Senior Lead Payroll Tax Analyst

This is a fully remote position, open to applicants in Texas.

📋 Description

• Take ownership of comprehensive U.S. federal, state, and local payroll tax compliance.

• Act as the functional lead for payroll tax within Workday Payroll.

• Supervise ADP Smart Compliance Employment Tax operations.

• Direct quarter-end and year-end payroll tax processes and evaluate federal, state, and local filings.

• Reconcile taxable wages and payroll tax obligations across payroll systems, general ledgers, funding, and submitted returns.

• Handle tax notices and agency inquiries until resolution.

• Administer payroll tax registrations, tax identification numbers, powers of attorney, deposit frequencies, tax rates, and account management.

• Oversee payroll taxation and reporting for RSUs, PSUs, ESPP, stock options, and sell-to-cover transactions.

• Offer expert advice on multi-state and local taxation, remote and mobile employees, supplemental wages, FICA, FUTA, SUI, paid leave and disability programs, reciprocity, and jurisdictional matters.

• Track legislative and regulatory changes and coordinate necessary updates for systems, vendors, controls, and communications.

• Maintain SOX-ready controls, process documentation, calendars, issue trackers, reconciliations, audit support, and review evidence.

• Lead resolution of complex payroll tax issues in collaboration with internal partners, tax authorities, vendors, auditors, and external specialists.

• Assist with payroll tax audits, merger and acquisition activities, legal entity changes, successor employer obligations, and special projects.

• Develop and sustain the governance framework for payroll tax in the Americas.

• Serve as the primary payroll tax authority for designated countries.

• Identify, evaluate, prioritize, and mitigate payroll tax risks while providing leadership reporting.

• Direct investigations, corrections, voluntary disclosures, examinations, penalty abatements, and remediation programs.

• Lead payroll tax workstreams during Workday implementation and optimization, acquisitions, divestitures, reorganizations, and transformation projects.

• Establish scalable payroll tax design principles and control requirements.

• Provide technical guidance, coaching, and functional leadership to regional payroll teams and future payroll tax resources.

• Oversee payroll tax governance and compliance for Canada, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil while maintaining primary ownership in the U.S.

• Offer backup support for U.S. payroll processing and compliance activities as needed.

⛳️ Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, Taxation, Human Resources, or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive payroll tax experience.

• Extensive, hands-on responsibility for U.S. federal, state, and local payroll taxes in a complex, multi-state setting.

• Experience managing payroll tax issues across various countries.

• Capability to handle the entire payroll tax lifecycle, including configuration, calculations, funding, filings, reconciliations, notices, amendments, quarter-end, year-end, and controls.

• Practical experience with Workday Payroll, including U.S. payroll tax configuration, calculation verification, testing, reconciliation, reporting, and issue resolution.

• Familiarity with ADP Smart Compliance Employment Tax or a similar enterprise payroll tax filing platform.

• Strong technical knowledge of federal, multi-state, and local payroll taxation, including FICA, FUTA, SUI, supplemental wages, paid leave and disability programs, reciprocity, and amended returns.

• Experience in payroll taxation and reporting for RSUs, ESPP, and other forms of equity compensation.

• Proficient in managing tax notices, registrations, agency inquiries, vendor escalations, tax reconciliations, and payroll tax controls.

• Ability to research complex payroll tax issues, interpret requirements, assess enterprise risk, document conclusions, influence decisions, and drive resolutions with minimal guidance.

• Strong analytical, executive communication, program leadership, documentation, and cross-functional influence abilities.

• Experience in designing payroll tax governance frameworks, compliance programs, controls, and audit-readiness strategies.

• Proven record of leading payroll tax workstreams for enterprise payroll, finance, HR, equity, or system transformation initiatives.

• Ability to influence senior leadership and drive decision-making across multiple functions without direct authority.

• Experience translating regulatory requirements and risk assessments into scalable processes, system requirements, controls, and remediation plans.

• Certified Payroll Professional (CPP) designation is preferred.

• Workday Payroll certification or extensive experience in Workday Payroll implementation and production support is preferred.

• Direct experience with Workday Payroll and ADP Smart Compliance integration is preferred.

• Experience in a large, publicly traded organization with significant multi-state payroll and equity compensation activity is preferred.

• Familiarity with SOX controls, internal and external audits, acquisitions, divestitures, legal entity changes, or successor employer payroll tax requirements is preferred.

• Direct experience supporting payroll tax obligations in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, or Brazil is preferred.

• Proven experience in building or enhancing a payroll tax function, center of excellence, or governance program is preferred.

• Experience providing functional leadership to payroll tax specialists, regional payroll teams, or external service providers is preferred.

🏝️ Benefits

• Short-Term Incentive (STI) Plan with performance-based awards tied to Company and individual achievements.

• Potential eligibility for an annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program comprising RSUs or cash equivalents.

• New-hire RSU award eligibility.

• Paid vacation time.

• Paid sick leave.

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance.

• Life, accident, and disability insurance.

• Tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts.

• Employee assistance program.

• Supplemental life and AD&D insurance.

• Legal plan.

• Pet insurance.

• Critical illness, accident, and hospital indemnity benefits.

• Tuition reimbursement.

• Transit benefits.

• Applause Program.

• Employee stock purchase plan.

• Sandisk Savings 401(k) Plan.