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Arbor Energy

BiCRS-based CO2 removal credits provider

Assistant Controller

Financial AccountingConfirmed live in the last 24 hours
Full-timeEl Segundo, CA, USA

About the Job

Requirements

  • A Bachelor's degree in Accounting is required.
  • Experience in a capital-intensive industry such as power generation, energy, aerospace, hardware, or advanced manufacturing is required.
  • At least 7 years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 2 years in public accounting audit, is required.
  • At least 2 years of hands-on accounting for federal awards, grants, cooperative agreements, or government contracts is required, including cost allowability, drawdowns, federal financial reporting, and audit support.
  • Experience owning an end-to-end month-end close is required.
  • Strong US GAAP knowledge is required, including fixed assets, capitalization, and accruals for long-term contracts.
  • Experience managing or directing others' work, including outsourced or offshore accounting teams, is required.
  • Advanced Excel skills are required, including XLOOKUP, pivot tables, Power Query, or similar.
  • Clear written and verbal communication with executives and engineering, operations, and commercial teams is required.
  • Resourcefulness and comfort moving between detailed execution and process building in a fast-moving environment are required.

Responsibilities

  • Own the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close, including the close calendar, journal entries, accruals, prepaids, and account reconciliations.
  • Prepare board-ready income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements in accordance with US GAAP for Controller review.
  • Produce budget-versus-actual and flux reports on schedule and explain the drivers to non-finance leaders.
  • Maintain the general ledger and chart of accounts, including department, project, and award tracking.
  • Own financial compliance for state and federal awards, including DOE financial assistance awards and SBIR grants.
  • Track allowable and unallowable costs by award under 2 CFR 200, 2 CFR 910, and FAR Part 31.
  • Prepare drawdowns and reimbursement requests, federal financial reports (SF-425), and cost-share tracking.
  • Build and run timekeeping and labor-charging processes that meet agency review requirements.
  • Support indirect cost rates and rate proposals, working with outside specialists as needed.
  • Coordinate with external auditors and agencies on grant audits and reviews, and run award closeouts.
  • Manage the daily work of the outsourced accounting partner, including an offshore team supporting payroll, accounts payable, and the close.
  • Set standards, review deliverables, and track the partner's quality and timeliness against agreed expectations.
  • Bring work in-house or automate it when that is faster or more accurate.
  • Own accounts payable, including high-volume invoice processing and the weekly pay run.
  • Track multi-year vendor commitments for long-lead equipment and materials, including milestone-based accruals and payment schedules.
  • Track spend and open commitments against approved budgets.
  • Build invoicing and accounts receivable processes as commercial revenue begins, and support revenue recognition under ASC 606.
  • Maintain the fixed asset register, asset tagging, depreciation, and construction in progress for equipment, test facilities, and factory buildout.
  • Apply the capitalization policy and track actual capital expenditures against approved budgets.
  • Own lease accounting under ASC 842, including equipment leases.
  • Help build inventory and manufacturing cost accounting as production begins, including raw materials, work in process, finished goods, standard costs, and variance reporting.
  • File sales and use tax and business property tax returns, manage 1099 reporting, and provide information to outside tax preparers.
  • Prepare the books for the first financial statement audit, including account support, schedules, and documentation for auditor reliance.
  • Operate and document internal controls, including payment approvals and banking controls, with a view to future SOX readiness.
  • Support investor and lender diligence requests with accurate, timely schedules.
  • Play a lead role in the ERP implementation replacing QuickBooks Online, including requirements, data migration, testing, and new approval workflows.
  • Administer Ramp and accounting systems, and reconcile payroll and benefits through TriNet.
  • Write process documentation so the accounting function does not depend on any one person.
  • Use automation and AI tools to shorten the close and reduce manual work.
  • Deliver clean actuals for forecasting, planning, and board materials.
  • Prepare bank reconciliations and regular cash balance reports for the Controller.
  • Partner with engineering, procurement, and program leads on purchasing, award budgets, and cost coding.

Desired Qualifications

  • An active CPA license is preferred.
  • Big Four accounting firm audit experience is preferred.
  • Experience with DOE financial assistance awards, including DOE for-profit compliance audits, is preferred.
  • Experience with FAR Part 31 cost principles, DCAA audits, indirect rate proposals, or incurred cost submissions is preferred.
  • Hands-on ERP implementation experience, including data migration and testing, is preferred.
  • Manufacturing cost accounting experience, including inventory, standard costing, and variance analysis, is preferred.
  • ASC 842 lease accounting and ASC 606 revenue recognition experience is preferred.
  • Startup experience, ideally at a venture-backed company, is preferred.
  • Experience at a company moving from R&D to commercial manufacturing, or with project finance and infrastructure development accounting, is preferred.
  • Multi-entity accounting and consolidation experience is preferred.
  • A track record of automating close and reporting work, including with AI tools, is preferred.

About the Company

Arbor Energy

BiCRS-based CO2 removal credits provider

Arbor Energy removes CO2 from the atmosphere using Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS), combining natural carbon drawdown with engineered steps to ensure permanent storage. Biomass naturally pulls CO2 from the air, and Arbor couples this with engineered storage, selling carbon removal credits and securing multi-year offtake agreements with governments and organizations. The approach differs by pairing natural drawdown with engineered permanence and by offering two predictable revenue streams—carbon credits and long-term contracts—while prioritizing energy security and integration of nature into urban spaces. Its goal is to remove more than 2 gigatons of CO2 per year by 2050, advancing legacy-emission reduction and global decarbonization.

Company size
51-200
Company stage
Series A
Total funding
$96M
Headquarters
El Segundo, CA
Founded
2022

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