Accounting and Finance Manager

Kinea Bio; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Equity options/RSUs

Job summary

Kinea Bio is seeking an Accounting and Finance Manager to own day-to-day accounting in a growth-stage biotech. You will work closely with the CFO, manage a part-time staff accountant, and drive audit-readiness and federal grant compliance.

This hands-on role emphasizes reconciliations, schedules, grant cost allocations, and building financial infrastructure for a potential public listing.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 years hands-on accounting/finance experience in an industry setting.
• Experience with PCAOB/GAAS financial statement audits from the company side.
• Experience with federal grant accounting (SBIR/STTR) and 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance.
• Proficiency with QuickBooks Online and payroll systems (Gusto).
• Experience with ERP platforms (NetSuite/Sage Intacct) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the day-to-day point for PCAOB audits, coordinating with the audit firm.
• Build and maintain a clean, audit-ready general ledger in QuickBooks Online.
• Prepare GAAP-based financial statements and footnote detail.
• Own project/grant accounting for NIH SBIR Phase I/II awards, including cost allocations.
• Prepare for federal Single Audit (Yellow Book) triggered by SBIR expenditures.
• Design and document internal controls for SEC readiness, segregation of duties and workflows.
• Oversee the staff accountant and payroll processing in Gusto.
• Support due diligence from investors and strategic counterparties.
• Help build financial models, budget-to-actual reporting, and cash runway tracking.
• Handle select HR and admin tasks as the company grows.

Skills

Hands-on accounting/finance

GAAP knowledge

Organizational skills

Detail-oriented

Ability to work in ambiguity

Education

Bachelor's in accounting/finance

CPA license (not required)

Tools

QuickBooks Online

Gusto payroll

NetSuite

Sage Intacct

Job description

Location: Seattle area, WA (hybrid, on-site preferred)

Reports to: Chief Financial Officer

Type: Full-time

Timing of hire: Immediate, candidates should be able to join the company within a month.

Compensation: $110,000-150,000 base salary, depending on qualifications and experience, plus equity in the form of stock options or RSUs under the company's discretionary equity incentive plan.

Company: Kinea Bio is a biotechnology company dedicated to advancing next-generation gene therapies for neuromuscular diseases. The company is developing preclinical therapeutics programs with R&D funded by NIH and nonprofit patient organizations. We are currently pursuing strategic financing and a potential public-listing process and are looking for our first dedicated, full-time finance hire who can help the company to become audit-ready and public-company-ready while also managing multiple active NIH SBIR grants and internal R&D programs.With such strategic transformation, the company plans to take its development programs to clinical trials as early as possible and address unmet care for individuals living with serious rare and ultra-rare neuromuscular conditions.

The Role:

The Accounting and Finance Manager is a full-time, on-site (or hybrid) role based in the Greater Seattle Area. This is a hands-on, build-it-yourself role for someone who wants to own the day-to-day accounting and financial operations of a growth-stage biotech while directly supporting a first-time PCAOB audit process and federal grant compliance. You will work closely with the CFO and manage our part-time staff accountant, while personally driving the technical accounting and audit-readiness work.

This is not a Controller or Director-level strategic role - we are looking for someone who wants to be in the details: reconciliations, schedules, audit PBC (provided-by-client) lists, grant cost allocations, and building the financial infrastructure a PCAOB auditor and federal grant auditor will expect to see. As the company grows (post-financing), we expect to add more senior finance leadership above and around this role, and there is a path to grow into a more senior position for the right person.

What You'll Do:

• Serve as the day-to-day, hands-on point person for our PCAOB financial statement audits (current and prior fiscal years), working directly with our selected audit firm
• Build and maintain a clean, audit-ready general ledger in QuickBooks Online - chart of accounts structure, monthly close process, account reconciliations, and supporting schedules
• Prepare GAAP-basis financial statements and footnote-level supporting detail
• Own project/grant accounting for our active NIH SBIR Phase I/II awards, including cost allocation, time-and-effort/labor distribution records, and compliance with 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance)
• Prepare the company for its federal Single Audit (Yellow Book audit) triggered by SBIR expenditures exceeding $750,000 in a fiscal year
• Design and document basic internal controls (segregation of duties, approval workflows, close checklists) appropriate for a company preparing to become an SEC reporting company
• Oversee and QC the work of our part-time staff accountant (payroll processing in Gusto, AP/AR, day-to-day QuickBooks entries)
• Support due diligence requests from the investment bank, investors, and strategic counterparties
• Help build financial models, budget-to-actual reporting, and cash runway tracking
• Take on select ancillary HR and corporate administrative functions until the company adds dedicated staff for these areas - e.g., employee benefits administration, future adoption and administration of a 401(k) plan, corporate insurance policies, and tracking of company assets

What We're Looking For

• A minimum of 5 years of hands-on accounting/finance experience in an industry setting, preferably in a manufacturing, technology or biotech/life sciences industries
• CPA license is not required but a strong plus
• Direct experience working through a PCAOB or GAAS financial statement audit from the company side (preparing PBC lists, audit schedules, responding to auditor requests) is a strong plus
• Experience with federal grant accounting and compliance (SBIR/STTR, NIH, or other federal awards) and familiarity with 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance / Single Audit (Yellow Book) requirements is a strong plus
• Hands-on proficiency with QuickBooks Online and comparable payroll systems
• Experience with enterprise accounting/ERP platforms (e.g., NetSuite, Sage Intacct) is a strong plus - this person may lead or support a system migration later as the company scales toward public-company readiness
• Comfortable working in a small, lean company where you'll do both the technical work and the execution - this is not a role with a large team to delegate to
• Strong GAAP technical knowledge, especially around equity/convertible instruments, R&D expense accounting, and grant revenue recognition
• Excellent organizational skills and comfort with ambiguity - you'll be building processes and documentation largely from scratch, on a compressed timeline

Why Join Now

You'll be the first dedicated finance hire at a company on a clear path toward a public listing, working directly with the CFO on one of the most transformative periods in the company's history. This is a rare opportunity to build a finance function from the ground up and grow with the company as it scales.