senior manager, Indirect Tax

Starbucks Coffee Company • Seattle, WA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Starbucks is seeking an experienced Senior Manager of Indirect Tax to lead the indirect tax compliance function. This role requires expertise in Sales & Use tax for US and Canada (GST/HST/QST/PST) multi-jurisdictions, retail food & beverage tax, foreign VAT, Health and Environmental taxes, and business property taxes. The ideal candidate will have a mandate to modernize tax operations through technology, data, and process innovation, with experience in tax engines and platforms. This is a transformative role focused on making indirect tax a strategic, tech-enabled function that scales with the business, driving automation for tax calculation and determination, improving data integrity, and embedding tax into upstream business processes and systems for accurate and timely jurisdictional reporting. This position manages professional fee expenses up to $500,000, and the indirect tax team manages tax liabilities, exemptions, savings, and expenses exceeding $1.6 billion annually.

Requirements

• 10 years of multi-jurisdictional indirect tax experience in large, multi-companies in private sector with progressive responsibilities for developing and communicating tax policies, evaluating tax legislation and minimizing tax risks
• Progressive experience with multi-jurisdictional indirect tax laws, rules and business application
• 3 years proven ability to research and communicate technical tax requirements clearly to non-tax colleagues in an effective manner and effectively negotiating cross-functional decisions and results
• 5 years progressive experience managing multi-jurisdictional indirect tax functional responsibilities, issues, people, technology requirements and external resources for large global company
• 5 years managing indirect tax requirements for business or tax systems, including rules, classifications, and rates support
• Bachelor's degree required, preferably in accounting, business or finance or other related fields

Nice To Haves

• JD or masters/graduate degree in tax, law, business preferred
• Certified Public Accountant, licensed attorney and/or Institute of Professionals in Taxation CMI certification preferred

Responsibilities

• Oversee end-to-end US Sales & Use Tax and Canadian indirect tax compliance and foreign VAT reporting
• Ensure accurate, timely filings across all jurisdictions
• Manage compliance service provider, oversee compliance process and quarterly business review
• Work closely with indirect Policy and Planning team on translating new laws and regulation changes into actionable requirements
• Lead indirect tax technology roadmap (e.g., Vertex O Series/Cloud/Edge, Tax Performance Engine, Oracle EB-Tax)
• Lead implementation and optimization of tax engines and reporting tools
• Drive automation of compliance processes (returns, reconciliations, data ingestion)
• Partner with IT and Finance to integrate tax determination into ERP, POS and legacy systems
• Leverage data analytics and visualization tools (e.g., Alteryx, Power BI, Tableau) to enhance insights and controls
• Identify inefficiencies in current tax processes and redesign for scalability
• Establish standardized, documented, and automated workflows
• Reduce manual touchpoints and improve data accuracy at the source
• Build a continuous improvement culture using Lean / Six Sigma principles
• Partner with Tax Data & Technology team, Finance, Corporate Accounting, FinTec, ST, Retail Operations, Digital Channels, and Supply Chain
• Influence system design to ensure tax requirements are embedded upfront
• Support business initiatives (new store openings, digital sales channels, product launches) with tax guidance
• Foster a collaborative and inclusive environment within the team and across functions
• Provide mentorship, guidance, and support to facilitate partners’ professional growth and skill development
• Leverage deep tax technical knowledge and advanced research skills to prepare and communicate tax requirement changes effectively
• Educate internal business units and teams on new tax requirements and practices, ensuring alignment and compliance across the organization
• Foster a curiosity mindset of innovation and proactive problem solving
• Champion to upskill partners in using data analytics and tax technology tools

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, basic and supplemental life insurance, and other voluntary insurance benefits
• Short-term and long-term disability
• Paid parental leave
• Family expansion reimbursement
• Paid vacation from date of hire
• Sick time (accrued at 1 hour for every 25 hours worked)
• Eight paid holidays
• Two personal days per year
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match
• Discounted company stock program (S.I.P.)
• Starbucks equity program (Bean Stock)
• Incentivized emergency savings
• Financial well-being tools
• 100% upfront tuition coverage for a first-time bachelor’s degree through Arizona State University’s online program via the Starbucks College Achievement Plan
• Student loan management resources
• Access to other educational opportunities
• Backup care
• DACA reimbursement

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees