Director, Corporate Controller

Who are we?

Sidewalk Labs is an urban innovation company working to make cities more sustainable and affordable for all. We create products, invest in new companies, and help plan innovative places around the world. Since our founding in 2015, we’ve grown into an organization of over 100 employees based primarily in New York City. Our cross-disciplinary team consists of experts from real estate, urban planning, government, finance, technology, and engineering, among other backgrounds.

We’ve launched innovative companies addressing urban mobility, next-generation infrastructure, and community-based healthcare, and invested in startups working on everything from robotic furniture to digital electricity. We continue to work internally on projects such as factory-made mass timber construction that can improve housing affordability and sustainability, a digital master-planning tool designed to help developers and communities achieve shared objectives, and a new approach to all-electric neighborhoods.

With the potential to catalyze and scale new models for sustainable and affordable growth, our work is both exciting and complex. We are working to achieve something unprecedented — help us build it!

What is the role?

The Controller at Sidewalk Labs will be a key leader on the Finance team and will be responsible for the strategic direction and execution of our controlling, reporting, audit, and tax work. Specifically, the Controller will be critical to developing the team with the right people, processes, and technology to meet the expanding needs of the company, including meeting high standards for compliance processes and internal audit.

Our plan includes several business units that are entering rapid growth phases and will increasingly need direct accounting resources. In this role, you need to be able to grow the technical team to meet those needs and balance oversight with allowing the embeds to empower the teams to make decisions. 

The Controller role reports directly to our Chief Financial Officer, Holly Lim, and has substantial exposure to leaders across the company. We think this is an excellent opportunity for a leader who knows how to scale financial operations and wants to do interesting work in a multi-disciplinary company focused on urban innovation.

Key Workstreams (and examples)

Finance Leadership

• Together with the CFO and Director of Finance, you serve as a key member of the finance leadership team and drive cross-functional initiatives. We will need to both collaborate and divide and conquer to achieve all of our goals.
• Invest time in managing the current team members and use your leadership skills to build out the Accounting team.to support scaling the business.  

Financial Reporting

• Prepare monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements with continuous improvements in clarity and accuracy in the reporting packages quarter-over quarter. Work with the executive leadership team on a monthly basis presenting financial results, or in the preparation of the Board of Directors materials.

Audit

• Own the relationship and be the primary liaison with external auditors. 
• Drive the quarterly reviews and annual audit cadence.
• Establish an internal audit function.

Controlling

• Manage the financial close process.
• Direct all aspects of accounting operations, overseeing all transactions related to the general ledger.
• Partner with the CFO to determine accounting and tax implications for all material business decisions.
• Build out a comprehensive internal control environment.

Treasury

• Maintain banking relationships
• Hedge foreign currency exposure as appropriate

Tax

• Address global growth ambitions in a tax efficient manner.
• Assist in setting and overseeing internal transfer pricing schemes.
• Manage tax compliance, audits and disputes.
• Build out an internal tax function that supplements external resources.

What You Will Achieve

In addition to driving financial accuracy and control of our accounting function, the near-term emphasis will be on partnering with internal stakeholders to redesign the core operational accounting and business processes and achieve material improvements in scalability and productivity. 

Within 3 months, you...

1. Have fully arrived and integrated at Sidewalk, meeting the team, stakeholders, and understanding our processes and resources;
2. Have developed a view on the maturity of our processes and systems and recommended a prioritized action plan;
3. Are fully running your operational workstreams.

Within 6 months, you...

1. Delivered three or more process or system improvements based on your action plan;
2. Developed process and technology to support thoughtful corporate allocations and centralized service charges;
3. Became the trusted leader for your team, and developed a view on how to best continue to support their growth and contributions.

After 12 months, you...

1. Can point to multiple measures in which your functions have scaled with the business and still improved.

What We Expect

At least 10 years of work experience with 5+ in a highly cross-functional accounting department with leadership experience

• Experience in a $75M+ revenue company and/or public accounting experience with understanding of US GAAP and PCAOB standards
• Experience meeting strict demands for tight controls from external parties (e.g., enterprise customers, audit)
• CPA required
• Previous startup experience and familiarity with tech software and hardware life cycles is a plus
• Real estate/property accounting experience is a plus

Capable of scaling a business with finance and operational system and process implementation

• High attention to detail
• A curious nature that will dig deep to understand the “how” and “why”
• Growth mindset that prioritizes continuous operational improvement and service excellence
• Prefer to execute hands-on to learn quickly and achieve wins in a fast-paced environment

Excellent at working with others

• Able to hire, develop, and inspire a high performing team
• Promote a culture of high performance and continuous improvement
• Strong at working across disciplines, business models, and all levels of the organization

Invested in our work

• Care about cities, solving hard problems, and our team’s success
• Committed to creating more equitable and inclusive outcomes both in the workplace and in the work you do.

We are very excited to hear from you.

Sidewalk Labs is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We actively seek applicants from underrepresented communities. Even if you are not 100% sure you are right for the role, please apply and we will be happy to consider your application. All employment is based on merit and business need, and we respond to each application we receive.