Senior Business Analyst - US Tax

Founded and headquartered in Switzerland, Avaloq is continuously expanding its global footprint with around 2,500 colleagues in 12 countries, and more than 170 clients in 35 countries. We are an industry-leading provider of wealth management technology and services for financial institutions around the world, including private banks and wealth managers, investment managers, as well as retail and neo banks. Our research led approach and continual innovation is powered by the passion and creativity of our colleagues.
We are always looking for talented people to join us on our mission to orchestrate the financial ecosystem and democratize access to wealth management. Avaloq offers the opportunity to work closely with some of the world’s leading financial institutions as we jointly develop and shape careers. Championing a collaborative, supportive and flexible work environment empowers our colleagues to reach their full potential.

Job Description

Avaloq’s R&D Lab is building a SaaS, API-first, composable banking platform for wealth managers and private banks. As Senior Business Analyst, US Tax, you will take functional ownership of the US tax capabilities within our multi-country tax engine, translating complex US investment tax requirements into clear specifications, rules and test cases that our engineering teams can implement.

Based at our new development centre in Fort Lauderdale, you will work closely with product management and engineering colleagues in Zurich, as well as our first US clients. You will be the team's authority on US investment taxation and the first person our US clients talk to in this client-facing and product-focused role. As a key subject matter expert, you will be helping shape the product roadmap, understanding client requirements and ensuring our platform accurately supports the tax, reporting and operational needs of the US wealth management market.

• Own the functional scope and roadmap of the US tax engine, acting as the US tax subject matter expert for product, engineering, clients and implementation teams
• Translate US tax legislation, regulations and IRS guidance into clear functional specifications, decision rules, worked examples and acceptance tests. Track changes in tax law and IRS guidance, assess their impact and keep the specifications current
• Define the tax treatment of investment portfolios: cost basis and tax lots, lot relief methods, holding periods, wash sales, corporate actions, bond premium and discount, dividend and interest classification
• Specify withholding and information reporting: backup withholding, withholding on payments to foreign persons, and the data behind Forms 1099-B, 1099-DIV, 1099-INT, 1099-OID and 1042-S
• Act as a trusted functional contact for US clients, leading workshops across tax and broader wealth-management topics, supporting onboarding and translating client needs into scalable product capabilities
• Collaborate closely with engineers, solution architects and product teams to validate functionality, maintain specifications and respond to changes in US tax requirements
• Carry client needs back into the product: separate the general requirement from the single request, and feed the roadmap

Qualifications

• 8+ years of hands-on experience in US investment taxation, ideally within a custodian, broker-dealer, wealth manager, tax-reporting software provider or advisory firm
• A Master’s degree in taxation, accounting, finance or law (MST, MAcc, JD or LL.M.), or a Bachelor’s degree combined with a CPA licence
• Strong knowledge of cost-basis and tax-lot accounting, covered and noncovered securities, wash sales, corporate actions and Form 1099 reporting
• Proven ability to interpret primary tax sources, including the Internal Revenue Code, Treasury regulations and IRS guidance, and translate them into precise business requirements
• Experience creating functional specifications and test cases for software and working directly with engineering or technology teams
• Strong analytical and communication skills, including experience working directly with client tax, operations and technology teams and explaining complex requirements clearly

It would be a real bonus if you have:

• Experience with cross-border taxation and reporting, such as Forms W-8 and 1042-S, FATCA, Qualified Intermediary requirements or PFIC rules
• Knowledge of specialist investment taxation and tax-aware portfolio management, including fixed income, derivatives, tax-loss harvesting, direct indexing, trusts, estates, retirement accounts or asset location
• Previous experience in a financial technology or product environment, knowledge of another country's investment taxation, or practical data and technology skills such as SQL, Python or AI tools

Additional Information

This role includes onboarding with the existing team in Zurich, regular travel to Switzerland and occasional travel to client sites.

We realize that managing work life balance is a challenge we all face in our daily lives and in order to support with this we are pleased to offer hybrid and flexible working for most of our Avaloqers to maintain work life balance and still continue our fantastic Avaloq culture in our global offices. 

In Avaloq we are proud to embrace diversity and understand the success of our business is built on the power of different opinions, we are whole heartedly committed to fostering an equal opportunity environment and inclusive culture where you can be your true authentic self. 

We hire, compensate and promote regardless of origin, age, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other fantastic traits that make us all unique, we have done our best to write this advert in an inclusive and neutral way. 

Please be aware that we will not accept speculative CV submissions for any of our roles from recruitment agencies, and any unsolicited candidate submissions will be exempt from any payment expectations.

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