Head of Tax Operations

About Aardvark Tax Advisors Aardvark Tax Advisors is an AI-native tax, accounting, and advisory firm that combines startup speed with enterprise-grade rigor. We are the accounting and client services arm of Cynch AI, the platform democratizing access to financial expertise for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The Opportunity This is a builder role. Sitting at the center of Aardvark’s AI-enabled tax delivery model, you will lead the human judgment layer that turns platform-assisted tax work into accurate, consistent, filing-ready client outcomes. You will operate at multiple altitudes: reviewing and signing select returns, communicating tax outcomes to clients, developing the delivery team, and designing the workflows, standards, and quality systems that allow the practice to scale without sacrificing rigor. We are looking for someone with the tax judgment to own signing responsibility, the operating instincts to improve delivery at the system level, and the leadership presence to build trust across clients, practitioners, product, and technology teams. What You’ll Do Own Tax Delivery Quality Serve as signing practitioner of record for select client returns Own the human-in-the-loop tax quality system, including what the platform can automate, what requires human review, when work must escalate, what documentation is required, and when a return is ready for signature Diagnose why work comes back from reviewers, and work with technology, tax, and product partners to fix root causes Translate operational friction into workflow, process, and platform improvements that deliver measurable results Continuously train the team so issues become non-repeating Reduce reviewer time spent cleaning up prep work by improving upstream quality Drive Practice Innovation and Growth Partner with the Tax & Accounting Leader to hire, develop, and manage a high-performing team delivering tax and accounting services to a diverse client base Help shape how we work by contributing to the automation tools, planning systems, and technology behind our AI-native approach to tax and accounting Design and implement scalable workflows that reduce variability, improve quality, and enable team leverage Identify breakdowns in current processes and rebuild them into repeatable systems Translate complex tax work into standardized, auditable workflows Contribute to firm strategy around client experience and how we scale service delivery Own Client and Internal Relationships Serve as a strategic advisor to internal teams, bringing tax and advisory expertise that helps shape how we serve clients at scale Personally review a select group of returns and communicate outcomes directly to clients Build internal and external relationships that are genuinely personal, with deep understanding of each team’s work, each client’s goals, and the history behind both You are a senior SMB tax practitioner who has done the work, led the work, and improved the way the work gets done. You have prepared, reviewed, and signed individual, partnership, and small-business returns, and you know where tax delivery breaks. You are excited by the chance to build a modern, AI-enabled tax practice, but you are not here to rubber-stamp technology. You bring the tax judgment, quality standards, and operating discipline required to make AI-assisted tax work reliable, auditable, and ready for signature. Core Qualifications CPA or EA credential: Active or willing to reactivate; must be willing to serve as signing practitioner of record SMB tax depth: 10+ years preparing and reviewing individual, partnership, and small-business tax returns for clients Hands-on technical fluency: Able to work through trial balances, P&Ls, balance sheets, tax adjustments, retained earnings, book-to-tax issues, and entity-level return considerations Tax delivery leadership: Experience leading preparers, reviewers, or tax delivery teams Quality ownership experience: Has previously owned review standards, error reduction, documentation expectations, QA processes, or filing-readiness decisions Workflow improvement experience: Demonstrated experience identifying recurring tax delivery problems and turning them into better intake, tooling, templates, QA checks, training, automation, dashboards, or operating processes Product/platform partnership experience: Has partnered with technology, product, engineering, systems, data, or internal tools teams to translate tax workflow issues into scalable platform or process improvements AI readiness: Does not need to be an AI expert, but must be curious, practical, and comfortable helping define where AI can responsibly assist tax delivery Leadership & Work Style Builder mindset: Can create structure where playbooks are incomplete and standards are still being built High judgment: Knows when to move fast, when to escalate, and when quality or risk requires slowing down Strong communicator: Can translate tax issues clearly across preparers, reviewers, clients, leadership, and technology partners Pattern recognition: Sees recurring issues across clients and turns them into durable fixes, not one-off corrections. Credible presence: Earns trust through expertise, clarity, and decision-making, not just title or credential Team leader: Builds high-performing teams, sets standards, and creates a culture of accountability and continuous improvement Curious and coachable: Open to learning new systems, new workflows, and new ways of delivering tax work at scale Why Join Us We are building an AI-enabled tax firm that combines the rigor of a traditional practice with the infrastructure of a modern technology company. This role is central to that model. You will be the tax leader who helps define how SMB tax work is prepared, reviewed, escalated, documented, improved, and signed in a human-in-the-loop environment. Your judgment will shape both the tax practice and the platform behind it Help build a modern tax delivery model for SMB clients Set the quality standards for AI-assisted tax preparation and review Work with proprietary AI systems designed to produce auditable, repeatable, and explainable tax work Partner directly with company leadership and technology teams Solve a real market problem as millions of small businesses lose access to trusted tax advisors Join early enough that your decisions will shape the firm’s operating model for years Work Environment Hybrid role based in Cupertino or Pleasanton, CA, with 3+ days per week in office. Occasional extended hours during peak tax periods. Occasional local travel. California Salary Range: $195,000 – 265,000 Medical, Dental, Vision, 401k (with match), Life, LTD