Sr. Director of Finance

Remote; San Francisco (CA); Remote; USD 260,000 - 380,000; Full time

Job summary

Brainchild Bio is seeking a Senior Director of Finance to own the finance engine and partner with R&D, product operations, clinical, and business ops leaders. This hands-on leadership role will establish scalable processes, systems, and controls as the company grows from Series A toward late-stage financing and eventual public readiness.

You will lead budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning, while managing cash runway, reporting, and major contracts.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field.
• 12+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including 4+ years in a senior leadership role.
• Experience in venture-backed biotech or life sciences, including clinical trial accruals and R&D cost accounting.
• Solid foundation of US GAAP, close management, and internal controls.
• Proven business partnering record: budgets, forecasts, and variance analysis for leaders.
• Hands-on with ERP and spend tools and advanced Excel modeling.
• Experience managing audits and outside advisors.

Responsibilities

• Lead budgeting, forecasting, and long-range operating planning processes with all business functions, partnering with the executive team to meet established targets.
• Drive the process for rationalizing department investments within the established frameworks; maintain visibility into cash runway and other financial goals.
• Prepare board and investor reporting packages, KPIs, and management dashboards.
• Support financing and business development activities, including diligence, data rooms, and grant or non-dilutive funding reporting.
• Serve as the finance business partner to R&D, CMC and product operations, clinical and G&A leaders.
• Provide and review quarterly budget/forecast-vs-actual analyses with each function and understand key business drivers; give clear, timely insight into trends and variances.
• Model program costs, clinical trial budgets, and headcount plans to support portfolio and resourcing decisions.
• Review and support major contracts for financial terms and business impact such as operational efficiency and cost-savings opportunities.
• Provide oversight of all accounting operations (financial close, procure-to-pay, payroll, financial reporting; equity administration).
• Manage cash, treasury, and banking relationships; produce rolling cash and runway forecasts.
• Oversee R&D and clinical trial accruals in partnership with clinical operations and CRO/CDMO partners.
• Build and document internal controls appropriate for a growing private company, with a path to SOX readiness.
• Coordinate 409A valuations, tax compliance, corporate insurance programs and future external audits with outside advisors.
• Build, lead, and develop a lean finance and accounting team, using outsourced partners where it makes sense.
• Own the finance tech stack (ERP, AP automation, expense, spend management) and integrations with HRIS and payroll.
• Establish and improve finance policies, processes, and spend controls across the company that will support organizational growth and increasing complexity.

Skills

ERP experience

Excel modeling

Budgeting & forecasting

Financial analysis

Cross-functional partnering

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance

Tools

ERP software

Spend management tools

Financial reporting systems

Job description

About Brainchild Bio

Brainchild Bio is a clinical-stage biotech developing new therapies for children with brain cancer. Backed by a $116M Series A, we are headquartered in Seattle with a growing presence in Texas. We are building the company that will carry our programs through the clinic, and we need operators who can scale with us.

The Role

The Senior Director of Finance owns Brainchild Bio's day-to-day finance engine and serves as the primary finance partner to R&D, product operations, clinical, and business operations leaders. The role reports to the CFO and will interact with the entire executive team.

This is a hands-on leadership role at a company that is still building its financial infrastructure. You will improve and, in some cases, establish processes, systems, and controls that scale from Series A to later-stage financing and, eventually, public-company readiness.

Key Responsibilities

Financial planning and reporting

• Lead the annual budgeting, forecasting and long-range operating planning processes with all business functions, partnering with the executive team to meet established targets

• Drive the process for rationalizing department investments (headcount, OPEX spend, and CAPEX) within the established frameworks; maintain visibility into cash runway and other financial goals

• Prepare board and investor reporting packages, KPIs, and management dashboards

• Support financing and business development activities, including diligence, data rooms, and grant or non-dilutive funding reporting

Business partnering

• Serve as the finance business partner to R&D, CMC and product operations, clinical and G&A leaders

• Provide and review quarterly budget/forecast-vs-actual analyses with each function and understand key business drivers; give clear, timely insight into trends and variances

• Model program costs, clinical trial budgets, and headcount plans to support portfolio and resourcing decisions

• Review and support major contracts (CROs, CDMOs, licensing, facilities) for financial terms and business impact such as operational efficiency and cost-savings opportunities

Accounting operations

• Provide oversight of all accounting operations (financial close, procure-to-pay, payroll, financial reporting; equity administration); ensure management reports and financial statements are prepared timely and in accordance with U.S. GAAP

• Manage cash, treasury, and banking relationships; produce rolling cash and runway forecasts

• Oversee R&D and clinical trial accruals in partnership with clinical operations and CRO/CDMO partners

• Build and document internal controls appropriate for a growing private company, with a path to SOX readiness

• Coordinate 409A valuations, tax compliance, corporate insurance programs and future external audits with outside advisors

Team and systems

• Build, lead, and develop a lean finance and accounting team, using outsourced partners where it makes sense

• Own the finance tech stack (ERP, AP automation, expense, spend management) and integrations with HRIS and payroll

• Establish and improve finance policies, processes, and spend controls across the company that will support organizational growth and increasing complexity

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field

• 12+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including 4+ years in a senior leadership role

• Experience in venture-backed biotech or life sciences, including clinical trial accruals and R&D cost accounting

• Solid foundation of US GAAP, close management, and internal controls

• Proven business partnering record: budgets, forecasts, and variance analysis for leaders

• Hands-on with ERP and spend tools and advanced Excel modeling

• Experience managing audits and outside advisors

Preferred

• CPA (active or inactive)

• Experience scaling finance through Series A/B+ financings or IPO readiness

• Exposure to grant accounting, licensing deals, or CDMO/CRO contract structures

What Success Looks Like in Year One

• First 90 days: Monthly close runs on a documented calendar, cash runway and operating forecast is refreshed monthly and trusted by leadership

• 6 months: Every budget owner gets a periodic budget-vs-actual review; insight and roadmap to implement more robust financial systems and processes

• 12 months: The annual budget is built bottoms-up with functional leaders; earn trust of executive team and board, provide clear line of sight into long range planning resource requirements

Location: Remote, with a preference for candidates based in the Seattle area