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Nuclearn

Controller Head of Accounting

Nuclearn, Phoenix, Arizona, United States, 85003

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Overview Hands-on, systems-minded, and ready to build the finance backbone of a mission-critical AI company. Nuclearn.ai builds AI-powered software for the nuclear and utility industries—tools that keep critical infrastructure reliable, efficient, and safe. Our platform integrates AI-driven workflow, documentation, and research automation and is used at 60+ nuclear reactors across North America. Fresh off a $10.5M Series A, we’re hiring a player-coach Controller to turn momentum into disciplined financial operations: clean closes, accurate invoicing, tight controls, and decision-ready reporting. You’ll own GAAP accounting end-to-end, stand up order-to-cash with rigor (including invoicing), and scale the function as we grow.

Eligibility

U.S. citizenship or permanent residency (green card) is required due to DOE export compliance.

The role & impact Reporting to the CFO ( founder ), you will lead a multi-facet accounting organization spanning order-to-cash (including invoicing), procure-to-pay, payroll, monthly close, revenue recognition (ASC 606), audit/tax readiness, and controls that align with our SOC 2 / ISO 27001 posture. This is a working Controller role: you'll write policies, post JEs, review contracts, close the books, and build the team and systems that make it all run on rails.

You will partner cross-functionally with Sales, Customer Success, Legal, Security, and Product to ensure contracts become correct invoices, revenue is recognized properly, and cash is predictable.

What You'll Own Accounting ops & reporting

Own GAAP and the monthly close; publish a close calendar and deliver a consistent ≤ 6-business-day close.

Produce a monthly management package (P&L with product/segment views, cash flow, variance notes, KPIs).

Build a rolling 24-month cash forecast and drive forecast-to-actual accuracy.

Order-to-cash & invoicing (explicitly yours)

Translate executed MSAs/SOWs into billing schedules by SKU (subscriptions, milestones, T&M).

Issue invoices on time (including utility/public-sector portals), with correct backup and approvals.

Own revenue recognition policies; draft memos and JE patterns for multi-element arrangements.

Manage collections (DSO targets, dunning cadence, dispute resolution) and cash application.

Procure-to-pay & payroll

Implement AP workflows (vendor onboarding, 2/3-way approvals where needed, card/expense policies).

Oversee payroll and multi-state compliance; coordinate benefits and equity accounting with HR/People.

Maintain clean COA, fixed assets, and capitalization thresholds.

Controls, compliance & governance

Stand up a lightweight internal control framework aligned to SOC 2 / ISO 27001 (change control, access, backups, audit trails).

Coordinate tax (federal/state income, franchise, sales/use, 1099s, nexus monitoring) with external firms.

Prepare PBCs and evidence for audits, security questionnaires, and enterprise customer onboarding.

Systems & data

Run today on QBO + modern tooling

Select and own tools across AP (e.g., BILL), corporate cards/expenses (e.g., Ramp/Brex), payroll/HRIS (e.g., Rippling/Gusto), equity (e.g., Carta), and close management.

Instrument finance KPIs (close time, on-time invoicing, DSO, cash accuracy, error rates) and publish dashboards.

Cross-functional & customer-facing finance

Partner with Sales/Legal on deal review (pricing, billing terms, acceptance, renewals).

Support Customer Success on entitlement checks, usage-to-billing alignment, and AR escalations.

Contribute to security/commercial reviews (DPAs, vendor risk, SOC 2 evidence) for enterprise/utility customers.

People & org

Design the accounting org (Controller today; add AR/Billing Specialist and Staff/Senior Accountant as volume dictates).

Hire, onboard, and coach; set clear roles, growth paths, and segregation of duties.

Lead external partners: tax CPA, audit/review firm, and fractional support as needed.

Examples of near-term problems you'll tackle (first 90 days)

Close discipline: Implement a close calendar and deliver a ≤ 6-day close with reconciliations and no post-close surprises.

Invoicing rigor: Stand up billing schedules from live contracts; standardize invoice templates and portal SOPs; clear any backlog.

Revenue recognition: Author policies and sample memos for subscription + services bundles; establish JE patterns and controls.

Cash & collections: Launch a dunning cadence; improve DSO by 10+ days; institute weekly AR reviews and cash application SLAs.

Controls: Lock down approvals, role-based access, and evidence capture that satisfies SOC 2/ISO 27001 without slowing delivery.

Reporting: Deliver a board-ready monthly package with product/segment views and a 24-month runway view.

Org & tools: Define when to add AR/Billing and Staff Accountant; recommend pragmatic tooling (now).

You'll thrive here if you…

Have 6-10+ years blending public accounting (Big 4/Top 10) and startup/SaaS or services experience.

Are a player-coach who can both post entries and design processes, policies, and metrics.

Know ASC 606 cold and have owned order-to-cash in enterprise/public-sector environments (including customer portals).

Care about correctness and controls: typed contracts, evidence, approvals, and audit-ready workpapers.

Communicate crisply with founders, customers, and auditors; write clear memos; keep calm when the numbers move.

Nice To Have (not Required)

CPA (active or inactive), multi-entity consolidations.

SOC 2 / ISO 27001 experience; familiarity with enterprise security questionnaires.

Sales/use tax at multi-state scale; revenue for milestone/T&M; light M&A integration.

Exposure to nuclear/utility or other regulated, safety-critical environments.

Success Metrics (what “good” looks like)

On-time invoicing: ≥ 98%

Monthly close: ≤ 6 business days (target 5 as we mature)

DSO: at/under contract-weighted target; steady improvement

Cash forecast (13 weeks): ±5–10% accuracy

Billing error rate; Audit/review: clean results; no material adjustments

Compensation & Benefits

Base salary: $145k - $165k

Equity: 0.04% - 0.12%

Bonus: 10%

Benefits: Unlimited PTO, health/dental/vision insurance

Work model & travel Full-time, salaried. Hybrid at Phoenix HQ (≥80% in-office; Wednesdays remote). Occasional travel to customer sites, auditors, or partners as needed.

How We Hire

20-minute CFO intro to context and mutual fit

Technical accounting deep dive (close, ASC 606, controls) – may include an advisor/CPA

Team panel (ops/systems, collections, cross-functional collaboration)

Final discussion on 90-day plan, success metrics, and board-level reporting

We move quickly from first chat to decision.

Ready to build the accounting foundation that keeps critical infrastructure running? We'd love to meet you.

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