Sr. Tax Analyst

The Senior Tax Analyst II is a critical contributor to Avalara’s Premium Managed Returns Service (PRS), where you will provide a high level of service to customers enrolled in the Premium Managed Returns Service.  You will be responsible for identifying areas of improvement as well as serving an elite group of customers with highly complex returns as their primary point of contact. 

The ideal candidate is highly driven, detail oriented and proficient at balancing multiple priorities. This position directly protects client revenue, mitigates tax exposure, and advances Avalara’s AI-first operational strategy by embedding automation and AI into daily compliance work.

How This Role Elevates Avalara

• Protects customer revenue through accurate, on-time state and local sales and use tax compliance support.

• Reduces compliance risk by applying deep jurisdictional expertise and robust variance, exception, and notice management.

• Increases operational scale by designing and refining Premium Managed Returns Service workflows, data ingestion patterns, and automation that reduce manual effort.

• Enhances customer trust as a knowledgeable, proactive, senior point of contact for complex portfolios on the PRS product.

• Raises team capability by mentoring junior analysts and sharing documentation, process improvements, and AI best practices.

• Own end‑to‑end preparation, review, and filing of complex, multi‑jurisdiction sales and use tax returns for customer portfolios, achieving on‑time performance aligned to SLAs.

• Serve as primary compliance contact for assigned customers using PRS products, handling advanced questions and escalations with minimal supervision.

• Analyze transactional and configuration data across AvaTax, PRS, and source systems to identify discrepancies, filing risks, and root causes before submission.

• Design and continuously improve PRS workflows (data ingestion, validation, approvals, filing, archiving) to reduce manual touches, rework, and notice volume.

• Engage state and local jurisdictions on behalf of clients to resolve complex compliance issues, notices, and exceptions.

• Participate in QA/UAT for new forms, filing automation, and provide clear, risk-based feedback from a compliance perspective.

• Collaborate cross functionally with Product, Engineering, Onboarding, Professional Services, and CX to strengthen compliance execution and the PRS experience.

• Mentor and coach junior analysts on complex jurisdictions, PRS best practices, customer communication, and AI-enabled workflows.

12-Month Success Signals

• Independently manage assigned enterprise customers with minimal escalation.
• Achieve consistent 100% on-time filing performance.
• Maintain high accuracy rates with reduced rework or notice volume.
• Implement at least one documented AI-driven workflow improvement.
• Reduce manual review time per filing cycle while maintaining quality.
• Demonstrate strong working knowledge of AvaTax and Returns Console.
• Recognized by peers and leaders as a “go-to” SME for PRS based compliance in at least one or two critical domains (e.g., specific jurisdictions, firm segment, workflow type).

AI Expectations 

• We are hiring an AI Bar Raiser — someone who leverages AI tools to accelerate data analysis, reconciliations, exception review, and return preparation while maintaining or improving quality.

• Use AI to draft clear, professional customer and jurisdiction communications, applying judgment and domain expertise before sending.

• Summarize complex issues, RCAs, and action plans with AI to improve clarity and reduce preparation time for internal and external stakeholders.

• Design and implement at least one AI‑enabled workflow enhancement (e.g., standardized prompts, variance review patterns, notice response templates) within the first 12 months.

• Quantify measurable AI impact such as reduced review hours, faster cycle times, or lower notice/rework rates.

• Apply AI responsibly in alignment with Avalara security, privacy, and compliance standards.

• Share AI best practices, examples, and lessons learned to elevate team productivity and capability.

Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Tax, or a related field. 

• 7+ years of multi‑jurisdiction indirect tax experience with a strong focus on sales and use tax return preparation and filing for US state and local jurisdictions.

• Proven experience preparing and filing complex, multi‑state portfolios, including exposure to high‑complexity jurisdictions and schedules.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (e.g., VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX/MATCH, PivotTables, Power Pivot or similar) and demonstrated ability to analyze large, complex datasets.

• Experience working across multiple systems and tools with the ability to troubleshoot data and configuration issues end‑to‑end.

• Strong analytical, research, and problem‑solving skills; able to operate calmly and methodically under strict filing deadlines.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex tax and system topics in clear, simple language to non‑experts.

• Demonstrated ability to manage competing priorities and deadlines in a high‑volume environment while maintaining quality.

• Proven application of AI tools in a professional context to improve efficiency, accuracy, or customer experience (e.g., analysis, summarization, drafting, documentation).

Bar Raiser Expectations

• Raise standards for case ownership, resolution quality, and customer communication
• Improve team capability through knowledge sharing, documentation, and peer support
• Reduce repeat issues by identifying root causes and improving processes
• Increase efficiency by simplifying workflows and eliminating unnecessary rework
• Improve customer outcomes through clearer communication and faster resolution
• Leave processes, documentation, and team performance stronger than they found them
• Use data and AI to improve execution quality.
• Elevate peer performance through knowledge sharing.

AI is embedded in our workflows, decision-making, and products.  Success here requires embracing AI as an essential capability.

• You’ll bring experience using AI and AI-related technologies, ready to thrive here.

• You’ll apply AI every day to business challenges - improving efficiency, contributing solutions, and driving results for your team, our company, and our customers.

• You’ll grow with AI by staying curious about new trends and best practices, and by sharing what you learn so others can benefit too.

Total Rewards 

In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses. 

Health & Wellness 
Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance. 

Inclusive culture and diversity 
Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture. We also have a total of 8 employee-run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship. 

We’re defining the relationship between tax and tech.

We’ve already built an industry-leading cloud compliance platform, processing over 54 billion customer API calls and over 6.6 million tax returns a year. Our growth is real - we're a billion dollar business - and we’re not slowing down until we’ve achieved our mission - to be part of every transaction in the world.

We’re bright, innovative, and disruptive, like the orange we love to wear. It captures our quirky spirit and optimistic mindset. It shows off the culture we’ve designed, that empowers our people to win. We’ve been different from day one. Join us, and your career will be too.

We’re An Equal Opportunity Employer

Supporting diversity and inclusion is a cornerstone of our company — we don’t want people to fit into our culture, but to enrich it. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, national orientation, disability, sexual orientation, US Veteran status, or any other factor protected by law. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.