M&A Accounting and Integration Lead

About Mercor

Mercor’s mission is to organize human intelligence for the AI economy. We build the infrastructure that enables frontier AI labs and enterprises to train, evaluate, and improve AI on real-world professional work. More than five million experts have joined our network, and we pay out over $5 million daily for their knowledge and expertise.

We built our training and evaluation infrastructure alongside the world’s leading AI labs. Now, we’re bringing those capabilities to enterprises across industries, enabling them to train, evaluate, and improve AI using their own expertise and standards. Our APEX benchmarks measure how AI performs on economically valuable work, while our enterprise evaluations and post-training capabilities turn those insights into measurable improvements across real-world workflows.

Our work sits at the intersection of frontier AI, human expertise, and real-world application. We’re solving problems few companies have encountered, with the opportunity to influence what the world’s most advanced AI systems become capable of doing. We’re looking for people who bring different perspectives, take ownership, exercise sound judgment, and hold themselves to an exceptionally high standard. You’ll have the opportunity to do consequential work alongside talented colleagues who challenge one another, collaborate openly, and share a commitment to excellence.

Mercor is profitable and recently raised a $750 million Series D at a $20 billion valuation. We work in person five days a week in San Francisco, New York, and London.

About the Role

Mercor expands via strategic acquisitions, where critical financial risks surface within due diligence findings, transaction structures, and post-closing operational timelines. As Strategic Transactions Lead, you will spearhead the accounting workstream across every transaction, managing processes from post-LOI confirmatory diligence through the initial post-close annual audit.

Serving as the Controller team's representative on deal execution pods, you will partner closely with Corporate Finance, Legal, Business Operations, and Integration leads to ensure seamless financial consolidation. This key foundational role requires an operational builder who will construct robust diligence frameworks, establish key performance metrics, and scale M&A infrastructure alongside rapid acquisition velocity.

What You'll Do

Confirmatory Diligence

• Direct post-LOI accounting due diligence, evaluating historical quality of earnings, revenue recognition policies, cap table structures, tax liabilities, and vendor obligations.

• Construct scalable diligence playbooks tailored across diverse transaction types, including acquihires, IP assets, and complex business combinations.

• Deliver comprehensive accounting readiness evaluations prior to execution, highlighting material risks and structuring implications.

• Analyze definitive transaction documentation and settlement flows, advising leadership on earnouts, working capital adjustments, escrow holdbacks, and equity rollovers.

Deal Accounting

• Oversee third-party valuation specialists on purchase price allocations, intangible asset valuations, and contingent consideration models.

• Evaluate financial statement impacts for proposed deal mechanics and talent retention structures to guide executive decision-making.

• Coordinate Day 1 close readiness across financial systems, payroll platforms, banking structures, and internal governance controls.

Post-Merger Integration

• Lead the end-to-end accounting integration roadmap, including opening balance sheets, general ledger mappings, ERP migrations, policy alignment, and intercompany settlements.

• Translate purchase terms into actionable operational milestones, aligning dependencies closely with the broader Corporate Development integration team.

• Manage concurrent integration tracks across multiple acquired entities, maintaining delivery timelines and resolving operational blockers.

• Transition acquired business units into Mercor's internal control environment and SOX-compliant reporting frameworks.

• Serve as the main financial liaison for target leadership teams throughout the post-acquisition transition period.

Program Governance

• Manage measurement-period adjustments, earnout tracking, intangible asset amortization schedules, and annual goodwill impairment testing.

• Represent Mercor as the lead contact for external audit partners regarding complex M&A transactions.

• Develop standardized M&A accounting toolkits, standardized templates, and cross-functional decision trees.

• Conduct deal retrospectives while tracking performance metrics like close-cycle duration and post-close audit adjustments.

• Mentor junior team members and review technical deliverables to build team capability.

What We're Looking For

• 6+ years of combined experience across technical accounting, Big 4 audit, or transaction advisory services

• 2+ years of in-house financeops experience within high-growth, venture-backed technology environments

• Proven track record leading M&A accounting end-to-end across multiple closed acquisitions

• Deep expertise in US GAAP technical frameworks, including ASC 805, ASC 606, ASC 718, and ASC 820

• Strong operational execution skills, you convert transaction terms into clear, actionable integration workstreams

• Exceptional communication skills, ability to translate technical accounting positions to cross-functional executives, legal counsel, and auditors

• Active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license

Nice to Have

• Direct experience accounting for acquihires, including retention vs. consideration evaluation

• Background in Big 4 financial due diligence (FDD) or deal advisory practices

• Experience establishing an M&A accounting practice, playbooks, and governance frameworks from scratch

• Demonstrated capability managing multiple concurrent transaction integrations under tight timelines

• Familiarity with cross-border acquisition structures and foreign subsidiary integration

• Experience working in fast-paced AI or hyper-growth technology environments

Benefits:

• Generous equity grant vested over 4 years

• Health, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) with company match

• Unlimited paid vacation and sick days

• Parental leave for birthing and non-birthing parents

• Free mental health services

• $200 monthly wellness reimbursement

• $1.5K monthly meal stipend

• $200 monthly laundry reimbursement

• Free Equinox membership

• Up to $15K relocation bonus

Mercor is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to providing equal opportunity to all employees and applicants. Mercor does not discriminate based on actual or perceived race, color, creed, religion, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, age, sex or gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions and lactation), gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, military service and veteran status, disability, protected medical condition as defined by California or local law, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, California, or local laws and ordinances. Further, Mercor prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on any combination of protected characteristics. This Policy applies to all areas of employment, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, discipline, termination, and all other privileges, terms, and conditions of employment. This Policy and the law prohibit employment discrimination against any employee or applicant based on any legally protected status.