Senior Director, Controller, BigHat Biosciences
$240-301k
+ Bonus + Options
Office located in San Mateo, CA
Antibody discovery & engineering platform
Be an early applicant
Antibody discovery & engineering platform
21-100 employees
Be an early applicant
$240-301k
+ Bonus + Options
Office located in San Mateo, CA
21-100 employees
Company mission
To improve human health by making it far easier to design advanced, next-generation antibody therapeutics.
Role
Who you are
- The right candidate brings accounting experience from a high-growth biotech, pharma or life sciences company (with exposure to CRO accruals and R&D program cost tracking), hands-on NetSuite (or similar) implementation or migration experience, and the technical rigor to independently research and document complex GAAP positions
- You are comfortable serving as the primary interface with external auditors, capable of building an internal Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Compliance control framework from the ground up, and ready to lead the company's transition off QuickBooks as we scale
- Bachelor's or Master's in Finance, Accounting or Business preferred. Active CPA license
- 10+ years of professional experience in accounting, including 3+ years of experience in a public biotech company
- Prior Controller or Assistant Controller experience at a venture-backed biotech or life sciences company strongly preferred
- Strong command of US GAAP and technical accounting standards
- Big 4 audit experience
- Hands-on public company reporting experience; have personally prepared or reviewed Forms 10-Q and 10-K at a public company
- Experience with CRO/CDMO contract accounting and accrual estimation
- Hands-on experience with NetSuite or a comparable ERP, including comfort operating through a system migration
- Familiarity with SOX/ICFR build-out in a pre-IPO environment
- A track record of embedding AI tools to accounting and finance workflows
- Experience managing and transitioning outsourced accounting or consultant relationships in-house
- Demonstrated success in building and managing teams to achieve financial and business goals
- Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to convey complex information to diverse audiences
- Comfort with uncertainty and demonstrated ability to exercise sound judgment under tight timelines and independently determine appropriate action where precedent may not exist
- Detail-oriented and results-driven with bias for action and sense of urgency
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment with high expectations and ability to effectively manage multiple competing priorities effectively
- Strong project management skills and experience managing multiple vendors and external partners
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills to influence, collaborate, resolve conflicts, and build consensus with diverse stakeholders
What the job involves
- BigHat Biosciences is seeking a detail-driven, proactive, and analytical Controller to serve as BigHat’s senior accounting leader and architect of its finance infrastructure at a pivotal stage of growth
- This role is for someone who enjoys solving complex accounting challenges, focuses on continuous process improvements, thrives in a fast-paced environment, and is a true builder
- You will own the full accounting function, from close and financial reporting to technical accounting, equity, tax and compliance
- You’ll also be designing and/or improving the systems, controls, and processes required for a future public-company operating environment
- Serve as BigHat's in-house technical accounting authority; research and prepare position memos on complex transactions, new GAAP pronouncements, and company-specific accounting policy decisions, analyzing and communicating risks and benefits effectively
- Executes general ledger operations, leading financial close process to ensure accurate and timely US GAAP financial statements
- Drive R&D accounting across CRO and vendor accruals, prepaids, and program-level cost tracking, bringing structure and visibility to one of the company's largest spend categories
- Build and deliver financial reporting packages and board-level management decks; translate financial results and key metrics into clear narratives for executive leadership and the Board
- Design, implement, and maintain a SOX compliance internal control framework scaled for a high-growth company, balancing rigor with operational practicality as the company grows
- Lead audit readiness; drive clean, timely delivery of annual financial statement audits in accordance with GAAP
- Manage federal, state, and local tax compliance in coordination with external advisors; lead R&D tax credit studies and other R&D-related tax matters
- Evaluate and implement AI-enabled tools and finance technology, including procure-to-pay and close management tools, to reduce manual effort, improve auditability, and strengthen data integrity at scale
- Own payroll administration and equity accounting and plan administration under ASC 718 (including stock-based compensation expense, 409A valuation support, cap table integrity, and related financial statement disclosures)
- Own NetSuite ERP implementation including processes and controls while maintaining segregation of duties
Our take
Melding genetics and code, BigHat Biosciences is a protein therapeutics company that develops antibodies for the medical industry using machine learning and AI. Established in 2019, the company combines advanced computational models with an automated wet lab to design and test antibody therapies more quickly than traditional methods. Its technology has been applied to a range of use cases too, including efforts during the pandemic to accelerate vaccine and therapeutic development.
The platform has particular value in helping develop treatment for complex and hard-to-treat diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, where designing effective biologic drugs is especially challenging. To support this work, BigHat has partnered with major pharmaceutical companies including Merck & Co, and Amgen to apply its AI-driven antibody design platform to drug discovery and development.
More recently, BigHat has continued to expand its partnerships and pipeline as interest in AI-enabled drug discovery grows. The company has also collaborated with Eli Lilly and Company to help develop next-generation antibody therapeutics using its Milliner platform, while also advancing its own internal programmes in areas such as oncology. With candidates including a gastrointestinal cancer and antibody-drug conjugate expected to enter clinical trials in 2026, BigHat is positioning itself not only as a technology partner for pharmaceutical companies but as as developer of its own next-generation biologic medicines.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle
Company
Funding (last 2 of 3 rounds)
Jul 2022
$75m
SERIES B
Feb 2021
$19m
SERIES A
Total funding: $99.3m
Company benefits
- Culture of excellence and growth
- Swift promotions with clear standards
- Autonomy and responsibility
- Fair compensation and recognition
- True work life balance
Company HQ
Beresford Park, San Mateo, CA
Leadership
Peyton Greenside
(Co-Founder, CEO & President)Peyton originally served as the CSO at BigHat before moving into the role of CEO in 2025. Previously, she was a Founding Scientific Advisor at VALIS.
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