---
title: 'Senior Director of Data Analytics & Business Systems at Instead'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-of-data-analytics-business-systems-instead-san-francisco-1w6tfmtwnam8'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-07'
---

# Senior Director of Data Analytics & Business Systems at Instead

- **Company:** Instead
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-06-17
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead/jobs/7772740003

## Job description

## About Instead

Instead is where tax work gets done. Our AI agent orchestrates the entirety of how work gets done in tax, from preparation and compliance to filing and advisory. It's a fundamentally new way of doing tax work, and it's why top 500 firms, Big Four teams, and enterprise corporate tax departments are choosing Instead.

What makes us unique: we hold full government approvals with the IRS, 48 states, and all cities to e-file 1040, 1041, 1120, 1120S, and 1065, with 706, 709, 990, 5500, 2290, and PPT coming for tax year 2026. Instead is a full replacement for CCH Axcess, GoSystem, UltraTax, OneSource, CorpTax, Lacerte, ProConnect, Drake, and more. No other tax startup will be able to offer these capabilities for years as we are two to three years ahead of everyone else in government approvals. This lets us build product experiences that are simply unmatched in the market.

Instead is backed by Conviction, IRIS (the largest tax software provider in the UK), Skylark, Aprio, and many of our partners and customers. Our team includes leaders from Intuit, Gusto, Zenefits, Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer, PwC, BDO, RSM, and KPMG.

## The Role

We're looking for a Senior Director of Data Analytics and Business Systems to own the data infrastructure and business systems that power Instead's operations. You'll be responsible for everything from Salesforce and Okta to Metabase and Tableau, building the analytics and reporting layer that helps leadership make decisions and the IT systems that keep the company running.

This is a high-ownership role that spans product analytics, go-to-market analytics, finance reporting, and IT operations. You'll build ARR roll-forwards, renewal schedules, and pipeline dashboards while also managing identity and access management, data pipelines, and system integrations. You'll oversee an IT administration team responsible for device management, employee onboarding and offboarding across four offices in the US and internationally.

## What You'll Do

- Own and optimize Salesforce as the system of record for sales, customer success, and onboarding workflows
- Build and maintain analytics and reporting across Metabase, Tableau, and custom dashboards covering product usage, GTM performance, and customer health
- Own finance reporting including ARR roll-forwards, renewal schedules, cohort analysis, and board-level metrics
- Manage data pipelines and integrations using Hevo Data, Fivetran, or similar ETL tools to connect systems and maintain a clean, reliable data layer
- Administer Okta and all identity/access management, including SSO configuration and security policies
- Oversee the IT administration team responsible for device management, employee onboarding and offboarding, and day-to-day IT operations across US and international offices
- Build integrations between business systems (Salesforce, billing, product) that automate manual workflows and reduce errors
- Deliver product analytics that help product and engineering teams understand usage patterns, feature adoption, and customer behavior
- Evaluate and implement new tools and systems as the company scales

## What You Bring

- 4+ years of experience in business systems, data analytics, IT operations, or a similar role spanning multiple functions
- Deep expertise in Salesforce administration and architecture (custom objects, workflows, reporting, integrations)
- Strong experience building dashboards and reports in Metabase, Tableau, Looker, or similar BI tools
- Experience with data pipeline tools (Fivetran, Hevo Data, Stitch, or similar ETL platforms)
- Hands-on experience with Okta or similar identity management platforms
- Ability to build financial models and reporting (ARR, retention, cohort analysis) that leadership and investors rely on
- Comfortable managing a team across multiple offices and time zones

What Makes Someone Exceptional

- You've been the "one person who runs everything" at a fast-growing startup before and you know how to prioritize when every system needs attention
- You can build a board-ready ARR dashboard in the morning and debug an Okta SSO integration in the afternoon
- You think about data as a product. Clean data, reliable pipelines, and dashboards people actually use matter more to you than fancy tools
- You automate yourself out of repetitive work. If you're doing something manually more than twice, you build a system for it
- You can translate business questions into SQL queries and SQL results into executive-level narratives

Location

San Francisco (on-site)

Instead is an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate candidates based on capability, judgment, ownership, and fit for the role's responsibilities. We welcome candidates who can help us build a category-defining company in tax technology.

