About the Job:

Northwestern Mutual is seeking a highly experienced tax professional to join Sophisticated Planning Strategies team as a senior member of our in-house tax preparation and planning team. In this role, you will provide advanced individual income tax planning and compliance support for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, while also bringing significant expertise in either business/pass-through taxation or fiduciary/trust taxation. You will review and sign federal and state income tax returns, evaluate tax projections, identify planning opportunities, and collaborate with financial, legal, and tax professionals to integrate tax strategies into broader financial and estate planning recommendations.

This role is ideal for a seasoned CPA who enjoys complex technical work, advisor and client consultation, and the opportunity to help shape a growing tax preparation service within a holistic wealth planning environment. The successful candidate will bring sound professional judgment, strong technical tax capabilities, and the ability to communicate complex tax concepts clearly to advisors and clients.

What You'll Do:

• Manage and review complex federal and state income tax returns for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individual clients, including final review and signing responsibility as appropriate.

• Review tax projections and evaluate individual, business/pass-through, or fiduciary tax information to identify planning opportunities, technical issues, and areas requiring additional analysis or escalation.

• Provide advanced tax planning consultation for HNW individuals, executives, business owners, trustees, and related entities in coordination with advisors and internal subject matter experts.

• Collaborate with tax, financial planning, legal, investment, and insurance professionals to integrate tax strategies into broader financial, estate, business succession, and wealth planning recommendations.

• Analyze client tax and financial circumstances to develop practical recommendations that support informed advisors and client decision making.

• Communicate planning concepts, compliance considerations, and strategic recommendations to advisors and clients, often in a lead consultation role.

• Support quality control, workflow discipline, and risk management standards for the SPS in-house tax preparation and planning service lines.

• Build and leverage relationships across Northwestern Mutual to address complex client circumstances and support seamless delivery of tax compliance and advisory services.

What You'll Bring to the Role:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, taxation, or a related field required.

• Active CPA license required. Advanced degree or additional credentials, such as MST, JD, or LL.M. preferred but not required.

• Typically requires 15+ years of progressively responsible tax experience, including advanced high-net-worth individual income tax planning and compliance experience.

• Significant experience with either business/pass-through taxation or fiduciary/trust taxation, including related planning and compliance matters.

• Broad understanding of estate planning, business owner planning, financial planning, investments, and insurance concepts, with the ability to recognize how income tax considerations affect broader planning recommendations.

• Demonstrated experience consulting with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients, including clients with approximately $20 million or more in net worth, and with financial advisors or other professional advisors.

• Client-centric written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex tax concepts clearly and professionally to advisors and clients.

• Experience operating in a dynamic environment and helping develop or improve processes, standards, and service delivery practices preferred.

• Experience with CCH Axcess Tax software preferred.

• Demonstrated ability to mentor, review, and develop tax professionals while effectively leveraging internal and external resources.

• Strong tax research skills, including the ability to apply federal and state tax law to complex client facts and planning scenarios.

• Collaborative team player with sound professional judgment, strong attention to detail, and a commitment to quality and risk management.

• Comfortable evaluating, testing, and integrating AI technologies to drive efficiency, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Skills You Have:

• Accountability - Holds self and their direct reports accountable for measurable, high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results, delivery, and execution. Determines objectives, sets priorities, delegates work to direct reports, and accepts responsibility for mistakes. 

• Storytelling through Data - Communicates insights and opportunities from a dataset, using narratives, visualizations, and analysis.

• Financial Acumen - Applies the knowledge of financial statements, financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling to ensure decisions are fiscally sound and responsible.

• Learning Agility & Critical Thinking  - Pursues learning and obtains knowledge continuously in relevant fields, methods, or technologies in current and future practices; continuously utilizes critical thinking to identify opportunities, execute solutions, and measure impact to constantly improve existing practices and processes based on feedback, lessons learned, and market trends.

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We believe in fairness and transparency. It’s why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. The standard pay structure is listed but if you’re living in California, New York City or other eligible location, geographic specific pay structures, compensation and benefits could be applicable, click to learn more.

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