Associate Director, US Tax Operations

Deel

23h • Remote

About The Position

As Associate Director of US Tax Operations, you will own and lead Deel’s end-to-end US tax operations across US EOR, PEO, managed client payroll, self-service employer payroll, and Deel’s internal US entities. This role is accountable for tax compliance strategy, execution, operational scalability, systems governance, vendor oversight, and tax quality across all US payroll products and client segments.
You will lead multi-disciplinary tax operations teams responsible for withholdings, remittances, filings, amendments, agency responses, and escalations, while partnering closely with Payroll Operations, Product, Engineering, Legal, Risk, Finance, Revenue, and Customer Experience to deliver accurate, compliant, and scalable US payroll tax outcomes.
This role requires deep US employment tax expertise, strong people leadership, and hands-on experience with enterprise payroll and tax platforms (including Prism, MasterTax, and comparable systems). You will operate as a senior subject-matter leader, balancing regulatory rigor with automation, efficiency, and client experience.

Requirements

• 7–10+ years of progressive experience in US tax operations, payroll tax compliance, or payroll operations, including: Multi-state and local tax complexity Federal, state, and local filings and remittances PEO and/or EOR operating models
• 3–5+ years of people leadership experience, managing managers and/or complex operational teams.
• Deep expertise in US employment tax compliance, controls, audits, reconciliations, and risk management.
• Hands-on experience with enterprise payroll and tax systems, including: Prism MasterTax Comparable payroll and tax engines
• Proven ability to scale operations in high-growth, multi-product, or enterprise environments.
• Strong operational judgment with the ability to balance compliance, automation, client experience, and speed.
• Data-driven leader experienced in using metrics and KPIs to drive outcomes.

Responsibilities

• US Tax Strategy & Ownership
• Own the end-to-end US tax operating model across: US PEO tax operations US EOR tax operations Managed US employer payroll tax (external clients) Self-service US employer payroll tax (external clients) Deel internal US payroll tax operations
• Define and execute the US tax operations strategy, including scalability plans, automation roadmap, vendor approach, and risk mitigation.
• Establish and maintain tax governance frameworks, controls, policies, documentation, and escalation models.
• Serve as a senior operational authority for US tax matters across leadership, product, legal, and risk forums.
• Partner with Legal, Risk, and Compliance to interpret regulatory changes impacting PEO, co-employment, and EOR models.
• Tax Compliance, Filings & Regulatory Management
• Ensure accurate and compliant execution of: Federal, state, and local tax withholdings and remittances Quarterly and annual filings (941, 940, W-2, W-3, state & local equivalents) Amended filings, corrections, and prior-period adjustments Agency registrations, account maintenance, and jurisdictional setup
• Lead responses to agency notices, audits, penalties, inquiries, and enforcement actions.
• Maintain expert-level knowledge of US employment tax regulations, including multi-state complexity, local jurisdictions, reciprocity rules, and wage & hour implications.
• Partner with our Compliance team to translate regulatory changes into operational procedures, system updates, and training.
• Tax Systems, Tools & Automation
• Own tax systems strategy, configuration, and optimization across: Prism MasterTax Payroll engines, tax engines, and supporting reconciliation tools
• Partner with Compliance, Product and Engineering to: Define tax system requirements and product roadmaps Improve automation, exception handling, and straight-through processing Reduce manual work, error rates, and cost-to-serve
• Support system implementations, migrations, integrations, and acquisitions impacting US tax operations.
• Team Leadership & Organizational Development
• Build, lead, and scale a high-performing US Tax Operations organization, including team leads, specialists, and senior ICs.
• Define org design, role clarity, capacity models, career paths, and skills development.
• Establish performance management frameworks tied to accuracy, timeliness, efficiency, and client outcomes.
• Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, continuous improvement, and operational excellence.
• Operational Excellence, Metrics & Reporting
• Define and own US tax operations KPIs, including: Filing and remittance accuracy On-time filing and payment rates Error, rerun, and amendment rates Cost, productivity, and automation metrics
• Deliver regular executive-level reporting, insights, and risk assessments.
• Lead root-cause analysis for tax incidents and implement durable corrective actions.
• Continuously improve workflows, controls, documentation, and reporting to support scale.
• Cross-Functional & Partner Leadership
• Act as the primary US tax operations partner to: Payroll Operations (execution, handoffs, issue resolution) Product & Engineering (systems, automation, roadmap) Legal & Compliance (regulatory interpretation, risk) Finance & Accounting (reconciliations, audits, GL impact) Revenue, CX, and Implementations (client success, transitions, escalations)
• Provide operational input into product design, go-to-market strategy, and client enablement for US tax operations offerings.
• Champion a client-first mindset, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and trust at scale.

Benefits

• Stock grant opportunities dependent on your role, employment status and location
• Additional perks and benefits based on your employment status and country
• The flexibility of remote work, including optional WeWork access

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees