Controller

Simbe; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Simbe is seeking its first Controller to own and scale the accounting function. You will lead the monthly close, financial reporting, audit, controls, revenue recognition, and inventory accounting while building a scalable organization to support growth.

You will collaborate with COO, CFO, and Finance Director, shaping policy, processes, and technical accounting for enterprise expansion and international expansion.

Qualifications

• 8-12+ years of progressive accounting experience, with leadership responsibility.
• Experience owning or leading the accounting function at a high-growth company.
• Strong knowledge of US GAAP and accounting judgments.
• Experience with revenue recognition under ASC 606 and hardware/software models.
• Experience leading external audits and maintaining an audit-ready environment.

Responsibilities

• Own the monthly close, reporting, and close calendars.
• Establish accounting policies across revenue, inventory, leases, and fixed assets.
• Lead audit readiness and external reporting with external auditors.

Skills

GAAP accounting

Leadership

Financial reporting

Audits

Internal controls

ERP systems

Revenue recognition

Cross-functional

Multi-entity

Education

Active CPA license

Tools

QuickBooks Online

Planful

Bill.com

Avalara

Job description

About Simbe

Simbe Robotics is a leading retail technology company providing in-store intelligence solutions that help retailers improve inventory availability, shelf execution, pricing accuracy, and operational performance. Our autonomous robots, computer vision systems, and multimodal data platform are transforming how retailers understand and manage their stores. Simbe supports some of the world’s largest retailers across a rapidly growing base of enterprise deployments.

The Role

Simbe is hiring its first Controller to own and scale the company’s accounting function.

This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who can quickly take command of the monthly close, financial reporting, audit, controls, revenue recognition, inventory accounting, and outside accounting relationships while building the systems and team required for Simbe’s next phase of growth.

Simbe combines hardware, recurring software, enterprise deployments, contract manufacturing, and an expanding international footprint. The right candidate will bring strong accounting judgment, operating discipline, and the ability to move comfortably between detailed execution and company-level financial leadership.

This is a builder’s role. You will not inherit a fully mature accounting organization. You will assess how accounting operates today, establish clear ownership and processes, identify immediate improvements, and build a scalable function capable of supporting continued enterprise growth, recurring annual audits, lender and Board reporting, and international expansion.

You will work closely with the COO, CFO and Finance Director and will serve as the company’s primary authority on accounting matters.

Responsibilities

• Own the Monthly Close and Financial Reporting • Take ownership of the monthly, quarterly, and annual close, initially working hands-on within today’s process and evolving it toward a reliable 5-7 business-day close
• Ensure timely and accurate financial statements, account reconciliations, journal entries, accruals, consolidations, and supporting schedules
• Develop clear close calendars, ownership matrices, review procedures, and documentation

Lead Accounting Policy and Technical Accounting

• Serve as Simbe’s primary internal authority on GAAP accounting and financial reporting
• Establish and document accounting policies across revenue recognition, inventory, cost of goods sold, leases, debt, warrants, stock-based compensation, fixed assets, internally developed software, and other complex transactions
• Evaluate new customer agreements, financing arrangements, and business initiatives for accounting implications

Own Revenue and Contract Accounting

• Lead revenue recognition and contract accounting for enterprise customer arrangements that may include hardware, subscription software, implementation, support, services, and other performance obligations
• Establish scalable processes for deferred revenue, customer deposits, unbilled receivables, contract assets, contract liabilities, and other related balances
• Partner with Sales, Customer Success, Legal, and Operations to ensure customer contracts are structured, documented, billed, and accounted for appropriately

Own Inventory and Hardware Accounting

• Establish accurate and scalable accounting processes for inventory, standard costs, cost of goods sold, reserves, purchase commitments, contract manufacturing, logistics, and deployed assets
• Ensure reliable reconciliation of inventory and hardware activity across Simbe, manufacturing partners, logistics providers, and customer deployment locations
• Develop appropriate policies for capitalization, depreciation, impairment, excess and obsolete inventory, warranty reserves, and related hardware costs

Lead Audit Readiness and External Reporting

• Serve as the primary point of contact for Simbe’s external auditors
• Own the audit plan, PBC process, financial statements, technical accounting documentation, supporting workpapers, and resolution of audit questions
• Build a year-round audit-ready environment rather than relying on an annual cleanup process
• Support financial diligence for future financings, strategic transactions, and other corporate initiatives

Build Internal Controls

• Design and implement practical internal controls appropriate for Simbe’s size, complexity, and stage of growth
• Establish clear approval processes, segregation of duties, documentation standards, and controls across purchasing, payments, payroll, revenue, inventory, treasury, and financial reporting
• Continuously improve controls as the company scales

Oversee Accounts Receivable and Collections

• Own the accounting processes supporting invoicing, cash application, accounts receivable, collections, and customer account reconciliation
• Partner with the finance data analyst and commercial teams to ensure billing and collections keep pace with enterprise deployment volume
• Establish clear reporting and escalation processes for overdue balances, billing issues, customer disputes, and cash collection performance

Manage Tax and Outside Accounting Relationships

• Own relationships with external tax, audit, valuation, and accounting service providers
• Coordinate federal, state, local, sales and use, property, and international tax compliance
• Evaluate which activities should remain outsourced and which capabilities should be brought in-house as the company grows
• Manage provider transitions where needed

