Junior Controller

Ready to dive into the fast-paced world of biotech and play a key role in our financial foundation?

We’re seeking a Junior Controller who will not only oversee the numbers but will proactively optimize financial processes, balancing structure with flexibility to support our rapid growth. This role is not a typical accounting role; the ideal candidate will be invested in financial strategy, cross-functional collaboration, controls and compliance, proactive problem solving and process improvement, and have a growth-oriented focus on the biotech industry. And as Gordian’s first in-house accounting professional, you will own this function from its inception, and will have the opportunity to grow it to meet the demands of the company and its ambitious team.

The Destination:

Gordian Biotechnology is a therapeutics company whose mission is to cure age-related diseases and ultimately allow people to lead longer, healthier lives.

Traditional ex vivo screening methods have failed to produce effective treatments, as age-related diseases have complex causes that include interactions with the aged environment.

To address this problem, Gordian’s platform is the first and only to enable pooled in vivo tests at scale in our proprietary “patient avatars”. We are able to deliver and test hundreds of therapeutics in individual animals, and scale efficacy testing to cover every therapeutic target at the beginning of the drug discovery process (more info on our website). We can choose targets that really impact disease biology, to develop and commercialize therapies for the world’s deadliest diseases, and eventually for the processes of aging itself. 

The Journey:

Our mission is audacious, and the path will be full of both challenges and excitement. Two things characterize the Gordian experience: 1) We work as a team, with ownership in our own roles and trust in each other. 2) We strive for extraordinary outcomes, and in doing so grow our skills and capability.

Team – Relying on each other begins with transparency. We set clear goals, visibly connecting individuals and teams to our company objectives. This empowers each of us to make autonomous decisions about our work, knowing how they will affect the bigger picture. Our communication happens out in the open. We give and receive feedback from a perspective of helping each other grow, share mistakes, and ask for help.

Extraordinary – Every day, we ask ourselves ‘How could this process/outcome be even better?’. Knowing our overall mission, we do what we think helps us make the most progress, without asking for permission. We don’t shy away from big challenges or unknown territory, but find a way to excel. Our colleagues are amazing, both at what they do and as people. They inspire us to keep up, to not let them down, and be inspiring in return. 

Like any cutting-edge research environment, Gordian doesn't believe in a standard 9 to 5 day. We set ambitious project goals and support each other to meet them, while maintaining the balance individuals need to thrive and achieve excellence. Our team is geared towards helping each other out and maintaining a culture of intellectual and social fun. We like getting things done and keep standing meetings to a minimum. This year, in accordance with our unlimited vacation policy, each member took an average of 4.5 weeks of (offline) vacation, not including major holidays. We unwind with weekly team lunches, and support each others’ projects both experimentally and by ‘pre-mortem’ meetings to discuss possible failure modes and experimental design. 

If this environment sounds appealing, help us bring it to life. We are at the beginning of a long journey, and want both your ability and your personality along for the ride. Our culture is a source of great pride; it represents both who we are, and who we wish to be. 

You can dive deeper here. 

The Role and How You’ll Grow

As Junior Controller, you’ll bring agility and foresight to our financial operations, helping our company scale with integrity and efficiency. You will need to both get your hands dirty and think deeply, as you’ll be responsible for defining the strategy and vision and executing relevant accounting, accounts payable, and reporting tasks proactively, efficiently, and quickly. You will need both technical accounting skills and a strategic mindset to understand and solve problems proactively. Your commitment to learning, passion for the biotech space, and adaptability will be key as our finance team evolves alongside the company.

What You'll Do

Own Daily Financial Operations: Manage core accounting functions, including accounts payable/receivable, bank reconciliations, and cash flow monitoring. Your accuracy and attention to detail will ensure we meet our financial obligations with precision. 

Own Period Closes and Reporting of Actuals: You will ensure that Gordian’s books are closed in a timely manner every month, and that key financial metrics, including burn, runway, top spend categories and vendors, and other information is conveyed to our leadership team and other decision makers clearly, proactively, and efficiently.  

Own the Gordian Financial Infrastructure: You’ll be the primary admin on and point of contact for Gordian’s financial tool stack, including Quickbooks Online, Brex, and Bill.com. You will also own or otherwise help manage tools that are directly tied into our financial infrastructure, including Gusto and Quartzy. You will also determine if and when we should upgrade our financial infrastructure (e.g. a migration from QBO to NetSuite).

Champion Compliance and Accuracy: Maintain GAAP-compliant financial statements, supporting month-end closes, annual audits, and tax preparations. You’ll implement internal controls that balance flexibility with accountability, ensuring financial health as we grow.

Lead Budgeting and Support Forecasting Initiatives: Support planning cycles by preparing budgets and variance analyses, and deliver insights that influence critical decisions. You will then use this information to work with the FP&A team to build forward-looking financial plans and budget models, to arm our leadership team with the possibilities in front of them.

