Sr. Director of Finance

brainchildbio; United States; Remote; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Brainchild Bio, a Seattle-based clinical-stage biotech, seeks a Senior Director of Finance to own the day-to-day finance engine and partner with R&D, product operations, clinical, and business leaders. You will build scalable processes, systems, and controls to support growth from Series A to public readiness.

You will lead budgeting, forecasting, and covenants, build dashboards, and drive cost and contract financial analyses while developing a lean team and a robust finance tech stack.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance or related field.
• 12+ years progressive accounting/finance experience, incl. 4+ years leadership.
• Venture-backed biotech or life sciences experience including R&D cost accounting.
• Strong US GAAP knowledge, close management and internal controls.
• Proven business partnering with budgets, forecasts and variance analysis.
• Hands-on with ERP and spend tools; advanced Excel modeling.
• Experience managing audits and external advisors.

Responsibilities

• Lead annual budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning with the exec team.
• Rationalize department investments and monitor cash runway.
• Prepare board/investor reporting packages, KPIs and dashboards.
• Support financing and business development activities including due diligence.
• Serve as finance partner to R&D, CMC, product ops, clinical and G&A.
• Model program costs, clinical budgets, and headcount plans.
• Review major contracts for financial terms and impact on operations.
• Oversee accounting ops: close, payroll, financial reporting and equity.
• Manage cash, treasury, banking relationships and runway forecasts.
• Build a lean finance team and own the finance tech stack.

Skills

Leadership

Budgeting & Forecasting

Business partnering

Financial modeling

Variance analysis

Cost accounting

R&D cost accounting

ERP and spend tools

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance

CPA (active or inactive)

Tools

ERP systems

Excel

Spend management tools

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

1. First 90 days: Monthly close runs on a documented calendar, cash runway and operating forecast is refreshed monthly and trusted by leadership
2. 6 months: Every budget owner gets a periodic budget-vs-actual review; insight and roadmap to implement more robust financial systems and processes
3. 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