Controller - Finance & Accounting

Convergent Research is a non-profit science studio pioneering the Focused Research Organization (FRO), a startup-style team tackling ambitious scientific problems that academia and industry cannot. With an annual budget of $75 million and growing, Convergent supports 14 FROs across the US, UK, and Chile, providing backend infrastructure like legal entities, payroll, health benefits, office space, and more.

About the Role

As the Controller, you will oversee the full accounting operation across Convergent, its disregarded entities, and subsidiaries, from the general ledger and monthly close to internal controls, audit, and regulatory compliance. You will also build and run the federal grants program, designing compliance infrastructure, monitoring every award, and executing against 2 CFR Part 200 from award setup to closeout. Reporting to the Head of Finance, you will lead a team of Finance & Accounting Managers and serve as the in-house expert on GAAP and federal grant compliance.

This is a fully remote position with domestic travel required quarterly for team and organizational onsites, and as needed.

You Are

• A seasoned nonprofit accountant. You bring deep, hands-on experience across the full accounting cycle in nonprofits, including fund accounting, net asset restrictions, multi-entity consolidation, and revenue recognition for contributions, grants, and exchange transactions. You enjoy solving complex reconciliation challenges and have a passion for financial accuracy.

• The in-house GAAP expert. You support the Head of Finance in researching and documenting technical accounting positions, such as conditional grants, restricted gifts, leases, and intercompany transactions, and leaders rely on your judgment on matters of significance.

• Audit-seasoned. You have participated in numerous audits and single audits and have filed just as many 990s. You know what the auditors will ask before they ask it.

• A federal grants program builder. You know all the components of 2 CFR Part 200. You have built federal grant compliance programs from the ground up: written policies, procedures, and control documentation, stood up systems, and audited them yourself. You are comfortable across agencies and award types, including grants, cooperative agreements, and other transactions.

• A people leader. You have led accounting teams, including managers. You set clear standards, review work closely, and help your team grow.

• Pleasantly detail-obsessed. You sweat the details but don’t get hung up on immaterial ones. You know when it’s appropriate to push back for compliance or GAAP sake.

• Systems-savvy. You enjoy working with multiple systems and have a firm grasp of accounting systems. You know when to ask for systems help.

• A natural collaborator. You can translate a complex journal entry into plain English for a non-finance colleague without breaking a sweat.

You Will

• Own the close. You oversee monthly reconciliation and close across Convergent, its disregarded entities, and subsidiaries, including consolidation and intercompany. You set the close calendar and review standards, and you know the ins and outs of every detail on those balance sheets.

• Lead the accounting team. Manage and develop a team of Finance & Accounting Managers. Set priorities, review their work, and design metrics to measure performance and team successes.

• Build the federal grants program. Design and implement Convergent’s federal grants compliance program under 2 CFR Part 200, including policies and procedures, internal controls, allowable cost review, time and effort reporting, cost allocation, indirect and fringe rate support, and subrecipient monitoring.

• Oversee every award. Ensure the Finance & Accounting Managers manage each federal award correctly from award setup through closeout. Review budget-to-actuals, burn rates, cost share, drawdowns, invoicing, federal financial reports, SEFA, and procurement documentation. Step in early when risks or errors surface.

• Own audit readiness. Lead preparation for the annual audit and the Single Audit, including PBC requests, supporting schedules, SEFA, and corrective action plans. Coordinate 990 workpapers with the preparer and own regulatory financial reporting.

• Own revenue and restrictions. Ensure revenue recognition, donor restriction tracking, releases, payroll allocations, and time and effort reporting are accurate across every entity.

• Turn numbers into insight. As the first line reviewer of monthly financial reports, review monthly financials for relevancy, consistency, and completeness, and advocate for changes that make reports useful for decision-making.

• Strengthen systems and controls. Write and maintain accounting SOPs and internal control documentation, improve workflows and systems, and keep controls tight across every entity.

• Lead the in-house transition. Partner with the Head of Finance to move work from the outsourced accounting firm in-house, mapping each task to an owner and keeping the close on track during the handoff.

• Partner on budgets and policy. Support the Head of Finance on the annual budget, financial policies, internal control design, and serve as backup on chart of accounts changes.

• Bring the whole team along. Make financial insights accessible and actionable, whether you're talking to a scientist, an engineer, or a program lead.

In 6 Months You Will Have

• Learned the business of each FRO and understood its accounting and grant needs.

• Built strong relationships with your team, internal teams, FRO leaders, auditors, and external accounting partners.

• Assessed our federal grants compliance against 2 CFR Part 200, delivered a roadmap, and put priority policies and controls in place.

• Set up award-level monitoring for every active federal award.

• Brought the monthly close onto a consistent calendar with clear review standards across your team.

We Offer (Amazing Benefits)

• A rare chance to build institutional architecture for frontier science and work with some of the smartest and most talented experts from different fields.

• Competitive Salary: $176,000. Convergent uses a consistent compensation philosophy across all roles, and offers a 5-10% premium for those working from high-cost locations (e.g., NYC, San Francisco) or from the NYC office.

• Up to a 6% 401k match because future-you deserves comfort.

• Top-tier medical, dental, and vision insurance—majority of options are fully covered for you and your dependents.

• Company-paid life insurance, AD&D, long- and short-term disability insurance, as well as voluntary supplemental insurance options.

• 19 holidays, including a full week off at the end of the year.

• 3 weeks PTO with tenure increases, with separate allotments for sick and parental leave.

• Generous fertility benefits and childcare reimbursement.

• Education and professional development benefits.

• Wellness allowance for fitness and wellness activities.

• 3x/year offsite team retreats and additional opportunities to meet your teammates in person.