Prioritize Proactive Problem-Solving: Look beyond the immediate task and anticipate financial challenges before they arise. Develop and refine scalable processes, identifying inefficiencies and proposing creative solutions that fit the startup scale.  

Drive Cross-Functional Financial Collaboration: Partner with R&D, Operations, and other teams to track and manage financial project elements, becoming a financial ambassador who ensures that everyone—from scientists to executive leaders—understands how decisions impact the big picture

Own and Excel at an Expanded Scope: Gordian is a small team, so you will need to take on tasks that may sit outside of the traditional Controller responsibilities, but which are related and crucial to the ongoing operations of the company. These tasks, such as managing our insurance plans and running payroll, will enable you to have a much more thorough and complete understanding of the company. 

What You’ll Do - First 6 months

2 weeks:

Dive into our financial systems, workflows and tools, to understand the current state. Transfer ownership of key systems (within your scope) from current owners to yourself.

Review and get familiar with all of the current process documents materials.

Meet with the external parties and teams Gordian utilizes to manage our finance and accounting stack, and establish yourself as the new Gordian point of contact and owner going forward.

Complete at least one payroll process.

6 weeks:

Complete one month-end close process in close collaboration with the current process owners.

Using your newfound understanding of the current states and close observation of the close process, suggest (and implement!) process improvements and ways to make the current close more efficient and timely.

Work with other members of the team to establish the framework and timelines to support regular budgeting, review and forecasting processes.

12 weeks:

Have completed a roadmap for the accounting and accounts payable functions at Gordian, including what an overview of what changes must be made (if any) to support a partnership, financing, or other crucial strategic activity for the companyClosely partner with our CEO and the BD / corporate strategy function to provide precedent financials and historical spend to help inform forward-looking financial estimates and costs for projects.

6 months

Have lead (at least) one quarterly review process, having reported financials to the broader company, including detailed financials to the executive team

Have implemented larger-scale changes to the accounting and finance functions, resulting in better operations at lower cost, with a view towards scalability.

And You

We are looking for a person who is as unique as the role itself, someone with a deep sense of curiosity, a passion for problem-solving, and a commitment to helping us build a transformative company from the ground up. You will collaborate cross-functionally to bring financial insights to life, shaping decisions that will advance our mission of bringing new treatments to age-related and complex disease. We want our Junior Controller to thrive and grow, bringing not only their current skills but also a commitment to constant improvement and self-development. In line with our culture, we value:

Curiosity and Self-Driven Learning: You’re proactive in asking questions and figuring things out without always needing a roadmap. You see financial challenges as puzzles to solve and pursue ways to improve, whether that’s building a new reporting tool or understanding biotech-specific accounting nuances.

Balanced and Right-Sized Solutions: In a startup, every solution doesn’t need to be enterprise-level; sometimes, a straightforward approach is best. You’ll bring a "right-sized" mentality, understanding when to apply rigor and when agility will keep us moving forward. You take ownership but know when to simplify.

Growth Orientation: We want someone excited about the biotech space and the long-term impact of our work on human health. You’ll grow alongside the organization with mentorship and resources,  evolving from managing transactions to influencing strategic financial decisions.

Long-term Passion for the Industry: This role isn’t just about handling numbers; it’s about understanding and believing in our mission to transform biotech. You see the impact financial decisions have on groundbreaking science and find satisfaction in enabling this progress.

What You Bring

Education: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field; 

Experience: 5+ years of relevant experience (biotech or startup experience a plus), including with setting up and managing financial systems; closing financials in a timely manner; conducting financial reporting; and supporting the budget vs. actuals process and supporting FP&A and strategic finance functions

Technical Expertise: Proficiency in accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks, NetSuite) and Excel, with a solid understanding of GAAP. You’re not afraid to explore and propose tools that can improve the efficiency of our financial processes and reporting.

Curiosity & Adaptability: You’re excited by new challenges and take the initiative to learn and adapt in an ever-evolving field. 

Exceptional Communication Skills: Able to translate complex financial insights into actionable steps for other teams. You’re comfortable taking financial concepts and making them accessible for all stakeholders.

The Details:

Gordian aims to provide everything you need to thrive. Beyond our community and science, you’ll have enough equity to be a true stakeholder in the company, competitive salary, full health/dental/vision/life insurance, 401k with match, onsite lunch paid for 3 days a week, an onsite gym, whatever vacation you need to be at your peak, remote work flexibility, and access to world-class mentors and advisors to support your professional growth. Our building is in the heart of the biotech capital of South San Francisco.

If you’re ready to play a foundational role in a mission-driven, innovative biotech environment and believe in the power of finance to drive discovery, let’s talk!