Lead, People Technology Solutions Design (Payroll & Benefits)

Avalara, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Avalara, Inc. is seeking a Lead, People Technology Solutions Design who will own and optimize Workday Payroll, Benefits, Time Tracking, Time Off, and Absence.

This role partners with HR, Payroll, IT, and vendors to deliver scalable, compliant solutions that support global payroll and accurate pay, with AI-enabled improvements and governance. 7+ years of Workday configuration experience is required, with hands-on expertise across payroll and benefits.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of Workday configuration experience in enterprise HR tech.
• Hands-on expertise configuring Workday Payroll, Benefits, Time Tracking, Time Off, and Absence.
• Experience with Workday integrations, reporting, and security.

Responsibilities

• Own Workday solution design across Payroll, Benefits, Time Tracking, Time Off, and Absence.
• Lead design and optimization of Workday Payroll configurations for multi-state and global payroll.
• Design and maintain Benefits solutions including eligibility and enrollments.
• Configure and optimize Time Tracking, Time Off, Absence to ensure compliance and payroll accuracy.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives with HR, Payroll, IT, and vendors.
• Drive continuous improvement by reducing technical debt and enabling AI features.
• Serve as the technical authority for assigned Workday domains and governance.

Skills

Workday expertise

Payroll configuration

Benefits configuration

Time Tracking & Absence

SOX compliance

AI-enabled improvements

Leadership & governance

Education

B.S. in Computer Science, Information Systems, or Engineering

Job description

What You'll Do

Avalara’s continued global growth requires a scalable, compliant, and reliable People Technology foundation. The Lead, People Technology Solutions Design serves as the technical owner for Workday Payroll, Benefits, Time Tracking, Time Off, and Absence. This role leads solution design, configuration, governance, and continuous improvement across these domains, ensuring employees are paid accurately, benefits are administered seamlessly, and workforce time data supports operational, financial, and regulatory requirements. Partnering closely with HR, Payroll, IT, and external vendors, this role reduces operational risk, improves employee experience, and enables Avalara’s AI‑first strategy through automation and intelligent system design.

How This Role Elevates Avalara

Team Impact: Raises the technical capability of the People Technology team through deep Workday expertise, scalable design standards, documentation, mentoring, and reduced reliance on external consultants. Business Impact: Improves payroll accuracy, compliance, operational efficiency, and system reliability while reducing technical debt and supporting global growth. Customer (Employee) Impact: Delivers accurate pay, seamless benefits administration, and reliable time and absence management, improving employee confidence and manager self‑service.

What Your Responsibilities Will Be

• Own Workday solution design across Payroll, Benefits, Time Tracking, Time Off, and Absence, delivering scalable, compliant, and maintainable solutions.
• Lead design and optimization of Workday Payroll configurations supporting multi‑state and global payroll operations.
• Design and maintain Benefits solutions including eligibility, enrollment events, carrier integrations, and open enrollment.
• Configure and optimize Time Tracking, Time Off, and Absence Management to ensure regulatory compliance and payroll accuracy.
• Lead cross‑functional initiatives from requirements through production deployment with HR, Payroll, IT, and vendors.
• Drive continuous improvement by reducing technical debt, simplifying configurations, and leveraging AI‑enabled capabilities.
• Serve as the technical authority for assigned Workday domains, establishing governance and best practices.

12‑Month Success Signals

• Established a scalable and well‑governed Workday Payroll, Benefits, and Time ecosystem that improves reliability, simplifies administration, and supports Avalara's global growth.
• Delivered two or more strategic Workday initiatives from solution design through production, achieving measurable business value and strong stakeholder adoption.
• Increased stakeholder confidence in People Technology through improved system stability, faster delivery, and trusted partnership with Payroll, HR, Finance, and IT.
• Improved operational efficiency by simplifying configurations, reducing manual processes, and introducing automation that increases quality and scalability.
• Successfully managed both Workday biannual releases with effective impact assessments, testing, and adoption of new capabilities.
• Implemented at least one AI‑enabled capability that measurably improved operational efficiency, compliance, reporting, or employee experience.

AI Expectations

• Use AI to accelerate requirements analysis, solution design, documentation, testing, and delivery.
• Apply AI and Workday capabilities to identify anomalies, configuration drift, and optimization opportunities.
• Automate repetitive activities such as testing, validation, reporting, and documentation.
• Apply AI responsibly in compliance‑sensitive environments following Avalara governance and privacy standards.
• Demonstrate measurable business outcomes through AI adoption and share best practices across the team.

Bar Raiser Expectations

• Use AI to accelerate requirements analysis, solution design, documentation, testing, and delivery.
• Apply AI and Workday capabilities to identify anomalies, configuration drift, and optimization opportunities.
• Automate repetitive activities such as testing, validation, reporting, and documentation.
• Apply AI responsibly in compliance‑sensitive environments following Avalara governance and privacy standards.
• Demonstrate measurable business outcomes through AI adoption and share best practices across the team.

What You'll Need to be Successful

• B.S. in Computer Science, Information Systems, or Engineering.
• 7+ years of relevant Workday configuration experience aligned to enterprise HR technology.
• Hands‑on expertise configuring Workday Payroll, Benefits, Time Tracking, Time Off, and Absence.
• Experience with Workday integrations, reporting, business process framework, calculated fields, and security.
• Experience supporting SOX‑compliant enterprise environments.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross‑functional initiatives and deliver scalable technical solutions.
• Demonstrated application of AI to improve HR technology outcomes.

Self Improvement Mandate

At Avalara, this role must raise the bar through stronger quality, ownership, judgment, simplification, and measurable business impact. The People Technology Solutions Design Lead of Payroll & Benefits must improve personnel performance by exemplary ownership, judgment, accountability, and execution; simplify complexity; improve talent density through coaching and example; challenge assumptions with data; and leave systems, processes, and teams stronger than you found them.

How We'll Take Care of You

Total Rewards

In addition to a great compensation package, paid time off, and paid parental leave, many Avalara employees are eligible for bonuses.

Health & Wellness

Benefits vary by location but generally include private medical, life, and disability insurance.

Inclusive culture and diversity

Avalara strongly supports diversity, equity, and inclusion, and is committed to integrating them into our business practices and our organizational culture. We also have a total of 8 employee‑run resource groups, each with senior leadership and exec sponsorship.

Equal Opportunity Employer

We are 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.