Staff Accountant

Work Location: Remote (U.S., excluding AK and HI)

Status: Exempt/ 1.0 FTE (40 hours/week)

Starting Compensation: $76,000, non-negotiable

Posting Date: May 4, 2026

Application Closing Date: May 31, 2026

Reports to: Director of Finance & HR

About iNaturalist

iNaturalist is one of the world’s largest biodiversity platforms—powered by millions of community scientists and supported by expert naturalists, researchers, and conservation organizations. With hundreds of millions of observations and 400,000+ active monthly contributors, iNaturalist data informs conservation decisions, accelerates biodiversity research, and inspires people everywhere to connect with nature.

Founded in 2008 and operating as a 501(c)3 nonprofit committed to open data, iNaturalist blends crowdsourcing, machine learning, and community science to help people understand, document, and protect biodiversity. Our vision: a world where everyone can discover, understand, and help sustain life on Earth.

Position Summary

This exciting new role is a great opportunity to apply nonprofit accounting experience in a growing, mission-driven organization. Reporting to the Director of Finance & HR, and working closely with the Administrative & Fundraising teams, the Staff Accountant is responsible for managing the full life cycle of accounts payable and receivable and supporting general ledger maintenance and payroll administration.

In addition to delivering timely, accurate financial information, the Staff Accountant will contribute to systems and process optimization, ensuring that iNaturalist has the financial infrastructure needed to support its growth and scale its impact. The successful candidate is a highly dependable, detail-oriented professional who exercises strong judgement and proactively resolves accounting issues.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Accounts Payable & Expenses:

• Record vendor invoices, credit card transactions, and payments, ensuring expenses are accurately coded.
• Organize the monthly ACH payments list.
• Prepare and record prepaid, accrued expense, and fixed asset journal entries.
• Manage the employee expense reimbursement process.
• Manage new vendor setup and maintain accurate vendor files, including Forms W-9 and W-8 BEN.
• Prepare annual filing of 1099s.

Accounts Receivable & Revenue:

• Record all contributions revenue (ACH, checks, credit cards, PayPal) and deposits.
• Ensure timely preparation and collection of pledge, grant, and earned income receivables.
• Assist with tracking grant and contract expenses to ensure accurate revenue recognition, net asset releases from restriction, and award financial management.
• Prepare internal and external funder financial reports as needed.

Payroll & General Accounting:

• Assist the Director of Finance & HR with semi-monthly payroll processing, personnel cost allocations, and recording of personnel expenses.
• Create and maintain accounting schedules, files, and forms.
• Support month-end and year-end fiscal closes, including assigned balance sheet reconciliations and regular reconciliation with the Fundraising CRM.
• Review, investigate, and correct accounting errors.
• Support the annual budget process, financial audit, and 990 preparation.
• Participate in regular Administrative team, supervisory, and all-staff meetings.
• Contribute to continuous process improvement and refinement of internal controls.
• Special projects as needed.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice to support organizational needs.

Required Qualifications, Knowledge, and Abilities

• Associate’s degree and at least two (2) years of professional nonprofit accounting experience.
• Working knowledge of fund accounting and GAAP for nonprofits.
• Highly proficient in fund accounting software with intermediate spreadsheet skills.
• Familiarity with collaboration tools like Slack, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Office 365.
• Self-starter with high dependability, meticulous attention to detail, and superb organizational skills.
• Ability to interpret, implement, and communicate policies, laws, and regulations.
• Strong analytical and reconciliation skills.
• High degree of professionalism, judgement, and adaptability, enabling effective collaboration with cross-functional teams and external parties.
• Excellent customer service and communication skills.
• High level of integrity with an ability to maintain the highest level of confidentiality.
• Ability to communicate effectively in English sufficient to convey information and instructions to colleagues, vendors, and funders.
• Willingness and ability to travel on occasion (e.g., annual staff retreat).

Preferred Qualifications, Knowledge, and Abilities

• College-level coursework in accounting/business administration or related certification.
• Proficiency with Oracle NetSuite accounting software and software integrations (e.g., Ramp spend management platform).
• Familiarity with Gusto payroll.
• Experience working in a nonprofit with a high level of individual giving.
• Interest in nature and commitment to environmental conservation.

Why it’s Great to Work at iNaturalist

A mission that matters.

You’ll play a pivotal role in a mission-driven organization. With species going extinct daily, the need to protect and document biodiversity has never been more essential. iNaturalist has become the go-to data source to measure biodiversity conservation and protection.

Growth.

Be part of a growing organization with opportunities for professional and personal development.

A great team.

Smart, hard-working nature lovers make up our small team. We are committed to collaborating, supporting, and learning from and about each other.

Flexible work.

We are a virtual team, and most of this position’s work can be performed from home or wherever you are comfortable with a strong internet connection. You’ll even get some funds to set up your office and a monthly stipend to defray some of the costs.

For this position, to facilitate collaboration across time zones, we require that you be a resident of and eligible to work in the lower 48 states (i.e., not Alaska or Hawaii).

Competitive pay.

The starting compensation for this position is $76,000 per year, non-negotiable.

Great benefits.

We offer a pretty awesome benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, plus an employer-funded health reimbursement account and employee-funded flexible spending accounts. There is also a 401k plan with up to a 5% match and an employee assistance plan. This position is eligible for unlimited personal time off, and unlike some tech organizations, we really mean it – everyone is expected to take a minimum of three weeks a year off.

Additional Information

A background investigation is required prior to employment for applicants who receive a conditional offer of employment. Applicants given a conditional offer of employment will be required to sign authorization and release forms enabling such an investigation.

How to Apply & Timeline

We encourage individuals who believe they have the skills necessary to thrive in this role to apply, even if they do not meet all the qualifications outlined above. Please note that we are looking for full-time, internal team member; fractional, part-time, or outsourced service providers will not be considered.

To apply, click on this link. Instead of a traditional cover letter, we ask that you respond to a short set of questions designed to assess your experience and interest. Responses are initially reviewed (by real people, not AI) without names and independently in order to reduce bias. Application materials submitted outside of Applied (e.g., via email) will not be considered.

Applied asks for your demographic information, but we never see it in association with you. It is used only in aggregate reporting to assess the overall demographics of the candidate pool.

Hiring Process Timeline:

The application period will close on May 31, 2026. However, we may close it early after receiving 150 applications. In this case, we will notify anyone who has started the application that they have 48 hours to complete it.

• Initial Application Review: Jun 4, 2026
• Jun 10, 2026
• Interviews and Skills Assessment: Jun 15, 2026–Jun 25, 2026
• Offer: Late June 2026/Early July 2026
• Ideal Start Date: Mid-to-Late July 2026

iNaturalist is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other applicable characteristics protected by law.

iNaturalist is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities during the hiring process. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please contact Director of Finance & HR Adrienne Pettit at adrienne@inaturalist.org

Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, plus an employer-funded health reimbursement account and employee-funded flexible spending accounts. There is also a 401k plan with up to a 5% match and an employee assistance plan. This position is eligible for unlimited personal time off, and unlike some tech organizations, we really mean it – everyone is expected to take a minimum of three weeks a year off.

Ability to communicate effectively in English sufficient to convey information to colleagues, external vendors, and donors in writing and verbally.