Head of Accounting

About Etched

Etched is building AI chips that are hard-coded for individual model architectures. Our first product (Sohu) only supports transformers, but has an order of magnitude more throughput and lower latency than a B200. With Etched ASICs, you can build products that would be impossible with GPUs, like real-time video generation models and extremely deep & parallel chain-of-thought reasoning agents.

Job Summary

Etched is seeking a Head of Accounting to establish and scale our internal accounting function. You will be the first dedicated hire in accounting and will be responsible for owning day-to-day operations, monthly close, vendor payments, compliance, and financial reporting. You’ll work closely with our strategic finance team and external accounting and tax partners to ensure timely and accurate financials. As we grow, you’ll play a critical role in designing scalable systems and processes that support a rapidly expanding business, including building out the accounting team from scratch.

This is a hands-on role for someone who is excited about the opportunity to build from the ground up. Success in the role will require you to roll up your sleeves to execute today while laying the foundation for tomorrow. We’re looking for someone who is detail-oriented, process-driven, and excited by the pace and challenge of startup life.

Key responsibilities

• Own the monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes—including journal entries, reconciliations, and financial statement preparation

• Manage AP and vendor payments (via Ramp, Netsuite, etc.), employee reimbursements, and payroll accounting

• Coordinate with external bookkeepers, tax preparers, and auditors to ensure clean financials and timely filings

• Maintain and improve accounting systems (e.g., QBO, NetSuite, or similar) and implement controls as needed

• Track capitalized assets and depreciation schedules, including fixed assets and semiconductor mask costs

• Support regulatory and compliance filings (e.g., 1099s, Delaware franchise taxes, sales/use tax, R&D credits)

• Partner with the Strategic Finance team on cash flow management, budgeting, and forecasting

• Build out and lead the internal accounting team and document scalable accounting processes as the company grows as Etched scales

You may be a good fit if you have

• 15+ years of accounting experience, ideally with at least 6 years in a startup or high-growth environment and at least 4 years at a Big 4 Accounting firm

• CPA required

• Deep knowledge of US GAAP and hands-on experience managing GL, AP, AR, and payroll processes

• Strong attention to detail and a high bar for accuracy and completeness

• Comfortable working independently, with limited structure or oversight

• Experience managing external accounting and tax vendors

• Prior experience with QuickBooks, NetSuite, or other accounting tools

Strong candidates may also have experience with

• Hardware, manufacturing, or semiconductor companies a big plus

Benefits

• Full medical, dental, and vision packages, with 100% of premium covered

• Housing subsidy of $2,000/month for those living within walking distance of the office

• Daily lunch and dinner in our office

• Relocation support for those moving to West San Jose

Compensation Range

• $155,000 - $205,000

How we’re different

Etched believes in the Bitter Lesson. We think most of the progress in the AI field has come from using more FLOPs to train and run models, and the best way to get more FLOPs is to build model-specific hardware. Larger and larger training runs encourage companies to consolidate around fewer model architectures, which creates a market for single-model ASICs.

We are a fully in-person team in West San Jose, and greatly value engineering skills. We do not have boundaries between engineering and research, and we expect all of our technical staff to contribute to both as needed.