Founding Tax Lead (CPA or EA Required)

Luca IQ; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Luca IQ is building a modern tax platform that guides a return from client documents through preparation, review, and filing in one place.

We’re seeking tax experts who have lived through tax seasons and want to shape the future of tax accounting by joining the founding team to review returns and translate real-world workflows into product improvements.

Qualifications

• CPA or EA with hands-on tax return experience.
• Experience preparing individual tax returns using professional software.
• Experience reviewing tax returns, not just preparing them.
• Strong understanding of U.S. federal individual income tax.

Responsibilities

• Review returns, identify edge cases and translate tax workflows into product improvements.
• Collaborate with engineers and founders to shape the roadmap.
• Prepare and review individual income tax returns.
• Identify complex scenarios to test the product.

Skills

Tax expertise

U.S. federal tax knowledge

Attention to detail

Analytical thinking

Education

Certified Public Accountant

Tools

Drake

UltraTax

CCH

Lacerte

ProSeries

Job description

Path Direct input into the product roadmap alongside engineers, founders, and customers

About Luca IQ

If you’ve spent tax seasons inside UltraTax, CCH, Drake, Lacerte, or similar software, you already know the problem. Tax professionals still rely on decades-old tools, rigid workflows, repetitive data entry, and disconnected systems.

Luca IQ is building the tax platform professionals should have had years ago: modern software that takes a return from client documents through preparation, review, and filing in one place.

We’re looking for tax experts who have lived through tax seasons firsthand and want to help shape the future of tax accounting.

The Role

You’ll work closely with the founding team to review returns, identify edge cases, and translate real-world tax workflows into product improvements.

This is not a traditional accounting firm role. You’ll bring your tax expertise into the product-building process, working at the intersection of tax, technology, and product.

What You'll Do

• Be a member of the founding team sitting between engineering + regulatory team
• Identify tax edge cases, complex scenarios, and ways to break the product
• Bring your tax preparation experience to help shape the product roadmap
• Prepare and review individual income tax returns

Who You Are

• Certified Public Accountant. Experienced Enrolled Agents may also be considered
• Experienced preparing individual tax returns using professional tax software such as Drake, UltraTax, CCH, Lacerte, ProSeries, or similar platforms
• Experienced reviewing tax returns, not just preparing them
• Strong understanding of U.S. federal individual income tax

What Makes This Role Different

At a traditional accounting firm, your work ends when the return is finished.

At Luca IQ, the tax knowledge you bring can improve how thousands of future returns are prepared.

You’ll have a direct line between what you see in real tax work and what gets built into the product. You’ll work alongside engineers, founders, and customers to help create the tax software you wish you had when preparing and reviewing returns.

If you’ve spent years working around the limitations of traditional tax software and have thought, there has to be a better way to do this, this is an opportunity to help build it.

If you’re an experienced tax professional who enjoys technology and wants to help build the next generation of tax software, we’d love to hear from you.