Tax Expert (CPA / EA)

Human Capitalists; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 130,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Job summary

Human Capitalists is seeking tax experts to join a startup building a modern tax engine. You will review returns, identify edge cases, and translate tax workflows into product improvements, working at the intersection of tax, technology, and product.

You will collaborate with engineers and founders, shaping the product ahead of the upcoming tax season, leveraging your CPA/EA experience to inform UX and roadmap.

Qualifications

• CPA with a tax-focused career (not audit, payroll, or bookkeeping).
• Experienced Enrolled Agents (EA) considered too.
• 6+ years of experience preparing individual tax returns using professional tax software.
• Strong understanding of U.S. federal individual income tax.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and review individual income tax returns.
• Identify tax edge cases, complex scenarios, and ways to break the product.
• Validate engine output against legacy professional tax software and flag discrepancies.
• Translate hands-on tax workflow experience into concrete UX feedback and product insights.
• Collaborate with engineers to explain tax rules and expected outcomes.

Skills

CPA (tax)

EA (Enrolled Agent)

Tax returns prep

US tax rules

Product feedback

Startup environment

Tools

Drake

UltraTax

CCH

Lacerte

ProSeries

Job description

Our client is building the modern tax engine and application that makes professional tax preparation faster, more reliable, and easier for tax professionals. The company was founded by Harvard Business School Alums backed by YCombinator and PeakXV.

About the Role

Seeking tax experts who have lived through tax seasons firsthand and want to help shape the future of tax accounting. 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, effectively serving as a subject matter expert embedded on the engineering team.

Responsibilities

• Prepare and review individual income tax returns.
• Identify tax edge cases, complex scenarios, and ways to break the product.
• Validate engine output against legacy professional tax software (UltraTax, CCH, Drake, Lacerte, ProSeries, or similar) and flag discrepancies.
• Bring your tax preparation experience to help shape the product roadmap and UX.
• Work directly with engineers to explain tax rules and expected outcomes.

Qualifications

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with a tax-focused career (not audit, payroll, or bookkeeping). Experienced Enrolled Agents (EA) may also be considered.
• 6+ years of experience preparing individual tax returns using professional tax software such as Drake, UltraTax, CCH, Lacerte, ProSeries, or similar platforms, across multiple full tax seasons (January-April 15).
• Experienced reviewing tax returns, not just preparing them.
• Strong understanding of U.S. federal individual income tax.
• An eye for product and user experience, with the judgment to translate hands-on tax workflow experience into concrete UX feedback.
• Comfortable working in a small, early-stage startup environment.

Required Skills

• Tax-focused Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or experienced Enrolled Agent (EA).
• Extensive experience preparing and reviewing individual income tax returns.
• Strong understanding of U.S. federal individual income tax rules.
• Ability to translate tax workflow experience into product and UX feedback.
• Comfort working closely with engineers and founders in an early-stage startup.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with professional tax software such as Drake, UltraTax, CCH, Lacerte, ProSeries, or similar platforms.
• Experience across multiple full tax seasons (January-April 15).
• Experience validating tax engine output against legacy professional tax software.
• Meaningful ownership over how a modern tax platform gets built, not just how one return gets filed.
• Equity, on a sliding scale for candidates flexible on base compensation.
• Direct, ongoing collaboration with the founders and engineering team.
• A seat at the table shaping the product ahead of the upcoming tax season.