• Own the close and financial reporting

  • Own the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close, including the close calendar, journal entries, accruals, prepaids, and account reconciliations.
  • Prepare board-ready financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement) in accordance with US GAAP for Controller review.
  • Produce budget vs. actual and flux reports on schedule, and explain the drivers clearly to non-finance leaders.
  • Maintain the general ledger and chart of accounts, including department, project, and award tracking.

• Own state and federal grant accounting

  • Own financial compliance for Arbor’s state and federal awards, including DOE financial assistance awards and SBIR grants.
  • Track allowable and unallowable costs by award under 2 CFR 200, 2 CFR 910, and FAR Part 31.
  • Prepare drawdowns and reimbursement requests, federal financial reports (SF-425), and cost-share tracking.
  • Build and run timekeeping and labor-charging processes that hold up to agency review.
  • Support indirect cost rates and rate proposals, working with outside specialists as needed.
  • Coordinate with external auditors and agencies on grant audits and reviews, and run award closeouts.

• Manage our outsourced accounting partner

  • Manage the daily work of our outsourced accounting partner, including an offshore team that supports payroll, AP, and the close.
  • Set standards, review deliverables, and track the partner’s quality and timeliness against agreed expectations.
  • Bring work in-house or automate it when that is faster or more accurate.

• Run AP, vendor commitments, and AR

  • Own AP, including high-volume invoice processing and the weekly pay run.
  • Track multi-year vendor commitments for long-lead equipment and materials, including milestone-based accruals and payment schedules.
  • Track spend and open commitments against approved budgets.
  • Build invoicing and AR processes as commercial revenue begins, and support revenue recognition under ASC 606.

• Account for equipment, leases, and inventory

  • Maintain the fixed asset register, asset tagging, depreciation, and construction in progress for equipment, test facilities, and factory buildout.
  • Apply Arbor’s capitalization policy and track actual CapEx against approved budgets.
  • Own lease accounting under ASC 842, including equipment leases.
  • Help build inventory and manufacturing cost accounting as production begins, including raw materials, work in process, finished goods, standard costs, and variance reporting.

• Run tax, audit readiness, and internal controls

  • File sales and use tax and business property tax returns, manage 1099 reporting, and give outside tax preparers what they need.
  • Get the books ready for Arbor’s first financial statement audit, including account support, schedules, and documentation that an auditor can rely on.
  • Operate and document internal controls, including payment approvals and banking controls, with a view to future SOX readiness.
  • Support investor and lender diligence requests with accurate, timely schedules.

• Build the accounting systems

  • Play a lead role in the ERP implementation that replaces QuickBooks Online, including requirements, data migration, testing, and new approval workflows.
  • Administer Ramp and the accounting systems, and reconcile payroll and benefits (TriNet).
  • Write process documentation so the function does not depend on any one person.
  • Use automation and AI tools to shorten the close and reduce manual work.

• Partner with finance and operations

  • Deliver clean actuals that feed forecasting, planning, and board materials.
  • Prepare bank reconciliations and regular cash balance reports for the Controller.
  • Partner with engineering, procurement, and program leads on purchasing, award budgets, and cost coding.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting.
• Experience in a capital-intensive industry, such as power generation, energy, aerospace, hardware, or advanced manufacturing.
• 7+ years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 2 years in public accounting audit.
• 2+ years of hands-on accounting for federal awards, grants, cooperative agreements, or government contracts, including cost allowability, drawdowns, federal financial reporting, and audit support.
• Experience owning a month-end close end to end, not only parts of it.
• Strong US GAAP knowledge, including fixed assets, capitalization, and accruals for long-term contracts.
• Experience managing or directing the work of others, including outsourced or offshore accounting teams.
• Advanced Excel skills (XLOOKUP, pivot tables, Power Query, or similar).
• Clear written and verbal communication with executives and with engineering, operations, and commercial teams.
• Resourcefulness and comfort moving between detailed execution and building new processes in a fast-moving environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active CPA license.
• Big Four accounting firm audit experience.
• Experience with DOE financial assistance awards, including DOE for-profit compliance audits.
• Experience with FAR Part 31 cost principles, DCAA audits, indirect rate proposals, or incurred cost submissions.
• Hands-on ERP implementation experience, including data migration and testing.
• Manufacturing cost accounting experience, including inventory, standard costing, and variance analysis.
• ASC 842 lease accounting and ASC 606 revenue recognition experience.
• Startup experience, ideally at a venture-backed company.
• Experience at a company moving from R&D to commercial manufacturing, or with project finance and infrastructure development accounting.
• Multi-entity accounting and consolidation experience.
• A track record of automating close and reporting work, including with AI tools.

Compensation & Benefits

• Pre-IPO stock options
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (Arbor covers 90% for employees)
• Basic life insurance fully covered
• Health savings account (HSA) with matching
• Flexible savings account (FSA)
• Unlimited PTO
• 12+ company holidays, including Earth Day!
• 401(k)
• Commuter benefits
• Annual learning and development stipend
• And more!

Base Pay: $165,000 – $190,000 USD/year. The salary is subject to the applicant's skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.