[Hiring] Controller @Tempo

Role Description

Tempo is seeking a Senior Accountant / Finance Manager (m/w/d) to join its Austrian subsidiary, Tempo Energy Innovations GmbH, based in Dornbirn, Vorarlberg. This is a fully remote, permanent position, available full-time at 38.5 hours per week; a part-time arrangement from 30 hours per week is negotiable. The role reports to the Director of Finance & Accounting in the United States and is expected to begin as soon as possible. Both German and English are required as working languages.

The Senior Accountant / Finance Manager will serve as the sole owner of the finance function for Tempo's Austrian entity, with end-to-end responsibility for:

• Accounting
• Payroll
• Tax
• Purchasing
• EU grant reporting

Responsibilities

• Accounting and Month-End Close:
  • Own AP, AR, GL, bank and credit card reconciliations, fixed assets and depreciation, accruals, prepaids, and inventory and WIP for prototype and pilot builds.
  • Close monthly to the group calendar: reconcile all balance sheet accounts and deliver the close package on deadline.
  • Maintain multi-currency accounting (EUR functional, USD group reporting), FX revaluation, and intercompany balances with the US parent and Spanish holding entity.
  • Prepare the Jahresabschluss under UGB with our Steuerberater, plus the bridge to US GAAP for group consolidation.
  • Deliver monthly management reporting by cost centre and project.
  • Support the group audit: PBC schedules, sample support, documentation.
• Payroll:
  • Run the monthly Lohnverrechnung cycle with our external provider; review the payroll register and post payroll journals.
  • Administer ÖGK and ELDA filings, Lohnsteuer, DB, DZ, and Kommunalsteuer.
  • Maintain employee master data, leave accruals, expense reimbursements, Taggeld and Nächtigungsgeld.
  • Allocate personnel cost by project, work package, and cost centre.
  • Handle cross-border employment matters with the US team, including A1 certificates and posted-worker filings.
• Tax and Statutory Compliance:
  • File UVA, Zusammenfassende Meldung, and Intrastat via FinanzOnline.
  • Apply reverse-charge and intra-community treatment to cross-border purchases across Austria, Germany, Spain, and the US.
  • Coordinate Körperschaftsteuer returns and advance payments with external advisors.
  • Maintain intercompany and transfer pricing documentation for cost-plus service arrangements.
  • Prepare the annual Forschungsprämie claim, including the FFG Jahresgutachten and supporting cost documentation.
  • Own the statutory filing calendar.
• Purchasing and Procurement:
  • Run procure-to-pay in NetSuite: requisitions, purchase orders, blanket POs, receipts, and three-way match.
  • Act as first-line reviewer for Austrian requisitions, purchase orders, and vendor bills under the purchasing policy and approval authority matrix.
  • Onboard and maintain vendor master data: UID validation, bank verification, tax status, sanctions screening.
  • Manage payment runs, supplier terms, and Austrian cash requirements; feed group treasury forecasting.
  • Track committed and actual spend against budget and grant work packages, including long-lead capital equipment and refractory materials.
• EU Grant Accounting and Reporting:
  • Own financial administration for EU and national grant-funded projects, including Horizon Europe.
  • Track grant cost by work package and eligible cost category: personnel, equipment, subcontracting, other direct costs, indirect flat rate.
  • Prepare periodic cost claims and Financial Statements in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; ensure personnel-cost methodology, timesheets, and depreciation comply with the Model Grant Agreement.
  • Manage Certificates on the Financial Statements where thresholds are triggered.
  • Act as financial contact for funding bodies and consortium partners, including FFG and aws.
  • Keep grant documentation audit-ready and support grant audits.
• Systems and Process:
  • Operate NetSuite as system of record (multi-subsidiary, multi-currency, multi-book): saved searches, reports, approval workflows, SuiteProcurement.
  • Build, document, and automate Austrian finance process with the Director of Finance & Accounting.

Qualifications

• Bilanzbuchhalter under the BiBuG, or equivalent qualification in accounting, finance, or controlling (HAK/HLW, FH, university).
• Five or more years of full-cycle accounting in Austria, including sole responsibility for a legal entity’s books and the Jahresabschluss under UGB.
• Working command of Austrian payroll and payroll tax.
• Practical command of Austrian and EU VAT: intra-community supplies, acquisitions, reverse charge.
• Professional fluency in German and English.
• Advanced Excel; ERP-native rather than spreadsheet-dependent.
• Authorisation to work in Austria.

Preferred Qualifications

• EU grant financial reporting (Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020, EU Innovation Fund, FFG or aws programmes), including periodic cost claims and grant audit experience.
• US GAAP and reporting into a US parent company.
• Manufacturing or capital-equipment environment: inventory, work orders, WIP.
• Personalverrechner certification.
• Startup or scale-up experience, ideally hardware.

Physical Demands

• Sitting and standing: Extended periods at a desk performing computer-based design, simulation, and documentation work, balanced with time at a lab bench or in the shop during hardware build and testing.
• Lifting and carrying: Lift and carry equipment, test fixtures, or hardware assemblies up to 50 lbs.; heavier items handled with mechanical assistance or team lift.
• Hand dexterity: Frequent use of hands for assembly, fabrication, instrumentation hookup, and operation of test and shop equipment.
• Visual acuity: Ability to read engineering drawings, inspect hardware, and identify dimensional and surface quality features during fabrication and testing.
• PPE compliance: Ability to wear and work effectively in required personal protective equipment, including safety glasses, heat-resistant gloves, safety shoes, and other appropriate gear in high-temperature lab and shop environments.
• Safety acumen: Demonstrated understanding of lab and shop safety protocols, including hazard recognition and risk mitigation in environments involving high-temperature equipment, energized systems, and fabrication machinery.
• Travel: Occasional travel (estimated <5%) for tool or material pickup.

Working at Tempo

• Clear, direct communication: You professionally say what you mean, lead with empathy, use tact, ask when you're unsure, and keep the people around you informed without being asked.
• Low-ego helpfulness: You're willing to jump in on work that isn't strictly yours, whether that's helping a teammate debug something, lending a hand in the shop, or flagging an issue you noticed outside your lane.
• Intellectual curiosity: You're genuinely interested in how things work, not just your piece of it, but the broader system.
• Business awareness: You understand that your work exists in a business context and think about cost, timeline, and tradeoffs—not just technical elegance.
• Comfort with ambiguity: Processes here are still being built. You can make progress without a perfect playbook.
• Accountability: You own your outcomes, including the misses.