Controller

Job Description

Job Description

Who We Are

Culdesac Tempe is a mixed-use neighborhood development, which opened in 2023. The neighborhood features open space, shared courtyards, and 20+ retailers including the James Beard-nominated Cocina Chiwas. Culdesac is the co-developer and property manager. However, we call it Neighborhood Management because this so much more than just an apartment complex.

Read more about our vision, our product, and how we are changing how people live, work, and move:

• Introducing Culdesac: Building car-free neighborhoods from scratch by Ryan Johnson (CEO & Founder)
• The Capital of Sprawl Gets a Radically Car-Free Neighborhood by The New York Times
• Watch New Car-Free Neighborhood in Arizona - NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt
• Paying Rent Will Get You Wheels in New Car-Free Complex by Bloomberg
• Listen to the conversation about designed environments to improve healthspan, mobility, and positive habits - Ryan Johnson and hall-of-fame basketball player Steve Nash on the Good Traffic podcast
• 11 rules for buying an ebike. Ebikes are about to change the world. By Ryan Johnson (CEO & Founder)

We’re headquartered in Tempe, AZ and were founded in 2018. CEO Ryan Johnson was previously on the founding team of Opendoor and has been managing property since 2003. Our investors include Khosla Ventures (led OpenAI’s seed round), Lennar (#2 homebuilder in the US), Zigg Capital, and Y Combinator.

The Role

As the Controller at Culdesac, you will oversee operations related to accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash management, banking and treasury, and coordinate with third party accounting support at the company. You will be a key part in our daily financial operations.

The Requirements

While this list represents what we are ideally looking for, we encourage you to apply even if your resume includes strengths and experiences that don’t match everything listed here. We expect most to need at least 2 years of related real estate industry experience or 3+ years of financial experience to fulfill this position. Accounting or Finance degree preferred.

• Maintain the company expense and finance management platform (Ramp); confirm bills are coded to correct categories and departments, approved through proper channels, and paid on time.
• Review and approve invoices across projects and corporate.
• Prepare and submit all lender draws for projects under development and in renovation.
• Resolve draw-related documentation, reconciliation, and lender follow-ups
• Own ongoing lender reporting across the portfolio.
• Manage daily cash balances across corporate and project accounts; forecast cash needs; prepare wires.
• Maintain banking and financial institution relationships across our multiple operating and project accounts.
• Oversee cash deployment of remaining corporate reserves.
• Review, reconcile, and maintain corporate books in NetSuite, working with Cordatus through stabilization; assess on an ongoing basis whether to continue the Cordatus engagement once the function is fully healthy.
• Review and reconcile TN-1 books; manage the Entrata to Yardi migration.
• Manage Proper in connection with ongoing preparation of TN-1 financial statements.
• Oversee accounts receivable operations, timely collection of receivables, and tenant refunds; prepare past due tenants for collections.
• Prepare quarterly financial statements for corporate and TN-1.
• Prepare and distribute PCAPs for TN-1.
• Partner with the project management team on investor quarterly reports.
• Generate weekly leasing performance reports for external investors and partners.
• Compile the monthly asset management presentation for Culdesac Tempe and present progress against budget to property and company leadership.
• Work with outside tax accountants on K-1 preparation and distribution to investors.
• Ensure timely and accurate tax compliance and filings for OpCo and related entities.
• Support internal and external audit and tax processes.
• Prepare operating budgets and cash flow forecasts.
• Update and analyze financials against budget during month-end close; support budget reporting and management.
• Audit expenditures annually, identify cost reduction opportunities, and negotiate with vendors in service of cost leadership.
• Analyze available inventory and leverage market rent data, historical lease rates, and property growth objectives to set and maintain accurate unit pricing.
• Procure and manage company and property-level insurance policies for current and upcoming projects.
• Onboard and manage vendors, ensure vendor and contract compliance, and oversee the procurement process.
• Leverage Claude, MCP, and other AI tooling to automate and accelerate finance workflows (reconciliation, draw prep, reporting, variance analysis); partner with leadership to build and refine internal AI-driven accounting infrastructure.

Benefits & Perks

\uD83C\uDFE5  Benefits Package -Includes options for medical, dental, and vision.

\uD83E\uDD5A  Family Planning Benefits

\uD83D\uDC23  Parental Leave -Up to 12 weeks paid time off for qualifying events.

\uD83C\uDFE6 401K Savings

\uD83D\uDDA5️  Work From Home Stipend -Up to $500 for equipment paid by the company.

\uD83C\uDF0E  Co-Working Stipend -$100 per month paid by Culdesac for space intended for work productivity directly related to Culdesac business (e.g., co-working space pass for the day). Remote employees only.

\uD83D\uDEB2  Mobility Stipend -Up to $500 to invest in employee micro-mobility setup (e.g., e-bike, e-scooter, micro-mobility accessories).

\uD83D\uDEF4  Car-Free Commuter Benefit -$200 per month paid by Culdesac. Tempe employees only.

Our Values

As sprawl became commonplace in our cities, we felt less connected to each other. We normalized hour-long commutes, even as private vehicle ownership became the largest source of carbon emission pollution. Private vehicles and roads limited and dictated development decisions and urbanism. Our cities thus blend technology, real estate, and culture to reimagine our daily lives. Come help us make our residents happier, healthier, and more productive in the years they spend with us and the moments they spend together.

At Culdesac, we:

Work as a team

• Be inclusive, drawing on the strengths of people who bring a different perspective.
• Find ways to work together that overcome disciplinary and geographic separations.

Ship, including the last 10%

• Be output oriented. Ship.
• Our mission weaves us deep into people's lives. Respect that trusted relationship by seeing your work through to the end, including the last 10%.

Embrace the full-stack

• We have a competitive advantage in operationally complex, capital-intensive work.
• Tackling all the layers in the stack gives us an opportunity to deliver an exceptional user experience.
• Always remember Rule #0: learn from those who have done it before.

Ask people for feedback

• Only users know if we’re creating value for them.
• We get better by observing behavior and asking others how we can improve.
• Respect the limits of what we can know and plan. In the complex organism of a city, emergent behavior rules.

Design for humans

• The messiness of human preferences and decision making is the rich soil where our product grows.
• Human paradoxes and contradictions are our opportunity to create joy.

Next Steps

If you think Culdesac might be a good fit, we encourage you to apply! You have nothing to lose, and we'll respond to you within a week. If we move forward, here's our typical process:

1. A 20-minute video call with a Recruiter to understand your high-level background and cover logistics & expectations.
2. A 30-minute video call with our Head of Business Operations to learn more about your background & experience.
3. A 30-minute video call with our CIO to review a list of company scenarios.
4. A 30-minute video call with our CEO to discuss your alignment with Culdesac’s mission, vision, and culture.

At each step, we leave time for you to ask us questions. We look forward to hearing from you!

Culdesac is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.