Own Lender Reporting and Covenant Compliance

• Own reporting, compliance certificates, covenant calculations, and supporting schedules for Simbe’s debt facilities
• Maintain accurate and timely reporting to lenders and proactively identify potential compliance or liquidity issues
• Partner with the CFO on treasury, cash management, and financing-related reporting

Partner with FP&A

• Partner closely with the Finance Director on budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and management reporting
• Ensure actual results, accounting classifications, and underlying financial data are accurate, timely, and decision-ready
• Support variance analysis and provide clear explanations of accounting and operational drivers

Build the Accounting Organization

• Develop the appropriate operating model for Simbe’s accounting function across internal employees, contractors, and outside providers
• Hire, manage, and develop additional accounting talent as the company scales
• Create clear responsibilities, career paths, performance expectations, and operating procedures for the team

Lead Financial Systems Evolution

• Improve the effectiveness and integration of Simbe’s current financial systems and processes
• Assess and lead the company’s eventual transition from QuickBooks Online to a more scalable ERP and close-management environment as transaction volume, inventory complexity, entities, and reporting requirements increase
• Identify opportunities to use automation and AI to improve close management, reconciliations, reporting, audit preparation, and accounting operations

Support Executive, Board, and Investor Reporting

• Ensure financial reporting is accurate, consistent, explainable, and ready for review by the CFO, executive team, Board, lenders, and investors
• Communicate accounting matters clearly and directly, including complex judgments, risks, and recommended actions

Required Qualifications

• 8-12+ years of progressive accounting experience, including meaningful leadership responsibility as a Controller, Assistant Controller, Director of Accounting, or similar role
• Experience owning or substantially leading the accounting function at a smaller, high-growth, or earlier-stage company.
• Experience within a mature, at-scale accounting organization and a clear understanding of what strong accounting processes, controls, and reporting look like.
• Strong working knowledge of U.S. GAAP and the ability to independently make and document accounting judgments.
• Experience with hardware, SaaS, subscription, hardware-as-a-service, or other business models combining physical products and recurring revenue.
• Meaningful experience with revenue recognition under ASC 606, including multi-element or enterprise customer contracts.
• Experience with inventory, cost accounting, contract manufacturing, fixed assets, or other hardware-related accounting.
• Experience leading external audits and maintaining an audit-ready accounting environment.
• Demonstrated ability to build accounting processes, systems, controls, and teams from the ground up.
• Strong systems fluency, including experience with QuickBooks Online or a comparable general ledger, an FP&A platform such as Planful, accounts payable systems such as Bill.com, tax platforms such as Avalara, and payroll or PEO systems.
• Experience evaluating, implementing, or operating within a scalable ERP environment.
• Strong, direct communicator who can work effectively across Finance, Operations, Sales, Customer Success, Legal, and executive leadership.
• Comfort presenting financial and accounting matters to the CFO and, over time, the Board.
• Venture-backed, private equity-backed, or other high-growth company experience.
• Multi-entity and international accounting.
• Demonstrated use of applying AI tooling to close, reconciliation, and reporting workflows.

Preferred Qualifications

• Active CPA license
• Big Four or other public accounting experience.
• Experience with robotics, connected devices, industrial technology, manufacturing, or enterprise technology.
• Experience preparing a company for a significant financing, strategic transaction, or public-company readiness.
• Experience implementing NetSuite or a comparable ERP.
• Experience with debt, warrant, equity, and stock-based compensation accounting.

What We’re Looking For

We are looking for someone who wants to build, not simply maintain.

You should be comfortable operating as both a strategic accounting leader and a hands-on practitioner. You will be expected to understand the details, make difficult accounting judgment calls, establish standards, and create the processes, systems, and team needed to support Simbe’s continued growth.

The right person will bring urgency without sacrificing accuracy, strong judgment without unnecessary bureaucracy, and the confidence to serve as the company’s accounting authority.

Why Simbe

At Simbe, you will be at the forefront of retail innovation, working with cutting-edge AI and robotics technologies to transform how retailers operate and serve their customers.

You will have the opportunity to build a critical company function during a period of significant enterprise growth and help establish the financial infrastructure supporting Simbe’s next stage.

Our culture is dynamic, inclusive, collaborative, and driven by a passion for creating meaningful value for our customers, employees, partners, and investors.

Simbe Values: R.E.T.A.I.L.

Result Driven - We are customer-centric and results-driven. We strive to create immense value for our team, partners, customers, and investors.

Empathetic - We are sensitive and mindful. We support each other in challenging times, both professionally and personally.

Transparent - We highly value open communication internally, and with our partners and customers. We are receptive to feedback.

Agile - We are agile and always eager to learn. We quickly adapt to changes and customer needs.

Innovative - We are bold and innovative, with an intense focus on product design and user experience.

Leaders - We strive for excellence. We are accountable, the best at what we do, and leaders in our field.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.

The salary offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for this position may also include other elements, including equity compensation, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits.

Simbe’s approach emphasizes total rewards - base pay, equity, incentives, and benefits - rather than viewing compensation as cash alone. We believe the full package, including ownership through equity and well-being support, is what drives engagement, retention, and alignment with our mission.