Job description
We’re transforming the grocery industry
At Instacart, we invite the world to share love through food because we believe everyone should have access to the food they love and more time to enjoy it together. Where others see a simple need for grocery delivery, we see exciting complexity and endless opportunity to serve the varied needs of our community. We work to deliver an essential service that customers rely on to get their groceries and household goods, while also offering safe and flexible earnings opportunities to Instacart Personal Shoppers.
Instacart has become a lifeline for millions of people, and we’re building the team to help push our shopping cart forward. If you’re ready to do the best work of your life, come join our table.
Instacart is a Flex First team
There’s no one-size fits all approach to how we do our best work. Our employees have the flexibility to choose where they do their best work—whether it’s from home, an office, or your favorite coffee shop—while staying connected and building community through regular in-person events. Learn more about our flexible approach to where we work.
Overview
We are hiring a motivated and highly experienced Corporate Controller to lead the accounting operations of our fast-paced public technology marketplace organization. Reporting to the Chief Accounting Officer (CAO), this critical leadership role will oversee a broad scope of accounting functions, including cash, payroll, billing, cost accounting, general accounting, consolidations, and insurance accounting.
The Corporate Controller will be instrumental in driving operational excellence, ensuring rigorous compliance with all regulatory requirements, and fostering a culture of continuous process improvement. With a robust team under their leadership, this role will directly impact the scalability and efficiency of our accounting operations, while playing a pivotal role in the organization’s growth and strategic initiatives.
About the Role
We are seeking a visionary leader who thrives in dynamic, fast-paced environments and excels at solving complex challenges at scale. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of leveraging emerging technologies—particularly automation and AI—to drive efficiency, streamline processes, and keep the organization at the forefront of digital transformation. This leader should demonstrate the ability to anticipate future trends, embrace innovative solutions, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and operational excellence. In this role, you will:
- Oversee mission-critical accounting operations, including Cash, Credit & Collections, AP, Payroll, Billing, Cost Accounting, Fixed Assets, Consolidations, International and General Accounting.
- Work directly with cross-functional partners to drive process efficiencies and operational excellence across accounting functions.
- Collaborate with the CAO’s Direct Reports, including teams in SEC reporting, SOX compliance, and financial systems, to ensure seamless synergy across accounting and financial processes.
- Be a champion of accuracy, operational efficiency, and continual process improvement while ensuring timely and compliant reporting.
- Push forward transformation initiatives, including centralizing project management, streamlining processes, scaling operations, and adopting automation.
- Ensure the timely and thorough preparation, review, and reconciliation of all balance sheet accounts, maintaining a clean, accurate, and audit-ready balance sheet at all times.
- Oversee and enforce robust reconciliation processes, ensuring all accounts are reconciled accurately and discrepancies are investigated and resolved promptly to maintain financial integrity.
- Lead the monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes, ensuring all journal entries, accruals, and adjustments are properly supported and documented.
- Conduct detailed fluctuation (flux) analysis of balance sheet and income statement accounts, identifying and explaining significant variances between periods, and proactively addressing underlying causes.
- Provide comprehensive, data-driven fluctuation analysis to senior management, supporting informed decision-making and enabling early detection of errors, omissions, or unusual activity.
- Develop, implement, and maintain internal controls and best practices for account reconciliations and financial reporting, minimizing risk and ensuring compliance with GAAP and company policies.
- Foster a culture of accountability and precision within the accounting team, providing training and guidance on best practices for reconciliations, analysis, and reporting.
About the Team
You’ll lead a high-performing accounting team and partner closely with peers across the CAO’s organization, including:
- Senior Director of SEC Reporting and Technical Accounting: Driving SEC reporting, including equity and revenue accounting (technical and operational), and supporting complex revenue-impacting deal desk activities for new product introductions.
- Senior Director of SOX Compliance: Creating a robust internal control environment.
- Senior Director of Financial Systems: Managing financial systems, finance analytics, and finance transformation/strategic initiatives.
Directly reporting to you will be:
- Director of Financial Operations: Overseeing cash, AP, Credit & Collections, Procurement, and Billing.
- Director of Payroll: Ensuring efficient payroll operations with a focus on accuracy and compliance.
- Director of Cost Accounting and Asset Management: Managing cost accounting, inventory, fixed assets, ROUA/ROUL accounting, and capitalized internal use software.
- Director of General Accounting and Consolidations: Leading consolidations, general accounting, accruals, international and insurance accounting.
Together, the team operates with a vision of delivering operational excellence, leveraging leading technologies, and creating sustainable long-term solutions for the company’s accounting challenges.
About the Job
Lead Accounting Operations:
- Oversee all accounting operations, including Cash, AP, Payroll, Billing, Cost Accounting, Consolidations, International and Fixed Assets.
- Ensure timely and accurate month-end, quarter-end, and year-end close processes.
Drive Compliance and Financial Integrity:
- Ensure all accounting functions are compliant with US GAAP, SOX requirements, and other applicable regulatory standards.
- Partner with the Senior Director of SOX Compliance to maintain a strong internal control environment.
Collaborate Across Teams:
- Work with peers in SEC Reporting, SOX, Revenue, and Financial Systems to create a seamless and fully integrated financial reporting and control environment.
- Partner with other organizational leaders to support new product launches, centralize project management, and drive cross-functional initiatives.
Innovation and Transformation:
- Champion a culture of process improvement and innovation by leveraging automation, data analytics, and AI-driven tools.
- Collaborate with the Senior Director of Financial Systems to prioritize system upgrades and introduce analytical tools to enhance operational efficiency.
Build and Lead a High-Performing Team:
- Mentor and develop your team, encouraging technical and professional growth.
- Create an inclusive and collaborative culture where continuous improvement is prioritized.
About You
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field; CPA certification is required.
- 15+ years of progressive accounting leadership experience in a publicly traded company or audit environment.
- Expertise in US GAAP, financial reporting, internal controls, and compliance frameworks (SOX, etc.).
- Strong operational and technical accounting experience, including complex areas such as consolidations, inventory/cost accounting, fixed assets, and cash management.
- Proven track record in leading large teams and managing diverse accounting functions.
- Exceptional communication skills with the ability to work and collaborate across cross-functional teams.
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or MBA.
- Direct experience with public technology or marketplace companies.
- Strong knowledge of financial systems such as Oracle, and tools like FloQast, Klarity, Alteryx, and BI platforms.
- Experience in finance transformation initiatives, including centralized project management, system overhauls, and implementing automation or AI-powered tools.
- Ability to adapt quickly to a fast-paced, constantly changing environment and solve complex problems.
Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here.
Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.
For US based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.
CA, NY, CT, NJ
$261,000—$290,000 USD
WA
$250,000—$278,000 USD
OR, DE, ME, MA, MD, NH, RI, VT, DC, PA, VA, CO, TX, IL, HI
$240,000—$278,000 USD
All other states
$217,000—$241,000 USD
