Controller

GC AI

28d•$180,000 - $243,000•Remote

About The Position

GC AI is seeking its first Controller to establish and scale the accounting function. This role involves owning the financial close and audit processes, and architecting scalable systems and controls. The Controller will design the accounting operations for a modern AI company, determining what is automated, reviewed, and governed, and will build the team to execute these functions. This position offers direct partnership with the Senior Director of Finance, fractional CFO, and CEO, and involves managing relationships with independent auditors, technical accounting advisors, and outsourced bookkeepers during an in-house transition. The role inherits a complex first-year audit, an ERP selection and implementation project, and a billing/revenue recognition transformation due to usage-based pricing. Unlike typical Controller roles focused on maintaining books and surviving audits, this position requires building the accounting function from the ground up, conducting the first-year audit, designing scalable systems, and operating with an AI-first approach. The Controller will have direct access to the CEO and executive team, significant ownership over systems and headcount, and the opportunity to be the founding accounting leader at a company poised to be a leader in legal AI.

Requirements

Audit experience. Started your career in public accounting (Big 4 or strong national firm) with a meaningful run as an auditor. Active CPA.
IPO experience. You have been through an IPO from the issuer side — ideally as a Controller, Assistant Controller, or Senior Accounting Manager — and you know what the SEC, underwriters, and auditors expect. You have written or owned material sections of an S-1.
Built and scaled an accounting function. You have taken an accounting org from early/scrappy to repeatable and audit-ready at a high-growth company. You have hired, leveled, and managed accountants. You have replaced an ERP at least once.
AI-native operator. You actively use modern AI tooling in your own work. You can describe specific workflows you have automated or compressed using LLMs, MCP, or agentic tools. You believe systems should shape processes, not the other way around — and you can architect both.
Technical accounting depth. Strong ASC 606 chops, especially for SaaS and usage-based/consumption pricing. Comfortable owning the memo, not just reviewing it.
Operator mindset. You move with urgency, write clearly, are comfortable in the details and the strategy, and can hold a tight close while also rebuilding the systems underneath it.

Nice To Haves

Experience at a venture-backed SaaS company between Series B and IPO.
Direct experience with Rillet, Campfire, NetSuite, Metronome, Stripe, Ramp, and Justworks.
Familiarity with AI/ML cost accounting (inference costs, COGS classification, gross margin in AI businesses).
Experience supporting an M&A or acqui-hire transaction.

Responsibilities

Architect the accounting org from the current outsourced model to a fully in-house, AI-leveraged team. Define the operating model, hiring plan (Senior Accountant, AR/AP, Staff Accountant), and role/responsibility split between Accounting and FP&A.
Own the implementation and ongoing administration of an ERP. Lead the cutover from our current bookkeeping stack, including the chart of accounts redesign, opening balances, integrations, and parallel-run validation.
Design the close to be AI-augmented end-to-end: reconciliations, flux analysis, accrual roll-forwards, journal entry preparation, and first-draft variance commentary generated by systems, with humans as reviewers and approvers.
Stand up the systems architecture and build the data layer that lets Finance, Accounting, and RevOps work from a single source of truth.
Use modern AI tooling (Claude, MCP connectors, agentic workflows) to compress the close cycle, automate prep work, and free the team for judgment and analysis. Set the bar for what "AI-first accounting" looks like in practice — and ship it.
Establish controls, segregation of duties, and audit trails appropriate for a company on an IPO path without slowing the business. We want strong governance, not bureaucracy.
Take full ownership of our first-year financial statement audit. Land it.
Own the technical accounting work; revenue recognition, ASC 606 memos, equity, stock comp, lease accounting, and any acquisition-related accounting.
Build the audit-ready close: monthly close on a predictable cadence, clean rollforwards, supportable accruals, documented controls, and a tight, organized PBC process for subsequent audits.
Own customer-facing financial diligence — auditor letters, going-concern letters, financial statement requests from enterprise customers — so the sales team can close deals without bottlenecks.
Stand up the discipline and documentation that makes year two and year three audits fast.

Benefits

We're building the future of legal work, and we're doing it fast.
You'll join at a pivotal moment—when decisions matter, impact is immediate, and the runway to shape your career is wide open.
We’re a high-performing team where you'll have real ownership and influence from day one.
If you thrive when the stakes are high and the path isn't paved, you'll love it here.
Our six guiding principles are: 1% better every day, customer obsession, ship today, find a way, care deeply, and own it completely.
Come shape the future of legal work with us.
We move at a relentless pace.
We expect urgency, ownership, and good judgment even when things aren’t perfectly clear.
If you need structure and consensus to do your best work, this isn’t the right place for you.
If you thrive in ambiguity and growth, work with intensity, and want real responsibility, keep reading.
We’re excited to meet you.
This is a remote role unless you fall within the following parameters. If you live within approximately 50 miles of our San Mateo, CA or Provo, UT office, the position follows a hybrid schedule with in-office days on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
GC AI is an equal opportunity employer that supports workplace diversity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender identity/expression, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, physical or mental disability, or any other protected class.
GC AI is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation to applicants with physical and mental disabilities.