Full-Time

Controller

Posted on 5/3/2025

Pyka

Pyka

51-200 employees

Autonomous electric airplanes for crop spraying

Compensation Overview

$166k - $205k/yr

+ Equity

Alameda, CA, USA

Hybrid

Role is remote-optional but West Coast-based; requires in-person meetings or onsite with external parties at least one week per month. Alameda, CA is the location; candidate must be based on the West Coast.

Category
Accounting (1)
Required Skills
Financial analysis
Responsibilities
  • Direct all aspects of the accounting activities, including financial reporting, budgeting, and compliance.
  • Oversee financial compliance activities for the company, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements and internal policies.
  • Lead the implementation of our ERP system company-wide from a financial and controls perspective, ensuring seamless integration and optimization of processes.
  • Foster strong relationships with external auditors, tax advisors, and regulatory authorities to ensure compliance.
  • Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams to prepare and deliver financial reports and analyses to senior management, investors, and other stakeholders.
  • Support investor diligence activities, providing financial data and insights to support fundraising efforts.
  • Collaborate closely with the FP&A teams on budgeting and forecasting to support decision-making.
Desired Qualifications
  • Extensive experience as an accounting director for a manufacturing company, with a proven track record of driving financial excellence.
  • Experience in ERP implementation processes, with the ability to lead complex system integrations and optimizations.
  • Proven track record of building processes and implementing systems, with the ability to anticipate accounting and control requirements.
  • Experience with corporate tax and treasury activities.
  • Strong expertise in preparing financial statements and accounting policies.
  • Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance and a current CPA license are required, with a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience.
  • Thorough understanding of GAAP and relevant regulatory requirements; experience in a Big 4 accounting firm is a plus.
  • Proven track record in leadership roles, with experience in startups and the aerospace,

Pyka builds autonomous electric airplanes designed to perform all flight phases without human pilots, from taxiing to takeoff, flight, and landing. Their aircraft are optimized for efficiency, using less power than an electric car and featuring few moving parts to lower maintenance costs. They serve the agricultural sector, offering aerial crop-spraying and other precision applications, enabled by onboard sensors and software that let aircraft fly close to the ground, avoid obstacles, and apply materials accurately. The business model includes selling and leasing aircraft plus ongoing maintenance and support, with revenue also coming from service contracts. A key technical differentiator is their Brushless DC (BLDC) motor controller, which enhances propulsion performance and reliability. Pyka’s goal is to provide safe, efficient, and cost-effective autonomous electric aviation for farming and related applications, expanding the use of sustainable, autonomous air operations.

Company Size

51-200

Company Stage

Series B

Total Funding

$95.4M

Headquarters

Alameda, California

Founded

2017

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • 20-aircraft Brazil order expands into world's largest ag market in 2025.
  • California SHIFT grant funds solar-charged Pelican 2 demo reducing 1,000 tons CO2.
  • $40M Series B accelerates Pelican Cargo scaling for global logistics.

What critics are saying

  • FAA Level 4 BVLOS mandate grounds Pelican 2 fleet by Q4 2026 without $20M upgrades.
  • Skydio X10 captures 40% U.S. ag spraying market, slashing Pyka's Brazil LOIs.
  • CATL lithium tariffs raise Pelican costs 15% by Q4 2026, eroding price edge.

What makes Pyka unique

  • Pelican 2 holds FAA approval as largest commercial UAS with 300-liter payload.
  • Proprietary autonomy software enables day-night spraying across four continents.
  • DropShip hybrid UAS targets defense logistics with rapid six-month flight certification.

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Benefits

Competitive salary & equity

Medical, dental, & vision insurance

FSA with employer matching

401k

Paid holidays

Unlimited PTO

Free catered lunch & snacks

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

0%

1 year growth

-1%

2 year growth

-1%
sUAS News
Oct 13th, 2025
Pyka Expands into Defense Sector with DropShip UAS Platform

Pyka, a leading robotics company pioneering mission-ready autonomous aircraft, today announced DropShip, a next-generation unmanned aerial system (UAS).

PR Newswire
Feb 10th, 2025
Pyka Unveils Pelican 2: The World'S Largest Autonomous Crop Protection Aircraft

Pyka has secured FAA authorization for commercial operation of Pelican 2 in the United States, making this the second time Pyka has gained a groundbreaking commercial approval for its uncrewed aerial system (UAS) products. Pelican 2 is the largest UAS ever approved for commercial use by the FAA, followed only by the original Pelican. This milestone reinforces Pyka's leadership in heavy lift commercial UAS in the U.S. and globally. In addition to its new product line, Pyka has secured a landmark order for 20 aircraft in Brazil, further solidifying its presence in one of the world's largest agricultural markets. This expansion will enable large-scale autonomous aerial application operations in Brazil, boosting efficiency and delivering unprecedented cost savings for the nation's growers

Webrazzi
Sep 24th, 2024
Pyka secures $40M for electric planes

Pyka, a developer of electric and autonomous aircraft, has secured $40 million in a Series B funding round led by Obvious Ventures, with participation from Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, Metaplanet Holdings, and Y Combinator. This brings Pyka's total funding to $88 million. The new investment will accelerate the development of their aircraft. Pyka's aircraft are primarily used in agriculture for spraying and are also being developed for cargo transport.

Travel And Tour World
Sep 23rd, 2024
Pyka Secures $40 Million Funding to Boost Ambitions in Electric Aviation Technology

In partnership with Sierra Nevada Company, Pyka is introducing RUMRUNNER, a modified version of Pelican Cargo, to U.S. Department of Defense customers for contested logistics operations.

TechCrunch
Sep 23rd, 2024
Pyka fields interest from defense as $40M round goes to scaling up its electric autonomous planes | TechCrunch

Though it briefly worked on a passenger plane, the company decided after raising some money in 2022 that a cargo variant of the Pelican was more practical in the short term.

INACTIVE