Senior Accountant - Tax & Compliance

About the role

The Role At FreshDirect, our customers are at the heart of everything we do—and that starts with building a strong, scalable financial foundation behind the scenes. We are seeking a Senior Accountant – Tax & Compliance to support our accounting function and ensure the integrity, accuracy, and timeliness of our financial operations. This role reports directly to the Senior Accounting Manager or Controller.

Responsibilities

• Own Tax Compliance
• Manage multi-state sales and use tax filings across NY, NJ, CT, and PA, including opportunities to transition processes in-house and reduce tax liability
• Maintain food taxability rules by jurisdiction, including grocery vs. prepared food distinctions critical to FreshDirect’s product mix
• Administer Avalara to keep system rules current and proactively address changes in tax law
• Review and reconcile complex tax returns including partnership, trust, and individual filings, Schedule K-1s, and 1099 forms
• Support preparation of federal and state income tax workpapers, unitary tax computations, and estimated payment schedules
• Track legislative changes affecting e-commerce and last-mile delivery, and communicate impacts to the Controller
• Respond to tax notices and manage audit correspondence with taxing authorities
• Provide guidance on tax implications for strategic decisions — new markets, vendor structures, and promotional pricing
• Execute Recurring Accounting & Close
• Prepare and post monthly journal entries for accruals, prepaids, intercompany, and other recurring adjustments
• Perform balance sheet reconciliations monthly with full supporting documentation; resolve open items within established timelines
• Clock year-end close including cutoff procedures, final accruals, and financial statement support schedules
• Support preparation of financial statements and schedules for lenders, investors, and ownership
• Support Audit & Compliance
• Facilitate information requests between external auditors and internal business units and resolve open items promptly
• Maintain internal controls documentation including process narratives and control matrices; flag gaps and drive remediation
• Ensure consistent application of accounting policies, GAAP, and regulatory requirements; escalate gray areas with a documented position
• Develop and enforce compliance procedures including segregation of duties, approval workflows, and documentation retention
• Support sales and use tax audits by preparing documentation packages and coordinating with external counsel as needed
• Identify and implement process improvements for tax return preparation and general accounting workflows, achieving measurable efficiency and cost savings
• Leverage SAP, Avalara, and AI tools (e.g., Claude, ChatGPT) to streamline research, documentation, and reporting tasks
• Collaborate with internal teams across Finance, Legal, and Operations to clarify accounting treatments and ensure accurate reporting

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field (CPA strongly preferred)
• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, including hands-on multi-state tax compliance and audit support
• Experience in a high-growth, operationally complex environment (eCommerce, retail, grocery, or supply chain preferred)
• Demonstrated ability to transition tax processes in-house and implement improvements that reduce cost and liability
• Experience reviewing complex Federal & State tax returns and preparing audit workpapers
• Proficiency in SAP or comparable ERP and Advanced Excel; experience with Avalara or similar tax technology
• Familiarity with AI tools for accounting research and workflow automation
• Strong communicator with the ability to explain complex tax and accounting topics to non-finance stakeholders
• Highly organized with the ability to manage competing deadlines and work independently