Payroll processing company ADP is expanding its footprint in Southern California, opening a 325-person Innovation Center today in Pasadena.

The center will be used to prototype and test ADP software for managing tax, employment and payroll corporate compliance. This is the third Innovation Center ADP has opened in the last three years, following center openings at its headquarters in Roseland, N.J. and another in New York.

The majority of the Innovation Center’s employees are coming from ADP’s nearby office in San Dimas, with about 60 employees hired exclusively for the center. The 53,000-square-foot facility at 55 S. Lake Ave. will include a 150-person auditorium for hosting events.

At the core of the Innovation Center is a design and user experience lab for testing ADP products and prototypes. One particular room within the lab will be used for tracking eye movement of users, a method used to measure the efficiency of app layouts and work flows.

“It’s a room with no windows, with no distractions, so we can watch the clients and their eye movements,” said Mike Plonski, senior vice president of product development for added value services. “We anticipate and hope to have clients flowing through (the lab) at least two to three times per week.”

Instead of adding to its presence in San Dimas, ADP decided to open in Pasadena to leverage talent coming out of local universities such as Art Center College of Design and Caltech, as well as the area’s growing tech startup scene.

“There’s some amazing talent working in nearby companies,” said Plonski. “There’s a mecca of talent here that we feel that we can tap into.”

Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.