Senior Accountant

Work In Biotech; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Work In Biotech is seeking a Senior Accountant to own our accounting procedures from month end close to financial reporting. The role is hands-on with broad exposure across accounting functions, including clinical trial accruals and startup operations.

You will drive process improvements and ensure SOX controls are maintained. The ideal candidate has at least 5 years of progressive accounting experience in a life sciences setting, excellent communication, and strong Excel skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting and at least 5 years of progressive accounting experience.
• Life science industry experience required.
• Excellent communications and strong organizational skills.
• Detail oriented with strong data flow knowledge and the ability to manage multiple priorities.
• Advanced Excel skills preferred (formulas, pivot tables).

Responsibilities

• Manage daily accounting operations, including light accounts payable and oversight.
• Lead month end close and general ledger reconciliation processes.
• Assist with clinical accrual tracking across all clinical trials.
• Perform monthly financial statement analysis and variance against budget.
• Assist with annual audits by external auditors.
• Drive process improvements and SOX-compliant controls.
• Provide backup to other operational functions as needed.

Education

Bachelor’s degree in accounting

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

Location: San Diego, CA (preferred onsite)

Reports to: Associate Director, Finance & Operations

Company Stage: Clinical-stage biotech (pre-IND through pivotal trials)

Therapeutic Focus: Immunological diseases

About Us

We are a mission-driven private biotech company founded to explore completely new, highly coveted chemical space for addressing challenging molecular targets (expand the “druggable universe”) using a combination of bleeding-edge C-H activation technologies (from Prof. Jin-Quan Yu laboratory) and activity-based-protein-profiling (from Prof. Ben Cravatt laboratory). Our lead candidate is a first-in-class molecule with the potential to reshape treatment paradigms in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Backed by top-tier investors and world-class scientific founders, we are entering a critical phase of development and seeking a senior accountant to join our operations team.

Role Overview

As Senior Accountant, you will be the owner of our accounting procedures—from month end close to financial reporting. The ideal candidate is a highly motivated, detail-oriented self-starter who can both think about the big picture by improving processes and implementing more efficient procedures. This is a hands-on, high-visibility role well suited for someone who wants broad exposure across the accounting function, including clinical trial accruals, and operations of a start-up biotech.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage daily accounting operations, including light accounts payable and oversight, and all necessary business and tax filings
• Lead month end close and general ledger reconciliation processes, in accordance with established internal controls
• Assist with clinical accrual tracking across all clinical trials
• Perform monthly financial statement analysis: evaluate and analyze trends, provide variance analysis against prior period and budget
• Assist with annual audits performed by external auditors
• Initiate and drive process improvements and systems enhancements for greater accuracy, financial control, and efficiency
• Maintain internal controls to support the financial infrastructure, in accordance with SOX requirements
• Assist with ad-hoc projects and serve as a backup to other operational functions from time-time

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, or related field with at least 5 years of progressive accounting experience
• Life science industry experience required
• Excellent communications and strong organizational skills
• Knowledge of accounting (ERP) systems
• Detail oriented, efficient, strong system and data flow knowledge, self-starter with excellent people skills who thrives in a fast-paced environment
• Well organized and ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines
• Advance Excel skills preferred (advanced formulas, pivot tables)