Lead Accountant

Lead Accountant 

Reports To: Senior Manager, Accounting 

Position Type: Full-Time  

Location: Santa Clara, California, with five days per week in the office. 

About the Role 

The Lead Accountant is a high-impact role for an intellectually curious, technically strong accounting professional who wants broad ownership and meaningful influence in a complex, scaling global business. Reporting to the Senior Accounting Manager, this individual will lead critical aspects of the monthly close and financial reporting across the general ledger, inventory, manufacturing cost, and intercompany eliminations. The role combines rigorous accounting, data-driven problem solving, and cross-functional partnership, with opportunities to improve systems and controls, advise business partners, and develop into a broader finance leader. 

What You’ll Own and Influence 

Inventory and Cost Accounting 

• Lead monthly inventory subledger-to-general-ledger reconciliations, resolve complex variances, and deliver accurate journal entries, analyses, and close support. 

• Calculate and account manufacturing yield losses, manufacturing and facilities allocations, freight, tariffs, and other inventory-related costs in accordance with company policy. 

• Monitor inventory classification across raw materials, work in process, and finished goods, including inventory held at contract manufacturers and other third-party locations. 

• Develop insightful analyses of inventory movements, cost changes, manufacturing variances, yield, scrap, and excess and obsolete inventory; translate findings into clear recommendations for Operations and Supply Chain leaders. 

• Support inventory reserve, write-off, and disposition analyses, as well as physical inventory counts and related audit documentation. 

General Ledger 

• Own payroll, bonus, and other complex accruals, including supporting calculations, controls, and variance analysis. 

• Prepare and review high-risk monthly account reconciliations, investigate unusual activity, and drive timely resolution of open items. 

• Lead bank reconciliations and cash-related accounting, identifying opportunities to improve accuracy, speed, and control. 

Intercompany 

• Own monthly intercompany accounting and eliminations across international subsidiaries, investigate imbalances, and partner with global stakeholders to resolve issues. 

Audit Controls and Business Partnership 

• Prepare schedules and supporting documentation for internal and external audit requests. 

• Maintain process documentation and control evidence for key areas of the close activities. 

• Partner with cross-functional teams to improve upstream data quality, resolve transaction issues, and explain financial statement impacts clearly. 

• Design and automate scalable accounting processes—including the responsible use of AI-enabled tools—while maintaining sound review, documentation, and control procedures. 

What Will Make You Successful 

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field. CPA strongly preferred. 

• Eight or more years of progressive accounting experience, ideally in a complex manufacturing, semiconductor, hardware, or infrastructure-intensive environment. 

• Deep command of U.S. GAAP, including inventory valuation and costing under ASC 330 and lease accounting under ASC 842, with the judgment to apply guidance to nuanced business issues. 

• Advanced NetSuite and Excel capabilities, including sophisticated financial modeling, pivot tables, lookups, data analysis; experience with lease accounting is a plus. 

• Exceptional analytical curiosity and the ability to turn large, imperfect datasets into well-supported conclusions and practical business recommendations. 

• Executive-ready written and verbal communication skills, intellectual humility, and the confidence to challenge assumptions and influence finance and operational stakeholders. 

• Demonstrated ownership, high standards, and a continuous-improvement mindset, with the potential and ambition to grow into broader accounting or finance leadership. 

The base salary range for this full-time position is $130K to $160K. Our total compensation packages includes base salary, bonus eligibility, and equity. Your base salary range and title will be determined based on the location, experience, qualification, skills, knowledge, level, and pay of employees in similar positions. 

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including: 

• Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance 

• Flexible Spending Account (FSA) and Health Savings Account (HSA) plans 

• Life, Short-Term Disability, and Long-Term Disability Insurance 

• Paid Time Off and Paid Holidays 

• Employee Referral Program 

• 401K 

• Social events (summer picnic, holiday party, team lunches, etc.) 

• On-site Health & Wellness programs (fitness challenges, outdoor bootcamp, flu-shots, etc.) 

About Picarro: 

We are the world's leader in timely, trusted, and actionable data using enhanced optical spectroscopy. Our solutions are used in a wide variety of applications, including natural gas leak detection, ethylene oxide emissions monitoring, semiconductor fabrication, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, atmospheric science, air quality, greenhouse gas measurements, food safety, hydrology, ecology, and more. Our software and hardware are designed and manufactured in Santa Clara, California and are used in over 90 countries worldwide based on over 65 patents related to cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) technology and are unparalleled in their precision, ease of use, and reliability. 

At Picarro, we are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, protected veteran status, gender identity, social orientation, or disability. Posted positions are not open to third-party recruiters/agencies, and unsolicited resume submissions will be considered free referrals.  

At Picarro, we strive to ensure that all individuals, regardless of their abilities, have equal opportunities. If you are an individual with a disability and require reasonable accommodation to complete any part of the application process or are limited in the ability or unable to access or use this online application process and need an alternative method for applying, please contact Picarro, Inc. at disabilityassistance@picarro.com for assistance.