## About Instead

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Instead builds an AI agent that orchestrates end-to-end tax preparation, compliance, filing, and advisory for CPA firms, corporate tax teams, and family offices.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed‑II)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: 2023
- **Founders**: Not publicly available

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: AI‑powered tax software / financial technology (tax preparation and filing)
- **Target customers**: B2B – CPA firms, Big Four teams, enterprise corporate tax departments, family offices, high‑net‑worth individuals, and tax preparers
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Build the AI agent for accountants. We start with tax, the most complex and highest‑stakes service line, and expand into every area where intelligent agents can help professionals deliver more for their clients.”

## Products & Services
- **Instead Agent** (SaaS / AI Agent): A dedicated AI agent assigned to each client that handles research, planning, preparation, filing, and defense across all entity types (1040, 1041, 1120, 1120S, 1065). Supports e‑file to IRS and 48 states, document extraction, tax research from 1,500+ sources, and voice interaction.
- **Instead Platform** (SaaS): The underlying infrastructure that powers tax workflows, multi‑entity compliance, report generation, workpapers, and tax planning. Includes free tier with unlimited users and entities; paid via credits used only when the agent performs work.
- **Tax Research & Planning Tools**: Integrated research engine and strategy memo generation, designed to replace manual offshore prep and seasonal contractors.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – $15M (Seed‑II)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Conviction, IRIS (largest tax software provider in the UK), Skylark, and several partner/customer firms
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - First company in decades to receive IRS approval to e‑file across all five entity types.
  - Authorized e‑file provider for 140+ government jurisdictions.
  - SOC 2 Type II certified.
  - Used by top 500 firms, Big Four teams, and enterprise corporate tax departments.
  - Expanding to additional form types (706, 709, 990, 5500, 2290) for tax year 2026.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Regulatory moat**: Full government approvals from the IRS, 48 states, and all cities for e‑filing – a barrier that takes years for competitors to replicate.
- **End‑to‑end AI agent**: One agent that owns the entire tax workflow, from research and planning to preparation, filing, and defense, rather than piecemeal tools.
- **Multi‑entity support**: Handles individuals, trusts, partnerships, S‑corps, and C‑corps within a single platform.
- **Pricing model**: Free access to the platform; only pay credits when the agent performs work, enabling firms to scale without adding headcount.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current priorities**: Deepening the AI agent’s capabilities, expanding e‑file approvals to additional form types, and scaling the platform to serve more CPA firms and corporate tax departments.
- **Growth direction**: Moving beyond tax preparation into advisory and strategic work, positioning accountants as “orchestrators” of AI agents.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Mission‑driven, focused on transforming the accounting profession; team includes leaders from Intuit, Thomson Reuters, Wolters Kluwer, Gusto, PwC, BDO, RSM, and KPMG.
- **Remote/hybrid policy**: Remote‑friendly with offices in San Francisco, CA (515 Folsom Street). “Work where you do your best work.”
- **Notable perks**: 
  - Medical, dental, and vision coverage for employees and dependents.
  - Competitive salary, equity, and performance bonuses.
  - Annual learning budget for conferences, courses, and books.
  - Generous PTO and flexible schedules.
  - MacBook Pro, monitor, and equipment provided.
- **Engineering culture**: Building an AI‑first product; hiring across platform engineering, software engineering (SF and Bangalore), and product design.

## Sources
1. [instead.com](https://www.instead.com/)
2. [instead.com/resources/careers](https://www.instead.com/resources/careers)
3. [job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/instead)
4. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/instead)
5. [linkedin.com/company/tryinstead](https://www.linkedin.com/company/tryinstead)

## Other roles at Instead

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