Senior Tax Manager

Cynch AI; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Office locations: Pleasanton

Travel occasionally

Job summary

Aardvark Tax Advisors is seeking a Senior Tax Manager to own complex engagements, lead a team, and raise the quality bar across client relationships and tax delivery.

The role oversees planning, compliance, and advisory work for diverse entities, with a focus on developing professionals and improving processes. Hybrid work arrangement available in multiple California offices.

Qualifications

• Active CPA or EA required.
• 10+ years in public accounting or tax with depth in compliance, planning, and advisory across individuals, partnerships, and small-business entities.

Responsibilities

• Own complex tax matters and client relationships; be the go-to contact for urgent or complicated issues.
• Lead preparation and review of returns for corporations, partnerships, individuals, trusts, and estates across federal/state/local tax.
• Deliver proactive tax planning, identify savings opportunities, and translate legislative changes into guidance.

Skills

Client relationships

Tax planning

Team leadership

Compliance expertise

Education

CPA or EA

Tools

UltraTax

CCH Axcess

Lacerte

Job description

At Aardvark Tax Advisors, the client comes first. We’re a full-service tax, accounting, and advisory firm serving small businesses and entrepreneurs. Our people are uniquely enabled to spend more of their time understanding clients, solving complex problems, and building lasting relationships.

Technology helps make that possible. As the accounting and client services practice of Cynch AI, we use proprietary AI to reduce routine tasks and free up time for higher-value client work. Our tools support the work. Our people remain accountable for the outcome.

We’re building an expanding practice with clear paths for career advancement. We're a fast-growing practice with clear paths for advancement. We grow organically and through strategic acquisitions, and as we grow so does our team's scope of responsibility. Each level has defined expectations and advancement criteria, with performance-based opportunities for greater responsibility and equity over time.

We’re looking for a Senior Tax Manager to own complex engagements, lead a team, and elevate the quality bar. That means working across entity types, delivering planning that goes beyond compliance, developing the people doing the work, and having the instinct to fix recurring problems at the process level, not just the return in hand.

The role is hybrid, based out of our Pleasanton, Cupertino or Santa Cruz offices, with additional potential work locations in the North Bay.

What You'll Do

Client Relationships & Tax Delivery

• Own client relationships on complex tax matters, including planning, compliance, and consulting, and be the person clients call when something is urgent or complicated.
• Lead the preparation and review of complex returns for corporations, partnerships, individuals, trusts, and estates across federal, state, and local jurisdictions.
• Deliver tax planning that goes beyond compliance; identify tax-saving opportunities, develop tax-efficient strategies, and advise clients on the impact of legislative changes.
• Stay current on legislative changes and preemptively translate them into specific, actionable guidance.
• Ensure every return that leaves the practice meets the standard you’d put your own name on.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of tax professionals. Set expectations, give direct feedback, and hold people accountable.
• Run performance evaluations that are specific and useful. Know where the team is strong and where it isn’t, and build the training and processes to close those gaps.

Practice Development & Quality

• Identify opportunities to expand services with existing clients where the value is real.
• Monitor and manage tax risk for the practice and for clients, ensuring positions are defensible.

Requirements:

• Active CPA or EA required.
• 10+ years in public accounting or tax, with real depth in compliance, planning, and advisory across individuals, partnerships, and small-business entities.
• Proven experience managing and developing tax professionals—not just assigning work, but building people.
• Strong technical knowledge of federal, state, and local tax regulations, including complex returns and multi-entity planning.
• Direct client relationship experience. You’ve managed a book of business, juggled competing deadlines, and kept clients informed.
• Proficiency in professional tax software (UltraTax, CCH Axcess, Lacerte, or similar).

Helpful additions

• Experience taking over and maintaining client relationships through practice transitions.
• Track record of growing client relationships and expanding practice areas through business development.
• Hybrid: Three days per week onsite, in either Pleasanton, Santa Cruz, or Cupertino.
• Extended hours during peak tax season and as needed to meet client deadlines.
• Occasional travel for client meetings or practice events.

Estimated California compensation for this role in estimated to be between $170,000 and 210,000/year.