[Hiring] HR Systems Architect @Dental Care Alliance

Role Description

The HR Systems Architect is DCA’s subject matter expert for HR systems, with a primary focus on UKG. Working under minimal supervision, this role configures and maintains UKG, protects the accuracy of employee data, delivers reporting and analysis, and manages HR systems requests through Freshservice. The role partners with HR, Payroll, Benefits, Compensation, Talent Acquisition, IT, Training, and vendors to keep systems reliable and easy to use, and serves as backup to the TA Systems Architect for talent acquisition systems. The role also helps DCA learn, test, and adopt AI automation and tool integrations that reduce manual HR work. This is an individual contributor role with no direct reports.

Responsibilities

• Serve as DCA’s primary subject matter expert for UKG, configuring and maintaining business rules, workflows, security roles, org structures, and related settings to support HR, payroll, timekeeping, and benefits processes.
• Own HR systems tickets in Freshservice, triaging, prioritizing, and resolving requests within established service levels, escalating complex issues appropriately, and treating pay-impacting issues as same-day priorities.
• Maintain Freshservice knowledge base articles and request categories, and track ticket trends to identify recurring issues, training gaps, and opportunities for self-service or automation.
• Ensure the accuracy and integrity of employee and organizational data through scheduled audits, validation checks, and timely corrections, resolving audit findings before the next pay cycle wherever possible.
• Build and maintain standard and ad hoc UKG reports, queries, and dashboards, and provide data summaries and analysis that support HR operations, compliance, and leadership decision-making.
• Support UKG releases, enhancements, and upgrades by gathering requirements, configuring and testing changes in non-production environments, executing regression testing, and confirming production readiness.
• Monitor UKG integrations and file feeds with benefits carriers, retirement providers, and other vendors, troubleshooting errors and coordinating fixes with IT and vendor partners to prevent data or pay disruptions.
• Support recurring HR cycles in UKG, including open enrollment, annual compensation and merit cycles, year-end processing, and mass data uploads, validating results before and after each load.
• Serve as backup to the TA Systems Architect for talent acquisition systems such as iCIMS, covering routine administration, user support, and issue triage during absences or peak periods and escalating design or configuration decisions.
• Support the Training team’s learning management system (LMS), including user and data administration, maintaining UKG-to-LMS employee data feeds, troubleshooting access and enrollment issues, and providing course completion and compliance reporting.
• Learn, evaluate, and help implement AI-enabled automation and tool integrations across HR, including identifying use cases, building and testing workflows, and measuring time saved.
• Apply DCA data privacy, security, and governance standards to all AI and automation work, documenting how each tool uses employee data and supporting adoption through training for HR users.
• Conduct root cause analysis on system defects and process breakdowns, recommending configuration or process changes that strengthen controls and reduce manual administrative work.
• Create and maintain end-user documentation, job aids, configuration standards, process flows, and change logs to support training, audits, and knowledge transfer.
• Mentor junior analysts and HR team members on UKG, Freshservice, reporting, and system best practices, sharing knowledge and reviewing work to build team capability.
• Perform all other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems, Human Resources, Business, or a related field required.
• Minimum of 7 years of progressive HRIS or HR technology experience required.
• Extensive hands-on UKG experience (configuration, reporting, and integrations) strongly preferred; UKG certification a plus.
• Experience supporting users through a ticketing system such as Freshservice preferred.
• Exposure to iCIMS or another applicant tracking system preferred.
• Advanced Excel and report-writing skills; experience with workflow automation or AI tools a plus.
• Experience in a multi-site or healthcare organization preferred.