If you are using the LinearLayoutManager or Staggered GridLayoutManager, they each have a scrollToPositionWithOffset method that takes both the position and also the offset of the start of the item from the start of the RecyclerView, which seems like it would accomplish what you need (setting the offset to 0 should align with the top).
For instance:
//Scroll item 2 to 20 pixels from the top
linearLayoutManager.scrollToPositionWithOffset(2, 20);