Controller - Sapio Sciences

About Sapio Sciences

Sapio Sciences is on a mission to accelerate scientific drug discovery and high-throughput clinical and diagnostics for our clients and partners. The Sapio team consists of expert and highly collaborative scientists, software developers, and professionals passionate about providing a best-in-class lab informatics platform and industry-specific solutions.

Sapio is one of the few software providers to offer a truly unified and highly configurable lab informatics platform and a broad suite of purpose-built solutions. The Sapio platform makes it easy for scientists, laboratory, and bio/informatics professionals to streamline and manage their end-to-end laboratory operations, from instrument data integration to workflow and experiment setup to sample and materials management, data management, and scientific data analysis and reporting.

Position Summary

We are seeking a Financial Controller to own global accounting and financial reporting for a private equity-backed SaaS life sciences business operating across multiple countries and legal entities. This is a hands-on leadership role for a technically strong accountant who thrives in a fast-scaling, multi-entity environment — someone who can bring order, consistency, and audit-grade rigor to a growing global business while partnering closely with the VP-Finance, PE sponsor, and cross-functional leaders. FP&A owns budgeting and forecasting; this role owns the accuracy, integrity, and timeliness of everything behind the numbers. Note: We are only considering candidates who sit within the Eastern Time Zone of the United States.

Key Responsibilities

Global Accounting & Financial Reporting

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual close and consolidation process across all US and international entities, including intercompany eliminations and multi-currency translation.
• Ensure accurate, timely, and compliant financial statements under US GAAP, with working knowledge of IFRS/UK GAAP and local statutory requirements in each operating jurisdiction.
• Deliver monthly and quarterly reporting packages to the CFO, board, and PE sponsor, including SaaS metrics (ARR, NRR, gross margin, churn) in coordination with FP&A.
• Drive continuous improvement in days-to-close through process discipline and automation.

Technical Accounting

• Serve as the organization's technical accounting authority, including ASC 606 (SaaS/subscription revenue), ASC 842 (leases), equity compensation/409A, and R&D cost treatment specific to a life sciences business.
• Evaluate and document the accounting treatment for new products, contract structures, and non-routine transactions.
• Monitor new accounting standards and lead implementation across entities.

Internal Controls & Compliance

• Design and maintain an internal controls framework appropriate for a scaling, PE-backed business, with an eye toward future audit, SOX, or exit readiness.
• Own statutory and regulatory compliance filings across all operating jurisdictions.
• Manage the annual external audit and quarterly reviews, serving as primary point of contact for auditors.

PE, Lender & Board Reporting

• Own preparation of financial reporting packages for the PE sponsor, lenders, and board, including covenant compliance reporting.
• Support financial due diligence, quality-of-earnings reviews, and other requests tied to the sponsor relationship or future transactions.

Treasury & Cash Management

• Own cash management, cash flow forecasting, and banking relationships across entities and currencies.
• Provide near- and long-term liquidity visibility, optimize working capital, and manage lender relationships in support of the company's cost of capital and return on capital objectives.

M&A & Systems

• Support due diligence and post-close integration for acquisitions, standardizing chart of accounts, policies, and systems across newly acquired entities.
• Own and continuously improve financial systems (ERP/consolidation tools), driving automation to reduce manual effort as the business scales.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Build, lead, and mentor a high-performing, global accounting team, establishing clear roles, career paths, and performance expectations.
• Partner with FP&A to ensure timely, accurate actuals that support budgeting, forecasting, and variance analysis.
• Partner with Legal, Revenue Operations, and business leaders on deal structures, contracts, and financial implications.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field.
• CPA (or international equivalent — ACA, ACCA, CIMA) required.
• 8+ years of progressive accounting experience, including public accounting (Big 4 or national firm strongly preferred).
• Demonstrated experience owning global, multi-entity, multi-currency consolidation.
• Deep knowledge of US GAAP (606, 842, equity comp); working knowledge of IFRS/UK GAAP.
• Experience in a SaaS or software business; life sciences or healthcare-adjacent experience strongly preferred.
• Experience in a private equity-backed environment, including lender/covenant reporting.
• Proven experience managing and developing a distributed team.
• Strong ERP systems experience (NetSuite or comparable).
• Must sit within the Eastern Time Zone of the United States.