Assistant Controller

Job Description

Job Description

About Us

At Arbor Energy & Resources Corporation ("Arbor Energy"), we're creating technology to power our lives while protecting the planet that sustains them. Our advanced power systems deliver clean, reliable baseload electricity with zero operating emissions—modular, fuel-flexible, and engineered for the realities of today's energy demand. At the core is a supercritical CO₂ turbine with integrated carbon capture, designed to bring carbon-neutral power online quickly at meaningful scale. 

Our team includes aerospace engineers, combustion experts, and systems thinkers with a shared goal: to build technology worthy of the world we want to live in. While many of us began our journeys looking to the stars, we're applying that expertise here at home to deliver dependable, emission-free baseload power and a future of lasting abundance.

If you share our values and are drawn to rigorous work with lasting impact, we'd love to learn more about you. Come build what the future will run on.

Steward our planet : We build for tomorrow, ensuring every bolt we tighten and every hand we lend leaves our environment stronger than we found it.

Lead with Love : We champion the success of our people, partners, and planet, nurturing excellence through camaraderie and rigor.

Explore the Uncharted : We embrace the unknown with curiosity, using courage and discipline to transform uncertainty into opportunity.

Role Overview

As Assistant Controller at Arbor Energy, you'll be the first team member reporting to the Controller and the person who answers one question every day: are the books right? You'll own day-to-day accounting from end to end, including the close, the general ledger, state and federal grant compliance, and the work of our outsourced accounting partner.

Arbor is moving from R&D toward commercial manufacturing and project deployment. You'll help build the accounting that goes with that move, including a new ERP, manufacturing cost accounting, and multi-year equipment commitments. As the team grows, this role is the path to Controller.

This is an in-person opportunity in our El Segundo, CA headquarters.

Responsibilities

• Own the close and financial reporting

  • Own the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close, including the close calendar, journal entries, accruals, prepaids, and account reconciliations.
  • Prepare board-ready financial statements (income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement) in accordance with US GAAP for Controller review.
  • Produce budget vs. actual and flux reports on schedule, and explain the drivers clearly to non-finance leaders.
  • Maintain the general ledger and chart of accounts, including department, project, and award tracking.

• Own state and federal grant accounting

  • Own financial compliance for Arbor's 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 hold up to agency review.
  • 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 our outsourced accounting partner

  • Manage the daily work of our outsourced accounting partner, including an offshore team that supports payroll, AP, 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.

• Run AP, vendor commitments, and AR

  • Own AP, 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 AR processes as commercial revenue begins, and support revenue recognition under ASC 606.

• Account for equipment, leases, and inventory

  • Maintain the fixed asset register, asset tagging, depreciation, and construction in progress for equipment, test facilities, and factory buildout.
  • Apply Arbor's capitalization policy and track actual CapEx 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.

• Run tax, audit readiness, and internal controls

  • File sales and use tax and business property tax returns, manage 1099 reporting, and give outside tax preparers what they need.
  • Get the books ready for Arbor's first financial statement audit, including account support, schedules, and documentation that an auditor can rely on.
  • 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.

• Build the accounting systems

  • Play a lead role in the ERP implementation that replaces QuickBooks Online, including requirements, data migration, testing, and new approval workflows.
  • Administer Ramp and the accounting systems, and reconcile payroll and benefits (TriNet).
  • Write process documentation so the function does not depend on any one person.
  • Use automation and AI tools to shorten the close and reduce manual work.

• Partner with finance and operations

  • Deliver clean actuals that feed 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.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting.
• Experience in a capital-intensive industry, such as power generation, energy, aerospace, hardware, or advanced manufacturing.
• 7+ years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 2 years in public accounting audit.
• 2+ years of hands-on accounting for federal awards, grants, cooperative agreements, or government contracts, including cost allowability, drawdowns, federal financial reporting, and audit support.
• Experience owning a month-end close end to end, not only parts of it.
• Strong US GAAP knowledge, including fixed assets, capitalization, and accruals for long-term contracts.
• Experience managing or directing the work of others, including outsourced or offshore accounting teams.
• Advanced Excel skills (XLOOKUP, pivot tables, Power Query, or similar).
• Clear written and verbal communication with executives and with engineering, operations, and commercial teams.
• Resourcefulness and comfort moving between detailed execution and building new processes in a fast-moving environment.

Preferred Qualifications

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

Compensation & Benefits

• Pre-IPO stock options
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance (Arbor covers 90% for employees)
• Basic life insurance fully covered
• Health savings account (HSA) with matching
• Flexible savings account (FSA)
• Unlimited PTO
• 12+ company holidays, including Earth Day!
• 401(k)
• Commuter benefits
• Annual learning and development stipend
• And more!

Base Pay : $165,000 – $190,000 USD/year. The salary is subject to the applicant's skills, qualifications, experience, and geographic location.

Our Commitment

Arbor Energy is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Solving global energy challenges requires a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and we are committed to building a team that reflects the world we serve.

Our hiring process is designed to be accessible, fair, and focused on the work that matters most for this role. Reasonable accommodations are available throughout the hiring process and employment—please let us know if you need one.