

The ideal candidate should combine strong payroll expertise with excellent customer communication problem-solving ownership and customer-handling skills. The candidate must be able to understand a customers business requirement analyze the issue explain the solution in simple business language coordinate internally when required and drive the case to closure within SLA.

Role Objective

Provide accurate timely and customer-focused functional support for payroll and HRMS-related queries.

Use strong payroll-domain knowledge to identify the root cause of calculation configuration compliance and process issues.

Handle complex and high-priority customer cases independently and take ownership until resolution.

Act as a bridge between customers and internal Product Development QA and Operations teams.

Improve customer experience through clear communication proactive updates effective troubleshooting and knowledge sharing.

Contribute to product quality UAT knowledge base and continuous improvement initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

A. Payroll & Functional Product Support

Provide functional support through calls emails chat remote sessions and ticketing channels.

Understand customer payroll processes requirements and configurations before recommending a solution.

Support customers during monthly payroll execution payroll validation approval and finalization.

Troubleshoot salary calculation discrepancies payroll processing errors arrears deductions reimbursements and other payroll scenarios.

Analyze payroll inputs employee master data salary structures attendance/leave inputs and statutory deductions to identify the source of an issue.

Guide customers on correct product processes and best practices without making unauthorized manual data corrections.

Differentiate between product configuration issues payroll-domain issues user/process errors and potential product defects.

Maintain complete and accurate ticket documentation including issue summary analysis action taken customer communication and resolution.

B. Payroll Domain & Statutory Compliance

Demonstrate strong knowledge of Indian payroll processing and salary structures.

Understand CTC gross salary earnings deductions reimbursements arrears bonuses and other payroll components.

Handle functional queries relating to PF ESI PT and LWF.

Knowledge of Income Tax TDS Form 16 and Form 24Q.

C. Customer Communication & Customer Handling

Communicate confidently and professionally with payroll administrators HR teams finance teams and senior customer stakeholders.

Listen actively and ask relevant probing questions before concluding the cause of an issue.

Convert complex payroll or product explanations into simple customer-friendly language.

Set clear expectations on timelines dependencies and next steps.

Handle dissatisfied or escalated customers calmly professionally and with empathy.

Take ownership of critical issues and provide proactive status updates until closure.

Avoid unnecessary technical jargon and ensure the customer understands the recommended resolution.

Manage difficult conversations without committing to unsupported timelines or product changes.

Document important customer commitments and follow-ups to maintain accountability.

D. Troubleshooting & Root Cause Analysis

Perform structured issue analysis instead of relying only on trial-and-error troubleshooting.

Perform impact analysis for issues affecting multiple employees payroll runs or statutory outputs.

Identify recurring issues and recommend permanent corrective actions.

Escalate technical defects to Development/QA with clear business impact reproduction steps expected result and actual result.

E. Escalation & Cross-Functional Coordination

Take ownership of escalated customer cases and coordinate with internal teams until resolution.

Work closely with Product Development QA and Operations teams for defects enhancements and complex functional issues.

Prioritize cases based on business impact payroll timelines customer impact and severity.

Provide meaningful internal escalation notes rather than forwarding incomplete customer queries.

Follow the defined escalation matrix and keep stakeholders informed of progress.

Validate fixes before communicating closure to customers wherever applicable.

F. Knowledge Management & Process Improvement

Create and maintain knowledge base articles FAQs user guides troubleshooting notes and internal SOPs.

Share product/process learnings with the support team through knowledge-sharing and training sessions.

Identify repeated customer pain points and recommend process or product improvements.

Maintain accurate documentation for new product features statutory changes and support processes.

Payroll Knowledge

Indian Payroll processing knowledge

Salary structure CTC gross/net salary and payroll components

Payroll calculations deductions arrears reimbursements and adjustments

Income Tax TDS Form 16 and Form 24Q

PF ESI Professional Tax (PT) and Labour Welfare Fund (LWF)

Payroll reports validation and reconciliation

Practical understanding of payroll compliance and statutory processes Product / Technical Skills

Hands-on experience with HRMS / Payroll software preferably SaaS payroll products

Strong MS Excel skills including formulas lookups filters pivots and data validation

Ability to analyze payroll reports and employee-level data

Basic understanding of ticketing incident management and support workflows

Ability to understand product configurations workflows and system-generated reports

Customer Handling & Behavioral Competencies

Excellent verbal and written communication

Strong active listening and questioning skills

Customer empathy and professional customer handling

Ownership and accountability

Logical thinking and structured problem solving

Root-cause analysis mindset

Calm handling of escalations and high-pressure payroll situations

Time management and prioritization

Attention to detail and accuracy

Ability to work independently and collaborate across teams

Ability to explain complex payroll concepts in simple language

Experience & Qualification

Recommended experience: 25 years in Payroll Operations Payroll Product Support HRMS Support or a similar payroll-domain role.

Strong practical knowledge of Indian payroll and statutory compliance.

Experience supporting enterprise or high-headcount customers is preferred.

Experience with SaaS-based HRMS/payroll products is preferred.

Graduate degree in Commerce Business Administration HR Finance or a related discipline preferred.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is not only a payroll expert but also a strong customer-facing problem solver. They should be comfortable discussing payroll with HR Finance and senior customer stakeholders analyzing product behavior managing escalations and coordinating with internal teams. The candidate should demonstrate a balance of domain expertise product understanding communication ownership and customer empathy.