Job Description Summary:The Senior Manager, Indirect Tax is a key member of the Indirect Tax team and reports to the Indirect Tax Director. This role is responsible for managing significant aspects of the company's U.S. indirect tax compliance, reporting, audit, advisory, and process improvement activities, with a primary focus on sales and use tax.
Working under the strategic direction of the Indirect Tax Director, the Senior Manager, Indirect Tax will provide strong technical expertise and day-to-day leadership across sales and use tax and other applicable U.S. state and local transaction taxes. The role requires meaningful experience with indirect tax issues specific to the construction industry, including taxability determinations, the tax treatment of construction materials and equipment, contractor and subcontractor transactions, exemption and resale certificates, project-specific exemptions, and varying state and local tax rules applicable to construction activities.
The Senior Manager, Indirect Tax will partner closely with Accounting, Finance, Legal, Procurement, Operations, Project Management, IT, and other business teams to manage compliance and risk and provide practical tax guidance throughout the project and transaction lifecycle.
The successful candidate will combine strong U.S. indirect tax technical knowledge and construction industry experience with the ability to independently manage complex projects, conduct and document technical taxability analyses, develop team members, improve processes, and translate tax requirements into practical business solutions.
This role can either be remote or hybrid, with regular in-office presence in San Diego, CA, Broomfield, CO, or Portland, OR. Specific location details and expectations will be discussed during the interview process.
Job Description:*This job description reflects management's assignment of essential functions; it does not prescribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned
Position Responsibilities and Duties: - Manage the company's U.S. sales and use tax compliance processes, including returns, payments, reconciliations, and related reporting.
- Oversee the preparation and review of sales and use tax returns and ensure filings and payments are completed accurately and timely.
- Manage use tax accrual processes and identify transactions requiring self-assessment of tax.
- Review sales and use tax accounts, accruals, and reconciliations and support financial reporting requirements.
- Maintain appropriate documentation and controls supporting indirect tax compliance and reporting.
- Coordinate with external service providers supporting compliance activities, as applicable.
- Escalate significant compliance issues and exposures to the Indirect Tax Director.
Taxability Reviews & Technical Analysis- Lead and perform detailed sales and use taxability reviews of purchases, sales, services, materials, equipment, rentals, and other transactions across applicable U.S. jurisdictions.
- Research state and local statutes, regulations, administrative guidance, rulings, and other authoritative sources to determine appropriate tax treatment.
- Analyze taxability based on the nature of the transaction, jurisdiction, customer or vendor, contract terms, project type, and use of the property or service.
- Develop and document technically supportable taxability positions and recommendations.
- Maintain and update taxability matrices, decision frameworks, and other guidance used by Procurement, Accounts Payable, Billing, Operations, and project teams.
- Review transaction populations and purchasing categories to identify inconsistent tax treatment, overpayments, underpayments, and potential areas of exposure.
- Provide guidance regarding appropriate tax coding and tax determination rules within ERP and tax technology systems.
- Monitor changes in state and local tax laws and update taxability positions and internal guidance accordingly.
Exemption & Resale Certificate Management- Provide technical analysis and guidance regarding exemption and resale certificates, including when certificates may appropriately be issued to vendors or accepted from customers.
- Evaluate eligibility for resale, manufacturing, governmental, nonprofit, project-specific, and other applicable exemptions.
- Review exemption and resale certificates for completeness, validity, applicability, and compliance with jurisdiction-specific requirements.
- Advise Procurement, Accounts Payable, Billing, Legal, Operations, and project teams regarding proper use of exemption and resale certificates.
- Develop and maintain policies, procedures, and controls governing the issuance, acceptance, validation, retention, and renewal of exemption and resale certificates
- Support certificate management processes and technology, including maintaining appropriate documentation to substantiate exempt transactions.
- Identify missing, expired, incomplete, or improperly applied certificates and coordinate remediation.
- Provide guidance regarding exemption documentation during sales and use tax audits and other taxing authority inquiries.
- Assess risks associated with improperly claimed exemptions and recommend corrective actions to the Indirect Tax Director.
Construction Industry Taxation- Provide technical guidance regarding the application of state and local sales and use tax laws to construction projects and operations.
- Analyze the tax treatment of construction materials, equipment, rentals, services, and other project-related purchases.
- Evaluate contractor and subcontractor tax responsibilities across applicable jurisdictions.
- Analyze whether the company is treated as the consumer or retailer of materials and equipment under applicable state and local rules.
- Advise on tax considerations associated with lump-sum, time-and-materials, cost-plus, and other construction contract structures.
- Evaluate project-specific exemptions and associated documentation requirements.
- Determine whether purchases may qualify for exemption or resale based on project structure, contractual relationships, jurisdiction, and ultimate use.
- Partner with Procurement, Accounts Payable, Legal, Operations, and project teams to ensure appropriate sales and use tax treatment throughout the project lifecycle.
- Support the development of scalable processes for determining and documenting the appropriate tax treatment of construction-related transactions.
Tax Technical & Advisory- Serve as a senior technical resource on U.S. sales and use tax matters, including nexus, sourcing, taxability, exemptions, resale, and documentation requirements.
