Associate Director, Transfer Pricing & Tax Operations (Hybrid - Rahway, NJ)
Merck & Co. · USA - New Jersey - Rahway · Posted 2026-09-03
Job description
Job Description Position OverviewThe Associate Director, Transfer Pricing will be a key member of our Company's Corporate Tax organization, responsible for supporting the development, implementation, monitoring, documentation, and defense of our Company's global transfer pricing policies.This role is well suited for an analytical, business-oriented tax and finance professional who is comfortable working with complex financial and operational data, developing practical models, and translating analysis into clear insights that support business and tax decision-making. The successful candidate will have a strong foundation in accounting, finance, and/or tax, with an appreciation of transfer pricing principles, U.S. transfer pricing rules under Section 482, and broader international tax considerations.The individual will partner closely with colleagues across Tax, Finance, Accounting, Treasury, Legal, Manufacturing, R&D, Commercial, and other business functions. This role requires someone who can understand the business, analyze data thoughtfully, build simple and effective models, communicate clearly, and work collaboratively in a highly cross-functional environment.The ideal candidate will be intellectually curious, highly organized, personable, and team-oriented, with strong analytical judgment and the ability to simplify complex information for practical business use.Key Responsibilities • Support the development, implementation, monitoring, and defense of our Company's global transfer pricing policies for intercompany transactions. • Analyze complex financial, accounting, operational, and legal entity data to support transfer pricing conclusions, business decisions, and audit-ready documentation. • Build practical financial models and analytical tools to evaluate legal entity profitability, intercompany pricing outcomes, service allocations, royalty charges, manufacturing results, and other transfer pricing matters. • Translate large or complex data sets into simple, clear, and actionable insights for Tax, Finance, and business stakeholders. • Coordinate with U.S. and non-U.S. Tax, Finance, Accounting, Treasury, Legal, Manufacturing, R&D, Commercial, and other business teams to execute intercompany pricing policies and address transfer pricing issues. • Support transfer pricing analyses related to manufacturing, product supply, distribution, R&D services, manufacturing services, management service fees, intercompany licenses, royalties, and other cross-border arrangements. • Monitor and validate transfer pricing results, including legal entity margins, functional income statements, service charges, allocation methodologies, and true-up calculations. • Assist in evaluating intercompany agreements and ensuring that contractual terms are aligned with business substance, accounting results, and transfer pricing documentation. • Support U.S. and global transfer pricing documentation, audit defense, tax controversy, and responses to information requests from tax authorities. • Partner with internal stakeholders and external advisors to gather data, understand business facts, prepare analyses, and develop supportable transfer pricing positions. • Identify opportunities to improve transfer pricing processes, reporting, controls, data quality, and use of technology. • Communicate complex transfer pricing, accounting, and international tax concepts in a clear and practical manner to both tax and non-tax audiences. Required Qualifications • Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Tax, Economics, Business, or a related field. • Minimum of 7 years of relevant experience in corporate tax, public accounting, transfer pricing, international tax, finance, accounting, economic consulting, or business advisory roles. • Strong accounting and financial analysis background, including the ability to understand income statements, cost structures, legal entity financials, allocations, margins, and profitability. • Demonstrated ability to work with complex data, identify key issues, build simplified models, and use analysis to support business and tax decisions. • Working knowledge of transfer pricing principles, including the arm’s-length standard, functional analysis, comparability, intercompany pricing methods, documentation, and audit defense. • High-level understanding of U.S. transfer pricing rules under Section 482 and related concepts. • Appreciation of broader international tax considerations relevant to multinational businesses, including cross-border transactions, royalties, services, legal entity structures, withholding tax considerations, and global tax compliance. • Strong Excel and financial modeling skills, with the ability to organize, analyze, and summarize large data sets. • Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex analyses in a clear, concise, and business-friendly way. • Ability to manage multiple priorities, exercise sound judgment, and deliver high-quality work in a deadline-driven environment. • Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to work effectively in a collaborative team environment. Preferred Qualifications • CPA, Chartered Accountant, master’s degree in accounting or taxation, MBA, JD, or similar advanced credential. • Experience in transfer pricing, international tax, corporate tax planning, tax accounting, finance, or operational transfer pricing. • Experience in the pharmaceutical value chain analysis, life sciences, healthcare, manufacturing, or technology sector. • Experience analyzing intercompany transactions involving manufacturing, product supply, distribution, R&D services, management services, royalties, licenses, intangible property, or business development arrangements. • Experience supporting transfer pricing documentation, audit defense, intercompany agreement reviews, or operational transfer pricing processes. • Experience using SAP, Business Objects, Power BI, Alteryx, or similar financial reporting,