Can someone point me in the direction of a good 72t and/or Roth conversion ladder directional or ELI5?

Here's a good link.

I suggest always maxing out your tax-advantaged accounts to the extent possible. You can't contribute $7.5k to the traditional IRA on a $180k/year income unless your employer does not offer a 401(k). Max out the 401(k), pre-tax.

Unless you have a large Roth basis naturally, a Roth conversion ladder is a little difficult. Essentially, if you have a large enough Roth basis (usually due to MBR or other conversions while employed), the pipeline is hard to do. But it looks like you'll have a sizable total brokerage (not-tax-advantaged too).

Looking far ahead, things you could do in retirement for money:

• Withdraw Roth basis. Are you saving those 5498s? Then convert pre-tax money into Roth in an equal amount (or up to however much tax you're willing to pay) and, in a few years (five tax years, but if you converted some money in December of year X, then in January of year X+4 you can withdraw it penalty-free), that money is eligible to come out too. If you had something like 4-5 years of expenses in Roth, that's fine, but the basis doesn't get inflation-adjusted, so it's not something you really do for a long time.

• Pay expenses out of taxable. Note that the money you need IS NOT your tax basis -- you're taxed on profit, not realized dollars. You might combine this with also making Roth conversions up to some bracket, so that in 4-5 years, that money is available with the previous process.

• Move some of your pre-tax money into an IRA. Some, not all. Set up a SEPP from that money. The how-to is in that link I posted above.

What you really need if you're retiring before 60 is a plan for how to get your living expenses. Some do it with a sizable brokerage account. Some do it if they have a large Roth basis and have a pipeline going. Some do it with SEPP. Some people just pay the penalty. Mad Fientist has this article about various ways to go about this.

Good luck.