Senior Director - Automation and Innovation

What You'll Do

Job Summary

You will be reporting to the VP - Business Excellence, You will work from the Pune office in a hybrid shift.

We seek a visionary leader for the role of Senior Director of Automation and Data Insights in our Customer and Compliance Operations (CCO) function. This pivotal position will drive innovation through AI/ML, RPA, Microsoft Power Platform, advanced data analytics, and existing tax technology, while revitalising source data to empower operational leaders. Leading a global team of 10-15 experts, you will collaborate with Engineering leads and provide strategic reporting for CCO leaders. Experience in tax reporting and technology is advantageous, with primary goals of enhancing efficiency, reducing risk, and ensuring an excellent customer experience.

What You'll Need to be Successful

• Lead, mentor, and develop two high-performing team Automation Team specialising in AI, RPA, Power Platform, Tax Technology and the Data Team providing data aggregation services and analytics and Insights.
• Foster a culture of innovation, learning, and collaboration within the team and the wider CCO organisation and Engineering functions.
• Set clear performance expectations, provide regular feedback, and conduct performance evaluations.
• Responsibly contribute to and management the resulting budgets agreed in annual operating plans.
• Provide clear business cases where exec sponsorship and buy in needed.
• Prepare and deliver executive-level report outs on strategic automation initiatives, performance metrics, and plans.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive, innovation-focused automation strategy using GenAI, RPA/ML, the Microsoft Power Platform, and tax technology.
• Identify and prioritize automation opportunities across the CCO organisation to lead efficiency, effectiveness, and scalability.
• Integrate emerging trends such as GEN AI and technologies to automation processes to reduce risk and raise quality.
• Collaborate and Create proof of concepts for potential scalable solutions for CCO and if applicable, broader Avalara operations.
• Collaborate with the Engineering department to enhance and develop innovative automation solutions as our product suite develops and grows.
• Provide technical expertise and insights to support product design, development, and deployment.
• Use data to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for process improvement and risk reduction.
• Ensure data integrity, accuracy, and security in all analytics activities.
• Oversee the development and implementation of Customer experience and tax reporting automation processes in operational teams.
  
  

Qualifications

About the Team

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Data Science, or a related field; Master's degree.
• 10+ years of experience in process automation, AI, RPA, data analytics, and tax technology.
• Experience in leading and managing teams.
• Experience with the Microsoft Power Platform and related technologies.
• Experience working in a global organisation and understanding of diverse cultural environments.
  
  

Preferred Skills

• Certification in AI, RPA, or related technologies.
• Experience in tax technology and tax reporting.
• Knowledge of machine learning, data mining, and predictive analytics.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and project management principles.
  
  

Working Conditions

• Based in India with occasional travel to global offices in the UK and the USA
• Flexible working hours to accommodate collaboration with international teams.
  
  

About Avalara

We’re Avalara. We’re defining the relationship between tax and tech.

We’ve already built an industry-leading cloud compliance platform, processing nearly 40 billion customer API calls and over 5 million tax returns a year.

Last year, we became a billion-dollar business, and our tribe expanded by a cool thousand people - there’s nearly 5,000 of us now. Our growth is real, and we’re not slowing down - not 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. Ownership and achievement go hand in hand here. We instill passion in our people through the trust we place in them.

We’ve been different from day one. Join us, and your career will be too.

EEO Statement

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.