Associate Director, US Tax Operations

Who we are is what we do.

Deel is the all-in-one payroll and HR platform for global teams. Our vision is to unlock global opportunity for every person, team, and business. Built for the way the world works today, Deel combines HRIS, payroll, compliance, benefits, performance, and equipment management into one seamless platform. With AI-powered tools and a fully owned payroll infrastructure, Deel supports every worker type in 150+ countries—helping businesses scale smarter, faster, and more compliantly.

Among the largest globally distributed companies in the world, our team of 7,000 spans more than 100 countries, speaks 74 languages, and brings a connected and dynamic culture that drives continuous learning and innovation for our customers.

Why should you be part of our success story?

As the fastest-growing Software as a Service (SaaS) company in history, Deel is transforming how global talent connects with world-class companies – breaking down borders that have traditionally limited both hiring and career opportunities. We're not just building software; we're creating the infrastructure for the future of work, enabling a more diverse and inclusive global economy. In 2024 alone, we paid $11.2 billion to workers in nearly 100 currencies and provided healthcare and benefits to workers in 109 countries—ensuring people get paid and protected, no matter where they are.

Our momentum is reflected in our achievements and customer satisfaction: CNBC Disruptor 50,  Forbes Cloud 100, Deloitte Fast 500, and repeated recognition on Y Combinator’s top companies list – all while maintaining a 4.83 average rating from 15,000 reviews across G2, Trustpilot, Captera, Apple and Google.

Your experience at Deel will be a career accelerator. At the forefront of the global work revolution, you'll tackle complex challenges that impact millions of people's working lives. With our momentum—backed by a $17.3 billion valuation and $1 B in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in just over five years—you'll drive meaningful impact while building expertise that makes you a sought-after leader in the transformation of global work.

Summary
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.

Responsibilities

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Qualifications

• 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.

Total Rewards

Our workforce deserves fair and competitive pay that meets them where they are. With scalable benefits, rewards, and perks, our total rewards programs reflect our commitment to inclusivity and access for all. 

Some things you’ll enjoy

• 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

At Deel, we’re an equal-opportunity employer that values diversity and positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of  race, religion, sex, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status, pregnancy or maternity or other applicable legally protected characteristics.

Unless otherwise agreed, we will communicate with job applicants using Deel-specific emails, which include @deel.com and other acquired company emails like @payspace.com and @paygroup.com. You can view the most up-to-date job listings at Deel by visiting our careers page.
Deel is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to cultivating a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects different abilities, backgrounds, beliefs, experiences, identities and perspectives.

Deel will provide accommodations on request throughout the recruitment, selection and assessment process for applicants with disabilities. If you require accommodations, please inform our Talent Acquisition Team via this link and a team member will be in touch to ensure your equal participation. If you have difficulty accessing the form, please email at [email protected].

As part of our hiring process, we primarily rely on interviews and role-related assessments. In limited cases, we may also consider informal background information relevant to the role, in line with our privacy and fairness obligations.

This application process may utilise Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT) and AI systems to assist in evaluating candidates based on experience level, technical skills and qualifications. As a fully remote company, we also utilise AI-powered deepfake and fraud detection technologies to verify the authenticity of candidate identities and interactions during assessments and interviews. This processing is conducted in compliance with applicable Data Protection, AI Governance and Labour Laws. We ensure human oversight is maintained in all final hiring decisions. Your personal data is not used to train AI models. For more information on how we process your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy.

• For NYC Residents: In accordance with NYC Local Law 144, an independent bias audit has been conducted on AEDT; results are available at Ashby, Covey.