R&D Tax Incentives Manager (SR&ED)
Repeatedly voted one of Montreal’s Top Employers and Employer of the Year for the 2022 Mercuriades Awards, Rodeo FX is a high-end creative company offering services in visual effects, advertising, animation, and experiential.
Nominated for multiple Emmy® Awards for its work on the series Stranger Things season 4, The Witcher season 2, and The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power season 1, the independent, Oscar®-winning company boasts close to 900 artists crafting from studios in Montreal, Québec City, Toronto, Los Angeles and Paris.
Rodeo FX is a creative partner to the world’s best storytellers including Netflix, HBO, Disney, Marvel, Amazon Studios, Warner Bros., and Sony, and has collaborated on ads for YouTube, NBC, and Apple. Current projects include Blue Beetle, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon. Recently released projects include John Wick: Chapter 4, Black Adam, Disney's The Little Mermaid, and Love, Death and Robots Volume 3, for which the company won a 2023 VES award.
Work arrangements
As an artist-founded and artist-led company, creativity is at the heart of everything we do. Our mission is to give our talent the freedom, resources, and environment they need to produce high-quality work and thrive in a stimulating, collaborative, and supportive setting.
Given their key role in team leadership, decision-making, communication, and production support, managers and supervisors are expected to work from the studio at least four days per week . This increased presence helps strengthen collaboration, maintain closer proximity with teams, and sustain a strong, vibrant, and aligned studio culture.
Reporting to the Tax Director, the R&D Tax Incentives Manager (SR&ED) takes ownership of the claim process related to Rodeo FX's research and development activities. This individual ensures that eligible work is identified, documented, and integrated into thorough, rigorous claims submitted within required deadlines.
In collaboration with the software development, pipeline, research, and production teams, they translate complex technical work into clearly documented files. They structure the collection of information and supporting documentation, coordinate contributions from technical and financial teams, and support claims during tax authority audits.
This role offers the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of the studio's technologies and establish sustainable practices to support its R&D tax credit claims.
Ensure Identification and Analysis of Eligible Work
- Maintain knowledge of studio projects and technological activities to identify work with potential eligibility for R&D tax credits.
- Meet with technical leads to understand objectives, uncertainties encountered, experimental approaches, and advancements achieved.
- Evaluate and document the potential eligibility of the work in collaboration with the Tax Director and external advisors as necessary.
- Maintain an up-to-date overview of selected projects, information to be gathered, and issues to be resolved.
Deliver Complete and Rigorous Claims On Time
- Manage the annual claim schedule and coordinate contributions from involved teams.
- Coordinate the preparation of technical descriptions and contribute to their drafting with relevant teams, then gather necessary information for applicable federal and provincial applications.
- Establish and document claimed expenses with Finance, ensuring consistency with the work performed and available data.
- Prepare files for review and approval by the Tax Director, then coordinate their finalization and filing with responsible stakeholders.
Ensure Quality and Traceability of Documentation
- Implement evidence collection and retention methods tailored to team workflows.
- Ensure alignment between described work, supporting documentation, time dedicated to projects, and claimed expenses.
- Guide teams in the ongoing documentation of their work and clarify expected information.
- Identify documentation gaps and coordinate their resolution early enough in the process.
Support Claims During Tax Audits
- Prepare support files and coordinate responses to information requests from tax authorities.
- Explain claimed work and its technical justification, with the participation of relevant specialists.
- Collaborate with the Tax Director, Finance, and external advisors to defend positions taken and address raised questions.
- Incorporate audit findings into future claim preparation and documentation practices.
Ensure Process Visibility and Improvement
- Provide clear tracking of file progress, deadlines, credit estimates, and risks.
- Maintain tools, templates, and procedures necessary for efficient claim preparation.
- Monitor changes to applicable programs and assess their impact on internal practices alongside the Tax Director.
- Propose improvements to enhance data reliability, facilitate team contributions, and reduce rework.
- Relevant combination of education and experience in taxation, finance, accounting, administration, or a technology field.
- Experience preparing tax, financial, or technical files, or coordinating projects.
- Ability to learn and apply R&D tax credit program requirements.
- Ability to understand technical work and document it clearly.
- Rigor, autonomy, and organizational skills to manage multiple files and meet deadlines.
- Proficiency with Excel and project tracking tools.
- Strong oral and written communication skills in French, as well as the ability to work in English, both orally and in writing, to collaborate with relevant teams and stakeholders.*