Tax Director

About this role

Title: Tax Director

Location: Austin, TX / Dallas, TX / Morristown, NJ / San Jose, CA (Hybrid)

Reporting to: Chief Accounting Officer

About Hippo:

Hippo was built on a promise: make homeownership effortless. Nearly a decade later, that mission still drives us. We use technology and data to help our customers stay ahead of problems and protect what matters most.

Today, that same tech-native approach powers our work beyond homeowners. Hippo operates as a diversified carrier platform, partnering with MGAs to deliver tailored program solutions that help them grow and deliver better customer experiences. Behind that work is a team that values ownership, curiosity, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

If you're energized by building what's next, we'd love to meet you.

About The Position:

The Tax Director at Hippo is a senior leader responsible for the accuracy, timeliness, and audit-defensibility of the company's income tax provision, compliance, and reporting obligations as a publicly traded insurance carrier. This role provides strategic leadership across the enterprise, while owning core technical tax work, including U.S. GAAP and Statutory tax provisions and financial reporting, multi-state tax compliance, and insurance-specific tax matters. In this role, you’ll partner closely with the Chief Accounting Officer and work cross-functionally with Accounting, Strategic Finance, Legal, and external auditors and advisors.

What You'll Do:

• Develop and execute a comprehensive tax strategy that is aligned with corporate initiatives, M&A activity, and capital allocation priorities

• Provide tax modeling to support enterprise forecasting and strategic planning

• Prepare the quarterly and annual global income tax provision under ASC 740 and related disclosures, including deferred tax asset and liability analysis, GILTI (NCTI) computations, ASC 718 stock-based compensation adjustments, §162(m) executive compensation adjustments, effective tax rate reconciliation, and uncertain tax position assessments

• Prepare the quarterly and annual statutory income tax provisions and related disclosures, including SSAP 101 admissibility test

• Prepare and maintain technical memoranda supporting the company's tax positions, including valuation allowance and uncertain tax position conclusions

• Manage federal and multi-state income tax compliance, including return preparation, review, and filing across all operating jurisdictions

• Oversee insurance premium tax compliance and reporting, ensuring accuracy across all licensed states and coordinating with internal accounting teams and external providers as needed

• Lead tax controversy management, including audits, appeals, and dispute resolution

• Manage relationships with external advisors and oversee special projects, including the R&D credit study, §174 analysis, §382 analysis, and transfer pricing documentation

• Maintain a strong SOX control framework, including retaining complete and audit-ready documentation evidencing control performance, and acting as a point of contact for auditor PBC requests

• Lead tax diligence, structuring analysis, and integration work associated with M&A activity as it arises, in coordination with outside counsel

• Maintain institutional knowledge of the company's entity structure, filing history, elections, and open tax positions to support ongoing audit defensibility

• Identify and implement technology and process improvements, including automation and AI-assisted tools, that reduce manual effort and strengthen controls within the tax function

• Monitor federal, state, foreign, and insurance-specific tax law changes, including NAIC and statutory accounting developments, assess their impact on the company, and lead the implementation of new laws

Must Haves:

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or related field; CPA required

• 8-10 years of progressive tax leadership experience, including senior-level experience in a publicly traded, regulated insurance company in either a public accounting or corporate environment

• Deep expertise in U.S. federal and state taxation, insurance tax regimes, ASC 740 and SSAP 101, and premium tax compliance

• Demonstrated experience with technical, judgment-intensive tax positions in an audit-defensible, SEC-ready context

• Experience operating within a SOX control environment, including PBC response and documentation standards

• Excellent written and analytical skills, with the ability to independently own technical positions and defend them to auditors and senior finance leadership

Nice to Haves:

• Exposure to reinsurance structures and their tax treatment is a plus

• Prior involvement in M&A tax diligence or structuring is a plus

• Familiarity with AI-enabled tax or accounting tools and an interest in process automation is a plus

Benefits and Perks:

Hippo treats its team members with the same level of dedication and care as we do our customers, which is why we’re fortunate to provide all of our Hippos with:

• Healthy Hippos Benefits - Multiple medical plans to choose from and 100% employer covered dental & vision plans for our team members and their families. We also offer a 401(k)-retirement plan, short & long-term disability, employer-paid life insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) for health and dependent care, and an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

• Equity - This position is eligible for equity compensation

• Training and Career Growth - Training and internal career growth opportunities

• Flexible Time Off - You know when and how you should recharge

• Little Hippos Program - We offer 12 weeks of parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers

• Hippo Habitat - Snacks and drinks available and catered lunches for onsite employees

The San Jose, CA and Morristown, NJ base pay range for this role is $170,000 - $280,000 pending final job code. Exact compensation may vary based on several job-related factors that are unique to each…