Tax Research Analyst - Symmetry

Symmetry Software is part of Gusto. Symmetry is the payroll infrastructure for software & payroll platforms powering the paychecks of over 64 million workers each year. Our fully integrated suite of payroll tax APIs and software tools allows companies to solve tax compliance issues and build applications across the entirety of the payroll process.About the Role:

We are seeking a Tax Research Analyst to join Symmetry’s Tax Research team at our office in Scottsdale, Arizona. This role reports to the Manager of Tax Research. You will be responsible for finding, monitoring, and communicating tax changes and compliance updates to cross-functional teams for all of Symmetry’s products. This includes the US and Canada. You will leverage your prior payroll, tax, or accounting experience to empower new products and functionality in the payroll and HR tech space. 

About the Team:

The team consists of five Tax Research professionals, each bringing their own unique set of skills and experience to the table.  Tax Research is the cornerstone of Symmetry’s products and is relied upon by all teams. Symmetry is not a top-heavy organization so you’ll work directly with all levels of staff and management in this role. You’ll have the opportunity to perform compliance research that touches all of Symmetry's products, and shapes new ones. “The right taxes, the first time” is our company motto. This especially rings true for the Tax Research team, and guides our work. We are a close-knit team that works exceptionally well together based on our mutual respect and highly developed communication skills. We strive to deliver the most timely and accurate compliance products in the market, provide world-class customer service to our stakeholders, and uphold our reputation as the compliance leader. We embrace change and are always looking for new ways to streamline and automate our processes and research. This is a high-impact role in an extremely collaborative environment that will help shape Symmetry’s future today and tomorrow.   

Here’s what you’ll be doing:

• Manage a set of US and Canada jurisdictions that are your responsibility to keep updated. Analyze, interpret, and communicate federal, state, and local payroll tax compliance changes
• Gather and present research on new taxes. Work with tax agencies and partners to deep-dive on the withholding attributes of the tax. Serve as a critical member of a cross-functional team to deploy the tax to clients. Assist with providing external-facing write-ups
• Research and answer client questions facilitated by our Support team. Investigate the behavior in our products to ensure compliance with the most recent regulations. Troubleshoot with cross-functional partners
• Willingness and enthusiasm to take on Canadian compliance responsibilities and handle  complex questions. Actively shape Symmetry’s Canadian Tax Engine product and collaborate with the team to expand the functionality
• Actively participate in process improvement, testing of new processes, and providing feedback
• Adopt and test new technologies such as compliance tracking software and AI tools
• Involvement in local and national payroll industry groups. May require involvement in subcommittees
• Identify and stay on top of compliance trends. Track legislation from the time of inception, and follow it full-cycle for your jurisdictions
• Collaborate with Marketing to provide content for different platforms. Fact-check Marketing content
• Take on special projects outside of the year end timeframe. Act as the DRI (Directly Responsible Individual) on one or more OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) per team goals and objectives for the fiscal year
• Audit large groups of local taxes. Work with tax agencies nationwide to determine the unique tax boundary, such as JEDDs in Ohio

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• Bachelor’s Degree, preferably in a STEM-related field, Tax, Accounting, Finance, or Social Sciences
• 5-7 years of experience in payroll tax, compliance, accounting, or related fields
• Local candidate able to work in the Scottsdale office on a hybrid schedule
• Travel up to once/quarter

Preferred certifications and experience:

• PayrollOrg CPP or FPC Certification, or National Payroll Institute in Canada PCP certification
• CPA (Certified Public Accountant) or similar certification
• Canada, US Multistate, or local tax experience in KY, OH, or PA. Minimum wage experience
• Prior experience with tax laws, regulations, and third-party research databases
• Payroll service provider, agency, or tax filing and reporting experience
• Prior experience with tools like Google Workspace, Jira, NetSuite, or Airtable
• Prior technical experience developing compliance requirements for software developers

Required skills and mindsets:

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Self-motivated. Ability to prioritize among multiple objectives. Experience working independently to deliver long-term research projects and hit milestones
• Critical and strategic thinker. Ability to work through a problem with multiple steps, utilizing logic. Ability to think long-term about Symmetry’s future
• Enthusiastic learner as additional payroll certifications may be beneficial
• Exhibit persistence, confidence, and poise when calling and emailing agencies. Calm and professional, yet persistent, with the ability to break down complex regulations into understandable pieces for the agency
• Extreme attention to detail in write-ups of compliance information and communication
• Flexible, adaptable, and open to change
• Able to build strong networks inside in the company and with industry professionals

Our cash compensation amount for this role is targeted at $85,000/yr - $107,000/yr in Scottsdale. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including candidate experience and expertise and may vary from the amounts listed above.