Director of Tax

Kelso Industries is a private equity backed platform of more than 40 mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC operating companies on a path to becoming a public company. We are seeking a Director of Tax to lead the tax function for the Kelso enterprise. This leader is the company-side owner of every tax workstream, including federal and state income tax, the ASC 740 provision, non-income tax, and post-acquisition tax integration, and is accountable for tax strategy, tax risk, and the public-company readiness of the tax function. This is a builder role, not a maintenance role. Kelso does not have an in-house tax department today. This leader will design the centralized tax operating model, build the processes, controls, and team behind it, and take the function from advisor-managed to public-company ready. The role reports to the Corporate Controller and works directly with the Chief Financial Officer, external advisors, and operating company finance leaders. WHAT YOU'LL DO (RESPONSIBILITIES) Tax strategy and public-company readiness • Set the tax strategy for the enterprise, including effective tax rate management, cash tax planning, entity structure, and state tax planning, and present tax matters to the Chief Financial Officer and, as needed, the board and audit committee. • Lead the tax workstream of IPO readiness, including the tax aspects of pre-IPO structuring and reorganization, tax disclosures in registration statements, and readiness to report tax on public-company timelines, in partnership with the Chief Financial Officer and external advisors. • Build tax processes, policies, documentation, and SOX 404 controls over the tax provision and tax compliance to a public-company standard, in coordination with the technical accounting and financial reporting team. • Identify, quantify, and manage tax risk across the enterprise, including exposure reserves, historical compliance gaps, and the tax implications of new business models and contract structures. Income tax and the ASC 740 provision • Own the quarterly and annual income tax provision under ASC 740, including the deferred tax inventory, valuation allowance analysis, uncertain tax positions, rate reconciliation, and financial statement disclosures, delivered on a timeline that supports Form 10-Q and Form 10-K reporting, and lead provision review with the external auditor. • Own the federal and state income tax compliance process for Kelso and its subsidiaries, including the compliance calendar, entity listing, extension and estimated payment schedules, and the review and filing of returns prepared by the external tax preparer. • Set state apportionment, nexus, and filing positions for a multi-state footprint, and direct composite, withholding, and pass-through entity tax elections where applicable. • Control the data provided to the external preparer, including trial balances, fixed asset rollforwards, book-to-tax adjustments, and entity information, and approve all deliverables before filing. • Lead federal and state income tax audits, notices, and controversy matters, including strategy, negotiation, and resolution. Non-income tax • Own the centralized sales and use tax compliance program across all operating companies, including the filing calendar and archive across all jurisdictions and filing types, taxability matrices, nexus studies, exemption certificate management, and review of returns prepared by the managed service provider. • Serve as the company-side owner of the NetSuite tax tables and item taxability configuration that feed sales tax calculation in NetSuite and downstream systems, and set the direction for tax technology, including evaluation of a third-party tax engine. • Oversee property tax, business licenses, gross receipts taxes, and other state and local filings across every jurisdiction in which the operating companies do business. • Oversee payroll tax registrations and reconciliations in partnership with the payroll team, including state unemployment and withholding accounts for new and acquired entities. • Lead sales and use tax audits, voluntary disclosure agreements, and remediation of historical exposures identified through nexus and taxability studies. M&A integration and onboarding • Own the post-acquisition tax integration of each newly acquired company, including entity and account registrations, transfer of tax attributes and filing history, integration into the compliance calendar, and transition of sales tax configuration to the centralized model at NetSuite go-live. • Translate diligence findings received from the deal team and external advisors into a remediation and onboarding plan for each acquired company, including nexus registrations, exemption certificate cleanup, and open notices or audits. • Own the post-closing tax items for each transaction, including purchase price allocations for tax, elections made in the purchase agreement, transaction cost analysis, stub period and short year returns, and earnout tax treatment, and advise the deal team on the tax terms of purchase agreements. Build and lead the tax function • Build and lead the centralized tax department, including organization design, hiring, and development of tax managers and staff as the enterprise scales. • Manage the external tax preparer and the sales and use tax managed service provider, including scope, budgets, timelines, quality of deliverables, and decisions on which work to insource. • Leverage AI tools and agentic workflows to accelerate tax compliance and reporting, including data preparation for advisors, notice tracking, nexus monitoring, and provision support, and lead adoption of these tools within the tax function. • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex tax matters into clear business implications and actionable recommendations for executive and operational stakeholders. • Demonstrated ability to influence a decentralized, matrixed organization and build alignment among stakeholders who do not report directly to the role. • Experience developing tax forecasts, including effective tax rate, cash taxes, estimated payments, and tax-attribute utilization, in coordination with FP&A and Treasury. • Experience designing tax governance, operating models, policies, decision rights, controls, and performance measures across a multi-entity organization. • Strong business judgment and executive presence, with the ability to prioritize tax matters based on materiality, risk, business impact, and organizational capacity. WHAT YOU'LL BRING (QUALIFICATIONS) Required • Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field • CPA license, or a JD or LL.M. in Taxation • 12+ years of progressive tax experience, including Big 4 or national public accounting and a corporate tax department serving a multi-entity, multi-state business • 4+ years leading a tax function or tax team, including managing managers and external advisors • Ownership of the ASC 740 income tax provision for a public company or an SEC registrant, or equivalent experience serving public company clients • Deep experience with federal and multi-state corporate income tax compliance, planning, and controversy • Working knowledge of sales and use tax, including nexus, taxability, and exemption certificate management • Experience designing or operating SOX 404 controls over income taxes • A track record of building, not inheriting, a tax function, process, or advisor oversight model • Demonstrated use of AI tools in a tax or finance role, with a focus on applying them to accelerate compliance and reporting work Preferred • Master of Taxation, Master of Accountancy, or equivalent graduate degree • IPO experience, including pre-IPO tax structuring, registration statement tax disclosures, or the first year of public-company tax reporting • Experience with pass-through and partnership structures, including conversions or reorganizations in connection with an IPO • Experience in a private equity backed, acquisitive company, including post-acquisition tax integration and onboarding • Experience in construction, specialty contracting, or another project-based industry, including contractor sales and use tax rules for materials, labor, and lump-sum contracts • NetSuite experience, including tax table configuration or a third-party tax engine such as Avalara or Vertex