Global Tax Lead

WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FORWe are looking for a Global Tax Lead to own and scale Lightning’s corporate tax compliance function as the company grows. You will be responsible for managing income tax compliance, tax accounting support, forecasting, risk mitigation, and tax process improvements across the business. This role will partner closely with Finance, Accounting, FP&A, Legal, and external advisors to ensure accurate filings, strong controls, and scalable tax operations.This is a high-impact role for someone who combines deep technical tax expertise with an operational mindset. You will help build the systems, processes, documentation, and controls needed to support a fast-growing AI infrastructure company operating in a complex and evolving tax environment. The tax scope is broad, leadership visibility is high, and the work directly supports financial accuracy, compliance, risk management, and long-term business scalability.This is a hybrid role based in either New York City or San Francisco with in-office requirements of 2 days per week. The salary range for this role is $185,000–$200,000WHAT YOU'LL DOBuild and own the tax functionStand up Lightning AI's corporate tax function across the multi-entity consolidated groupEstablish tax policies, documentation, controls, and procedures from the ground up to support internal governance and audit readinessDevelop the multi-year tax operating roadmap, including process design, automation priorities, and the consultant-to-FTE transition planCompliance across federal, state, and localLead U.S. federal and state corporate income tax compliance, including the first consolidated federal returnManage California mandatory combined reporting and multi-state nexus exposure across the group, including separate-filing and addback jurisdictionsOversee indirect tax compliance — sales and use, gross receipts — given the company's multi-jurisdictional data center and customer footprintOversee property tax compliance across the company's data center and equipment footprint, including assessment review, return preparation, appeals, and exemption or abatement opportunities tied to GPU and infrastructure investmentsTax accounting and audit supportOwn quarterly and annual income tax provision work under U.S. GAAP and ASC 740, including effective tax rate analyses, deferred tax positions, and uncertain tax position documentationPartner with the external auditors and the Corporate Accounting team to deliver tax workstreams supporting the first-year auditBuild tax forecasts and reporting cadences that support Finance, FP&A, and leadership decision-makingM&A and strategic transactionsSupport technical accounting workstreams for recent acquisitions, including ASC 805 purchase accounting tax implications, opening balance sheet tax positions, and carryforward analysisLead the tax workstream on future M&A, financing, and restructuring transactionsPartner with Strategic Finance and Corporate Development on Deal Desk diligence and structuringCross-functional partnership and risk managementIdentify, assess, and mitigate corporate tax risks, and monitor evolving tax laws and reporting requirements, including the changing landscape for AI infrastructure businessesManage relationships with external tax advisors, auditors, and other third-party partnersCommunicate complex tax matters clearly to non-tax stakeholders across Finance, Accounting, FP&A, Legal, and EngineeringWHAT YOU'LL NEEDBachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field; CPA or MST strongly preferred8+ years of progressive corporate tax experience, with a mix of Big 4 public accounting and in-house experienceStrong technical command of U.S. federal and state corporate income tax compliance, including consolidated return rulesWorking knowledge of California combined reporting and multi-state apportionment, including separate-filing state exposure and addback rulesDemonstrated experience with ASC 740, tax provisions, deferred tax accounting, and effective tax rate analysisHands-on experience with M&A tax — purchase accounting, opening balance sheet, carryforward analysis, and post-merger integrationExperience standing up or significantly rebuilding a tax function; start-up, post-merger integration, or carve-out experience strongly preferredComfort with the technical accounting demands of an infrastructure or cloud business — capex-heavy fixed assets, complex revenue arrangements, and leases under ASC 842Track record of partnering effectively with Accounting, Finance, Legal, FP&A, auditors, and external advisorsExperience with tax provision and compliance tools such as OneSource, Corptax, or similarExcellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to brief executives and translate tax for non-tax audiencesBias toward building rather than maintaining; comfort operating in a fast-paced, foundation-building environment with evolving prioritiesParticularly strong candidates will bring:Prior experience at a high-growth AI, cloud, infrastructure, or other capex-intensive technology companyExposure to GPU financing, vendor financing, or other complex capital structuresExperience supporting a first-year audit or significant compliance remediationMulti-state intercompany pricing experience across a multi-entity U.S. groupProperty tax experience in a capex-heavy environment, including data center, GPU, or equipment-intensive footprints