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Assistant Controller

San Francisco, California, United States

Instawork’s vision is to create economic opportunities for local businesses and skilled hourly workers in communities around the world. With an AI-first approach, we’re supercharging the leading online labor marketplace and looking for exceptional talent to help us build the future of hourly work. Backed by world-class investors like Benchmark, Spark Capital, Craft Ventures, Greylock, Y Combinator, and more, we want you to help us continue to scale quickly and make an even greater impact.

We're looking for an operationally-minded Assistant Controller who will lead our Accounting department, creating and maintaining financial reporting, overseeing audits, and helping us to build streamlined processes. Reporting to the CFO, the ideal candidate is excited to work in a fast-paced and challenging environment and own critical decision-making responsibilities to build the team and infrastructure. Someone who can be a player-coach, adept at manipulating, analyzing and auditing large volumes of data, but also a skilled people manager.

Who You Are:

  • CPA and bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance, or business is required.
  • 10+ years of relevant experience in high growth complex environments, ideally with a combination of experience with a Big 4 accounting firm.
  • Proven track record of building strong teams and leading/influencing others through highly cross-functional projects.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate issues and solutions to all levels of management.
  • Highest standards of accuracy and precision; extremely organized, detail-oriented, and mindful of deadlines.
  • Strong ERP systems experience, preferably in NetSuite.

What You'll Do:

  • Own the financial close process and all associated processes and reporting to deliver accurate and timely results to the organization to facilitate critical decision making.
  • Monthly analysis of business results, finance and operating metrics.
  • Ensure consistent implementation of accounting principles and procedures in compliance with US GAAP.
  • Develop, implement and maintain the internal systems and financial controls consistent with Instawork’s policies and regulatory guidelines, ensuring compliance with all local, state and federal tax requirements and filings.
  • Direct all aspects of daily global accounting operations including AR, AP and cash management.
  • Provide leadership and vision for scaling the team and our financial infrastructure to keep up with the demands of Instawork’s high-growth business.
  • Understand and document reporting needs, collaborate on operational issues, develop creative solutions in the absence of perfect systems, and provide business guidance and insight through financial reporting.
  • Coordinate with external firm(s) to provide support for financial audit, tax filings, insurance, and other requests as the needs arise.
  • As a critical leader, the Assistant Controller will build relationships and partner with all departments to provide data and insights to help managers run the company and make effective decisions.
  • Evaluate opportunities for scale and growth and consider ways to drive efficiency and automation.
  • Engage with business leaders to proactively advise and guide on risks and controls for new projects, programs, or initiatives.

For CA based applicants:

  • The base salary for this position is $160,000 - $200,000.
  • This position is eligible for equity in the form of stock options.
  • This position is eligible for Instawork benefits, including:
    • A variety of medical, dental, and vision plans with coverage beginning on the date of hire
    • Flexible paid time off
    • At least 8 paid company holidays annually
    • Phone stipend
    • Commuter stipend
    • Supplemental pay on qualified leaves
    • Employee health savings accounts (HSA) contribution
    • Flexible spending plans
    • 401K plan
    • Perkspot - discount program through Lumity

A variety of factors are considered when determining someone’s compensation including a candidate’s professional background, experience, and location.  Final offer amounts may vary from the amounts listed above.

Our Values 

  • Empathy, Trust & Candor
    We put ourselves in the shoes of our colleagues and customers and don’t shy away from uncomfortable conversations, instead building trust through honest and direct feedback.

  • Bias for Action
    We practice high-velocity decision-making, clear-eyed that we often operate with incomplete information. Growing quickly means it’s OK to be wrong, so long as we learn from our mistakes and course correct!

  • Always Be Learning
    We’re a curious bunch, and with AI transforming our workplace we encourage everyone to learn from each other, compounding our knowledge and experience to help us change an entire industry.

  • Act Like an Owner
    We work long, hard, and smart, building products that delight our users and drive growth. Your ability to impact Instawork is limited only by your courage and conviction, not your job description.

About Instawork

Founded in 2015, Instawork is the nation’s leading online labor marketplace for food services, hospitality, light industry, and logistics, connecting more than 7M skilled workers with local restaurants, hotels, warehouses, stadiums, and more. Our AI-powered platform serves thousands of businesses across more than 50 major markets in the United States and Canada. We're not just helping fill shifts, we're supporting local economies—and we're just getting started!

Instawork has been featured by CBS News, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press. Forbes included us on their Next Billion Dollar Startups list; RetailTech Breakthrough named us Workforce Hiring Solution of the Year for 2025; and Inc. 5000 recognized us as one of the country's top 10% fastest-growing companies two years in a row. But what matters most is our impact. We're solving real problems for real people, and we’re doing it at scale.

Join our team to help us build something that matters! We’re looking for superstars who want to help us shape the future of work. With hubs in San Francisco, Bangalore, and Chicago, city offices in New York, Phoenix, and Singapore, we're back to working together in-person five days a week because we believe the best ideas happen when great people collaborate face-to-face. We also value diverse perspectives and encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds.

Ready to make an impact? Learn more at www.instawork.com/about.

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