- Research and analyze complex state and local indirect tax issues and recommend positions to the Indirect Tax Director.
- Support the Director in evaluating the tax implications of new projects, contract structures, vendors, customers, and business initiatives.
- Monitor relevant state and local legislative and regulatory developments and assess potential impacts to the company.
- Provide practical guidance to business stakeholders regarding sales and use tax requirements.
- Assist in implementing tax strategies and initiatives established by the Indirect Tax Director.
Audits & Risk Management- Manage day-to-day activities associated with state and local sales and use tax audits, examinations, notices, and inquiries
- Coordinate information requests and prepare responses to taxing authorities.
- Research and support technical positions taken during audits and controversy matters.
- Prepare and support taxability analyses and exemption documentation requested during audits.
- Identify potential tax exposures, overpayments, and refund opportunities and communicate findings to the Tax Director.
- Support voluntary disclosure agreements, refund claims, and other remediation initiatives as appropriate.
- Maintain appropriate documentation supporting material tax positions.
- Identify recurring areas of exposure within construction purchasing and project activities and develop corrective processes.
Tax Technology & Process Improvement- Identify opportunities to improve and automate sales and use tax processes, controls, and reporting.
- Partner with the Indirect Tax Director and cross-functional teams on tax technology initiatives
- Support the configuration and maintenance of tax determination within ERP, procurement, accounts payable, billing, and tax technology systems.
- Translate taxability conclusions into tax rules, product or purchasing classifications, exemption logic, and system requirements.
- Assist with implementations, upgrades, integrations, and testing involving indirect tax functionality.
- Develop scalable processes and controls that support business growth, new projects, and increasing transaction volumes.
- Improve processes for use tax accruals, exemption documentation, certificate management, tax coding, and transaction review.
- Identify root causes of recurring tax issues and implement sustainable solutions.
Business Partnership- Develop strong working relationships with Accounting, Finance, Legal, Procurement, Accounts Payable, Operations, Project Management, IT, and other business teams.
- Review contracts, project structures, purchase transactions, pricing calculations, and business arrangements for potential sales and use tax implications.
- Partner with project and procurement teams to address taxability and exemption considerations before transactions occur rather than relying solely on post-transaction remediation.
- Provide clear and practical guidance regarding whether transactions are taxable, exempt, or eligible for resale treatment and the documentation required to support the determination.
- Develop and deliver training to relevant teams on sales and use tax requirements, taxability, exemption certificates, resale certificates, and construction-specific tax issues.
- Escalate significant or strategic matters to the Indirect Tax Director as appropriate.
Team Leadership- Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and technical guidance to indirect tax team members.
- Review work prepared by team members and external service providers.
- Assist the Indirect Tax Director in establishing team priorities and managing workloads and deadlines.
- Support the professional development of team members through coaching, feedback, and knowledge sharing.
- Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and strong technical execution.
Minimum Skills or Experience Requirements: - Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Taxation, Business, or a related field.
- 15+ years of progressive tax experience, including significant experience in U.S. sales and use tax.
- Meaningful indirect tax experience within the construction, engineering, EPC, infrastructure, or a closely related project-based industry.
- Strong knowledge of state and local sales and use tax principles, including nexus, sourcing, taxability, exemptions, resale, and use tax accrual requirements.
- Demonstrated experience performing multi-state taxability reviews and developing documented taxability positions.
- Demonstrated experience analyzing, issuing, reviewing, and managing exemption and resale certificates and providing guidance regarding their appropriate use.
- Strong understanding of sales and use tax issues affecting contractors and construction projects, including materials, equipment, subcontractors, contract structures, and project-specific exemptions.
- Demonstrated experience managing sales and use tax compliance and audits.
- Strong tax research, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities.
- Experience working with ERP systems, tax engines, and/or tax compliance technology.
- Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work independently while effectively collaborating within a broader tax organization.
- Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with tax and non-tax stakeholders, particularly Procurement, Accounts Payable, Legal, Operations, and project teams.
Preferred- CPA, CMI, JD, MST, or other relevant professional designation or advanced degree.
- Significant experience managing sales and use tax matters across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
- Experience supporting large-scale construction, infrastructure, energy, or capital projects.
- Experience developing and maintaining taxability matrices and exemption certificate processes.
- Experience with tax determination and compliance platforms such as Vertex, Avalara, or similar systems.
- Experience improving or automating use tax accrual, tax determination, certificate management, and transaction tax processes.
Key Competencies- U.S. sales and use tax technical expertise
- Multi-state taxability analysis
- Exemption and resale certificate expertise
- Construction industry tax knowledge
- Technical tax research and documentation
- Strong execution and ownership
- Risk identification and problem solvin
- People and project leadership
- Cross-functional business partnership
- Process improvement and automation
- Tax technology proficiency
- Sound judgment and escalation
- Ability to translate complex state and local tax requirements into practical guidance for project and operational teams
Success Measures- Success in this role will be demonstrated by:
- Accurate and timely execution of sales and use tax compliance and reporting responsibilities.
- Consistent, technically supportable taxability determinations across construction-related purchases, sales, co
