Sr. Director of Finance

About Brainchild Bio

Brainchild Bio is a clinical-stage biotech developing new therapies for children with brain cancer. Backed by a $116M Series A, we are headquartered in Seattle with a growing presence in Texas. We are building the company that will carry our programs through the clinic, and we need operators who can scale with us.

The Role

The Senior Director of Finance owns Brainchild Bio's day-to-day finance engine and serves as the primary finance partner to R&D, product operations, clinical, and business operations leaders. The role reports to the CFO and will interact with the entire executive team.

This is a hands-on leadership role at a company that is still building its financial infrastructure. You will improve and, in some cases, establish processes, systems, and controls that scale from Series A to later-stage financing and, eventually, public-company readiness.

Key Responsibilities

Financial planning and reporting

Lead the annual budgeting, forecasting and long-range operating planning processes with all business functions, partnering with the executive team to meet established targets

Drive the process for rationalizing department investments (headcount, OPEX spend, and CAPEX) within the established frameworks; maintain visibility into cash runway and other financial goals

Prepare board and investor reporting packages, KPIs, and management dashboards

Support financing and business development activities, including diligence, data rooms, and grant or non-dilutive funding reporting

Business partnering

Serve as the finance business partner to R&D, CMC and product operations, clinical and G&A leaders

Provide and review quarterly budget/forecast-vs-actual analyses with each function and understand key business drivers; give clear, timely insight into trends and variances

Model program costs, clinical trial budgets, and headcount plans to support portfolio and resourcing decisions

Review and support major contracts (CROs, CDMOs, licensing, facilities) for financial terms and business impact such as operational efficiency and cost-savings opportunities

Accounting operations

Provide oversight of all accounting operations (financial close, procure-to-pay, payroll, financial reporting; equity administration); ensure management reports and financial statements are prepared timely and in accordance with U.S. GAAP

Manage cash, treasury, and banking relationships; produce rolling cash and runway forecasts

Oversee R&D and clinical trial accruals in partnership with clinical operations and CRO/CDMO partners

Build and document internal controls appropriate for a growing private company, with a path to SOX readiness

Coordinate 409A valuations, tax compliance, corporate insurance programs and future external audits with outside advisors

Team and systems

Build, lead, and develop a lean finance and accounting team, using outsourced partners where it makes sense

Own the finance tech stack (ERP, AP automation, expense, spend management) and integrations with HRIS and payroll

Establish and improve finance policies, processes, and spend controls across the company that will support organizational growth and increasing complexity

Qualifications

Required

Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, or a related field

12+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including 4+ years in a senior leadership role

Experience in venture-backed biotech or life sciences, including clinical trial accruals and R&D cost accounting

Solid foundation of US GAAP, close management, and internal controls

Proven business partnering record: budgets, forecasts, and variance analysis for leaders

Hands-on with ERP and spend tools and advanced Excel modeling

Experience managing audits and outside advisors

Preferred

CPA (active or inactive)

Experience scaling finance through Series A/B+ financings or IPO readiness

Exposure to grant accounting, licensing deals, or CDMO/CRO contract structures

What Success Looks Like in Year One

First 90 days: Monthly close runs on a documented calendar, cash runway and operating forecast is refreshed monthly and trusted by leadership

6 months: Every budget owner gets a periodic budget-vs-actual review; insight and roadmap to implement more robust financial systems and processes

12 months: The annual budget is built bottoms-up with functional leaders; earn trust of executive team and board, provide clear line of sight into long range planning resource requirements

Location : Remote, with a preference for candidates based in the Seattle area