Staff Accountant

Convergent Research is a non-profit science studio best known for pioneering the Focused Research Organization (FRO): a startup-style team built to tackle one ambitious scientific problem that academia and industry can’t. We’re launching moonshot science projects which may change the trajectory of scientific progress. Today we support 14 FROs and counting across the US, the UK and Chile, with an annual budget of $75 million and growing. Large-scale brain mapping, climate measurement and software for math all have something in common: they each need a nonprofit legal entity, payroll providers, health benefits, boards, contracts, office space, press releases, websites… For every FRO we support, Convergent provides the backend infrastructure that lets them move fast.

About the Role

As a Staff Accountant, you are a fully qualified accountant who owns the books across Convergent, its disregarded entities and its subsidiaries in the US and UK. You will do the hands-on work end to end: record journal entries, revenue and intercompany activity, reconcile accounts, maintain schedules and keep us audit-ready, with review from the Finance & Accounting Managers and the Controller. Reporting to the Controller, you will work independently, with team review at key points, and grow your expertise alongside a team of experienced accountants.

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

You Are

• A solid nonprofit accountant. You have five or more years of accounting experience (or three or more with a master's), ideally in nonprofits, public accounting or research organizations. You understand fund accounting, net asset restrictions and how contributions and grants are recorded.

• Reconciliation-ready. You enjoy reconciliations and know a clean balance sheet when you see one. You can trace a variance to its source and fix it.

• Comfortable with complexity. Whether in-house or at an audit or accounting firm, you have worked with multiple entities, clients or funding sources, and you understand intercompany activity, allocations and how restricted gifts and grants flow through the books.

• Audit-aware. You have prepared schedules or supporting documentation for an audit and know what good documentation looks like.

• Pleasantly detail-obsessed. You sweat the details, but don’t get hung up on immaterial ones. You know when to raise a question for compliance or GAAP sake.

• Systems-savvy. You are comfortable in accounting systems and spreadsheets, and you pick up new tools quickly. You know when to ask for systems help too!

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

• Eager to grow. You take feedback well, ask good questions, and want to build your career in accounting.

You Will

• Own your part of the close. Record journal entries, prepaid and accrual entries, and bank and account reconciliations across our entities, deliver them on the close calendar, and support the monthly, quarterly and year-end close.

• Own intercompany entries. Record intercompany activity and IDC charges to Convergent, and prepare the entries and reconciliations that support our US/UK consolidation.

• Record revenue and restrictions. Record revenue, track donor restrictions and releases of restrictions, and prepare entries for review by the Finance & Accounting Managers.

• Keep the books clean. Code bank transactions, maintain fixed asset and lease schedules, and resolve discrepancies as they come up.

• Support payroll, payables and receivables. Record payroll journal entries and allocations, reconcile payroll expenses and benefits liabilities, handle AR invoicing, review AR and AP agings with a questioning eye, and support year-end 1099s.

• Help us stay audit-ready. Support the Controller and Finance & Accounting Managers with year-end audit and tax prep, including schedules and supporting documentation for the annual audit, the Single Audit and the 990.

• Follow and improve our processes. Work within our SOPs and internal controls, help document processes, and suggest improvements to workflows and systems.

In 6 months you will have (6 months goals)

• Learned our entities, structure and systems, and how the work of Convergent and each FRO fits together.

• Built strong working relationships with the finance team and become a reliable source of support for Convergent and the FROs.

• Owned the monthly books end to end, including reconciliations that tie out on a consolidated basis.

• Contributed schedules and support to the audit, 990 and other year-end work.

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: $115,000 a year. Convergent uses a consistent compensation philosophy across all roles, and we offer a 5-10% premium for those working from especially high cost of labor locations (e.g. NYC, San Francisco) or from our NYC office. This structure helps us keep pay transparent, consistent, and equitable.

• 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. Stay healthy, my friend

• 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—yes, we enforce it)

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

• Generous fertility benefits and childcare reimbursement—because tiny humans are a big deal

• Education and professional development benefits

• Wellness allowance for fitness and wellness activities (treat yourself to climbing shoes or Calm.com—no judgment)

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

Convergent Research aims to help fill a structural gap in today's R&D system. We enable fundamental research that requires unusual levels of scale and coordination yet is not rapidly monetizable by industry. We’re bringing together top talent from academia, industry, and startups to build a new model for innovative R&D.

We are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. We believe in hiring individuals based on their unique talents—not on race, color, religion, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law or our company policies. We are more than a proud Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Our goal is to foster a healthy, safe, and respectful environment where all employees are valued and treated with dignity. Harassment of any kind is not tolerated here. #LI-remote #LI-KP1