Corporate Accounting Manager

We are rebuilding biotech for the AI era.

When a breakthrough is delayed, the world waits. Getting a molecule from discovery to patients, or a crop from lab to field, involves thousands of slow, manual, disconnected steps. AI has the potential to change this, compressing decades of R&D work into years. But that only happens when clean, structured scientific data and AI are built into how science gets done.

Benchling is the AI platform for biotech R&D. Scientists use Benchling to design experiments, capture structured data, and run AI agents and models directly in their workflows. Over 200,000 scientists around the world trust Benchling to power their most important work, from academic labs to Sanofi, Moderna, and more than half of the world's top 50 biopharma.

We’re building an AI scientist for our customers. We can’t do that if we haven’t built the muscle ourselves. AI fluency is the foundation we build on; it's core to how we work, and we're committed to helping every new hire integrate it into their day-to-day. As part of our interview process, you'll complete a brief AI-focused exercise or discussion so we can understand how you think about and use AI to drive impact in your role. Feel free to reference any tools, platforms, or workflows you use today.

ROLE OVERVIEW

We are looking for a Corporate Accounting Manager to take full ownership of employee-compensation accounting at Benchling, including payroll, commissions and bonuses, stock-based compensation and equity, and employee benefits. This leader will be accountable end to end for these areas: an accurate and timely close, strong controls and documentation, and the operational improvements that make these processes scalable as the Company grows.

The Manager will lead and develop the team members who prepare payroll and compensation entries, review their work, and partner closely with Payroll, HR, Legal, Strategic Finance, and external auditors. We expect this person to act as the owner of the area, escalating by exception rather than by default.

An ideal candidate has hands-on experience in payroll, commission and bonus, and stock-based compensation accounting at a high-growth SaaS company, a strong command of US GAAP, and a passion for improving how work gets done, including through automation and AI tools.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Employee Compensation Accounting

• Own payroll accounting and the payroll close process end to end in partnership with Payroll and HR, and drive operational efficiencies in the related processes.
• Review commission, bonus, sign-on, and retention accounting, including accruals, prepaid and deferred balances, and rollforwards; apply commission capitalization guidance (ASC 340-40) where applicable.
• Own stock-based compensation and equity accounting under ASC 718: review SBC entries and equity rollforwards, and draft and maintain the equity footnote disclosures and supporting accounting memos.
• Review benefits and other employee-related accounting, including worker’s compensation, health benefits, leaves, PTO, and 401(k) liabilities.
• Own the 409A valuation process and international pension coordination.
• Lead equity administration and compensation-system projects, such as the commission ASC 340 waterfall system adoption.

Financial Close, Controls, and Audit

• Review payroll and compensation journal entries, balance sheet reconciliations, and GL account and financial statement flux analyses, communicating the activity and drivers behind each compensation-related account.
• Apply strong GAAP and financial statement acumen to identify and propose accounting treatment for standard and non-standard compensation transactions, working with Technical Accounting on new or material matters.
• Design, document, and maintain internal controls over payroll, bonus, SBC, and benefits in accordance with Sarbanes-Oxley.
• Manage internal and external inquiries and prepare audit support for owned areas to successfully execute quarterly and annual financial statement audits.

Systems, Process Improvement, and Automation

• Continuously improve the close task list, close calendar, and team close performance for the areas you own, reviewing how run-the-operation work gets done and solving operational inefficiencies at scale rather than simply getting the job done.
• Partner with the AI & Automation function and use AI tools to streamline compensation accounting workflows, document repeatable processes, and make better use of the systems we already have.
• Develop and maintain policies, procedures, and best practices that strengthen controls and team performance.

Leadership and Collaboration

• Lead, coach, mentor, and train the team member(s) preparing payroll and compensation entries: set clear expectations and review standards, delegate effectively, and take an active interest in their career and development.

…