About the role
About Arena Intelligence Arena Intelligence is the open platform for evaluating how AI models perform in the real world. Created by researchers from UC Berkeley’s SkyLab, our mission is to measure and advance the frontier of AI for real-world use. Millions of people use Arena Intelligence each month to explore how frontier systems perform — and we use our community’s feedback to build transparent, rigorous, and human-centered model evaluations. Leading enterprises and AI labs rely on our evaluations to understand real-world reliability, alignment, and impact. Our leaderboards are the gold standard for AI performance — trusted by leaders across the AI community and shaping the global conversation on model reliability and progress. We’re a team of researchers, engineers, academics, and builders from places like UC Berkeley, Google, Stanford, DeepMind, and Discord. We seek truth, move fast, and value craftsmanship, curiosity, and impact over hierarchy. We’re building a company where thoughtful, curious people from all backgrounds can do their best work. Everyone on our team is a deep expert in their field — our office radiates excellence, energy, and focus.
About
the Role As Assistant Controller, you'll build our accounting function from the ground up — the systems, controls, and infrastructure that support our next phase of growth. This is a rare opportunity to be the first dedicated accounting hire at a company whose customers include the world's top AI labs and enterprises, with a product that's become the industry standard for AI evaluation. Reporting to the Head of Finance, you'll lead all aspects of accounting: from managing day-to-day operations and owning the month-end close, to implementing core systems, standing up internal controls, and driving audit readiness. You'll work across complex enterprise contracts, own revenue recognition, and build the cost accounting framework for a fast-scaling business. You'll partner with an external accounting firm on day-to-day operations as you build out the function. You’ll Own monthly, quarterly, and annual financial closes, delivering GAAP-compliant financial statements and analyses. Manage day-to-day financial operations including AP/AR, expense allocations, balance sheet reconciliations, and invoice reconciliation across major enterprise accounts. Own revenue recognition end-to-end, applying ASC 606 across complex enterprise contracts Design and implement scalable financial systems, processes, and controls to support rapid growth, including leading our first ERP implementation. Manage cash flow and working capital timing across large enterprise billing cycles. Build and maintain a strong internal control environment and establish accounting policies from scratch. Lead audit and tax readiness — serve as the primary liaison for external auditors and ensure compliance with all local, state, and federal tax