SEA Tax Director

About the role

The Director, SEA Tax leads all tax matters across Southeast Asia for Applied Materials, aligning regional execution with the global tax strategy. This senior leadership position balances strategic oversight with hands‑on involvement in complex tax data, processes and technical issues.

Key responsibilities

• Provide regional tax leadership for direct, indirect, withholding tax, transfer pricing and cross‑border matters, translating global strategy into actionable regional plans.
• Oversee end‑to‑end tax compliance (CIT, GST/VAT, withholding tax, transfer pricing) and ensure accurate quarterly and annual tax accounting deliverables.
• Lead tax audits, assessments, rulings and appeals, developing robust defense strategies with external advisors.
• Partner with the Global Transfer Pricing team on policy, documentation and audit support, and evaluate tax implications of business model changes.
• Drive process excellence by identifying inefficiencies, implementing standardisation, automation and ERP/tax reporting tool improvements.
• Directly manage and develop a high‑performing tax team, setting clear priorities, performance expectations and succession plans.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Tax, Finance or related field.
• 18+ years of progressive tax experience, ideally combining Big 4 and in‑house roles.
• Proven leadership of multi‑country tax matters and teams in manufacturing or technology environments.
• Experience with tax incentives, large ERP implementations and SOX/internal controls.

Required skills

• Tax accounting
• SOX controls
• Excel (advanced calculations and data validation)
• ERP systems
• Tax reporting tools
• Transfer pricing
• GST/VAT compliance

What we offer

• Supportive work culture that encourages learning, development and career growth.
• Health and wellbeing programs, including personal and professional support.
• Opportunities to work on innovative solutions that advance AI and next‑generation semiconductor technology.