Accounting Engineer

About the role

This position redefines accounting by merging traditional practices with advanced finance systems and data analysis, all powered by AI. You will be instrumental in developing a new approach to financial operations, moving beyond conventional methods to intelligent, automated processes. This role is a deliberate integration of disciplines, not a mere hybrid, designed to scale Clay's financial capabilities.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Manage the entire monthly financial close process, from journal entries to reporting, and lead initiatives to automate finance tasks.
• Serve as a primary contact for external auditors, assisting with audit preparation and exploring AI tools for real-time auditing.
• Oversee Clay's ERP and related finance systems, including payroll, expenses, equity, and billing, managing integrations and data flows.
• Evaluate and integrate new financial software, maintaining system documentation and segregation of duties as the tech stack grows.
• Develop AI-driven workflows to automate reconciliations, variance analysis, and closing procedures, using SQL for data extraction and validation.
• Systematically remove repetitive accounting tasks and create dashboards for immediate financial insights, aiming for faster quarterly closes.
• Collaborate with Go-To-Market, Product, and Operations teams on finance-related projects, and support FP&A with data infrastructure.
• Act as the accounting team's liaison across the organization, influencing the department's growth trajectory.

Requirements

• At least 5 years of accounting experience, including time in public accounting and fast-growing startup environments.
• Direct experience with operational accounting, having managed financial closes, reconciliations, and complex real-world data.
• Prior experience implementing or managing a finance system or ERP.
• Skilled in SQL, capable of querying large datasets, writing joins, and independently resolving data issues.
• Proven ability to use AI tools like Cursor, Claude, or ChatGPT to enhance accounting or finance tasks.

Nice to have

• CPA license or currently pursuing one.
• Knowledge of billing and revenue platforms such as Stripe, CPQ, and metering systems, and their accounting integrations.
• Experience creating or contributing to financial data models, dashboards, or business intelligence tools.

Skills & tools

• SQL
• ERP systems
• Finance systems (payroll, expense, equity, billing)
• AI tools (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT)
• Data pipelines
• Financial modeling
• Business intelligence tools