Senior Tax Manager at Cynch AI in Santa Cruz, CA

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 practice of Cynch AI, the platform democratizing access to financial expertise for small businesses and entrepreneurs. We have offices in Pleasanton and Cupertino.

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 the return in hand.

This role sits inside a practice that is actively integrating AI-enabled tools into its tax delivery workflows. You don’t need a technical background. You do need to be the kind of practitioner who can review AI-assisted output, apply professional judgment, and know the difference between work that’s ready for a client and work that isn’t.

The role is hybrid, based out of our Cupertino or Pleasanton 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 savings, restructure positions, 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.

Team Leadership

• 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. Positions taken should be defensible. Full stop.
• When the same issue keeps showing up across returns or clients, fix the entire process.
• Work with technology and product teams to translate tax delivery problems into practical platform improvements. You don’t need to write code; you need to articulate what’s broken and what fixed looks like.

Core Qualifications

• CPA or EA, active or willing to reactivate.
• 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, Axcess Tax, Lacerte, or similar).

Helpful additions

• Master’s degree in Taxation, Business Administration, or a related field.
• Track record of growing client relationships and expanding practice areas through business development.
• Experience improving workflows, standardizing processes, or building quality systems in a tax delivery environment.

Work Environment

• Hybrid: Cupertino, Santa Cruz, or Pleasanton, CA. Additional potential work locations include the North Bay and Sacramento areas.

• Extended hours during peak tax season and as needed to meet client deadlines.

• Occasional travel for client meetings or practice events.

• Medical

• Dental

• 401k with match