Controller

About Primer

Fixing our K-12 education system is a civilizationally-important problem. We believe that all of our problems — including the ones that dominate the headlines — are downstream of education.

We have a simple thesis on how to solve it: empower 1,000's of educators to launch microschools in their communities.

We believe the historical tradeoff between price (tuition) and quality is a false dichotomy.

PrimerOS automates and eliminates much of the costs of traditional schools. Microschools have a structural advantage — asset-light real estate — which means much lower capex and opex. You put it together, and you get something that's never existed before: a world-class education that's accessible to normal American families and can rapidly scale.

Summary

Primer is building a new kind of school system—one that blends great educators with great software—and we're looking for a Controller who can help build the financial foundation to support that scale. This role is for a hands-on, full-stack accounting leader with deep GAAP expertise, mastery of NetSuite, and experience in complex, multi-entity or capital-intensive environments. You’ll own our accounting function end-to-end while partnering closely with finance and operations to ensure our model scales responsibly across campuses. If you want breadth, complexity, and real ownership inside a mission-driven, VC-backed startup that’s still in builder mode, this is the right seat.

Responsibilities

• The Controller will support our Head of Finance and lead the Company’s Accounting team

• Drive period-end financial closes in an accurate, timely manner as well as support the Company’s actuals reporting

• Responsible for improving and enforcing the accounting function’s Standard Operating Procedures (AR, AP, GL, Capex, Equity, etc.)

• Lead audits and reviews conducted by our public sector revenue partners; lead assurance workstreams and projects

• Provide direction and mentorship to our General Ledger accountant, Accounts Payable Specialist, and any future accounting team members

• Partner with our Bursar (AR leader) to maintain receivables reconciliation, revenue recognition, and collections processes

• Administer the company’s treasury activities and intercompany funding

• Collaborate with the Head of Finance to develop and enforce internal financial controls

Requirements

• Active CPA license and least 10 years of experience in financial accounting within roles of increasing responsibility; previous experience experience at a public accounting firm preferred

• Deep experience with NetSuite required; Stripe, and Ramp strongly preferred

• Prior experience as a Controller or as the direct report of a Controller required

• Comprehensive, technical knowledge of GAAP accounting; familiarity with capital intensive and/or real estate businesses and associated accounting procedures (i.e., ASC 842)

• Experience with intercompany accounting and consolidations required; familiarity with multi-location operations and reporting preferred

• Experience supporting Venture Capital backed businesses preferred

• Willingness to roll up your sleeves and build! Everyone on our team spends a significant amount of their time with their hands on the tools.

Why this role may not be a fit

• You are hoping to never post / approve a journal entry again

• Your accounting experience is deep but not broad (i.e., you’ve only held revenue accounting roles, you’ve only worked in audit)

• You are looking for true FP&A experience / training

• You’re uncomfortable with startup volatility and risk

If this sounds like you, fill out the application below with a bit about yourself and we'll take it from there!