Senior Director Of Technical Accounting

About Uphold

Uphold is a financial technology company that believes on-chain services are the future of finance. It provides modern infrastructure for on-chain payments, banking, and investments. Offering Consumer Services, Business Services, and Institutional Trading, Uphold makes pioneering financial services easy and trusted for millions of customers in more than 140 countries.

Uphold strips away the complexity and lack of transparency to open up Web3 finance for everyone.

To learn more about Uphold, please visit https://uphold.com.

The Opportunity

We're seeking a strategic and experienced Senior Director, Technical Accounting to lead U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting across the organization. This role will drive accounting policy development, oversee complex transactions (e.g., ASC 606, 718, 805), and ensure audit readiness through strong technical documentation. The ideal candidate will collaborate cross-functionally, support SOX compliance, and stay ahead of evolving standards-especially in digital assets. Strong leadership and team development skills are essential.

What you'll be doing primarily:

• Technical Accounting Leadership: Serve as the go-to expert on U.S. GAAP and SEC Reporting, ensuring proper application of accounting standards across the organization.
• Complex Transaction Oversight: Lead technical accounting research and implementation for complex transactions, including revenue recognition (ASC606), stock-based compensation (ASC 718), and business combinations (ASC 805).
• Policy Development: Develop and maintain comprehensive accounting policies, ensuring alignment with industry best practices and regulatory requirements.
• Documentation and Compliance: Oversee the preparation and review of technical accounting memos and whitepapers for significant transactions, supporting audit readiness.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Finance, Legal, Product, and other teams to assess the financial statement impact of key business decisions.
• Regulatory Reporting: Support regulatory reporting and compliance efforts, including drafting disclosures and ensuring adherence to SOX requirements.
• Continuous Learning: Stay abreast of evolving accounting regulations, particularly those related to digital assets and cryptocurrency, assessing potential impacts on the organization.
• Team Development: Provide training and guidance to accounting team members on new accounting policies and standards.

Core Competencies:

• Customer Focus: Designs audit practices that protect users and build long-term trust.
• Bias for Action: Operates with urgency, especially when facing ambiguity or emerging risk.
• Mission-Driven: Passion for crypto, financial democratization, and responsible innovation.
• Owner's Mentality: Acts like a founder - accountable, cost-conscious, and proactive in solving issues.
• Technical Fluency: Understands digital assets, blockchain architecture, and product engineering enough to audit complex crypto systems.
• Data-Driven: Leverages data and metrics to inform risk decisions and audit focus.
• Communication Excellence: Translates complex audit issues into actionable, business-relevant insights for technical and non-technical audiences.
• Trust and Transparency: Embeds ethical thinking and compliance into every facet of the role.

Required qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance; CPA (or equivalent international certification) required.
• 8+ years of progressive accounting experience, including public accounting (Big 4 preferred) and in-house technical accounting leadership roles.
• Deep expertise in U.S. GAAP and proven ability to apply guidance to complex and evolving business scenarios.
• Strong experience preparing technical accounting documentation and managing internal policy frameworks.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to work across teams and influence executive stakeholders.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Bonus if you have:

• Experience working in fintech or finance-related industries.
• Personal and professional experience in blockchain and crypto is a plus.

Importantly, if you're looking for a senior role with us, you will have achieved many of the things above while also providing mentorship to others, and have engaged in public speaking opportunities.

What we have to offer you:

• An amazing work environment in a company that continues to grow, driven by extraordinary and passionate people that keep up innovating and challenging more each day.
• An international team, in a cutting edge field, working on the most fascinating projects.
• Growth and career opportunities, and the chance to be proactive and creative.
• A flexible and enthusiastic work environment that offers you snacks, a lot of coffee and other great benefits.
• Open and transparent culture - we get together on a weekly basis to share updates, strategic plans, and engage with each other informally over food and drinks.
• Interesting events that keep you connected with the team and celebrate our success.

Salary: $150K+ DOE, + Bonus + Benefits

EEOC Employer

We're proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and we celebrate our employees' differences, including race, color, religion, gender identity, national origin, age, military service eligibility, veteran status, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, and any other protected classes. Difference makes us stronger and better - together.