Senior Manager, Finance & Accounting

Why Thunderbird?

Thunderbird is one of the world’s most trusted open-source email applications, empowering more than 20 million people globally. At MZLA, the team behind Thunderbird, we build privacy-respecting communication and productivity tools that help people manage their digital lives while staying in control of their data.

We are open source by design. Our products are developed transparently and in collaboration with a global community of contributors, and that same spirit shapes how we work: collaboratively, inclusively, and with a shared commitment to putting users first.

We are a small but growing company of 70+ people distributed across seven countries. As Thunderbird evolves beyond a single desktop application, we are expanding across desktop, mobile, paid services, and new product experiences that help people and organizations work more effectively without giving up control to big tech ecosystems.

Our revenue model combines user donations, which help keep Thunderbird’s apps freely available, with paid services that cover the costs of hosted offerings while supporting long-term sustainability and continued innovation.

A note about MZLA and Mozilla: MZLA Technologies Corporation is the nonprofit-owned company behind Thunderbird and part of the Mozilla family. MZLA is separate from Mozilla Corporation and has its own compensation programs, benefits, and employment policies.

To learn more, visit www.thunderbird.net

The opportunity

We are looking for a finance leader with a strong accounting or controllership foundation and the breadth to lead financial planning and analysis, finance operations, and organization-level decision support.

As MZLA grows across donations, subscription services, enterprise offerings, and international operations, our financial needs are becoming more complex. We need stronger integration across accounting and FP&A, experienced oversight of emerging revenue models and tax obligations, and clear financial analysis that helps leadership understand performance, risks, tradeoffs, and decisions.

Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, the Senior Manager will serve as MZLA’s most senior finance professional and directly manage our Senior Staff Accountant and Senior FP&A Analyst. This is a hands-on functional leadership role for someone who can provide experienced financial judgment, develop an established team, and remain close to the details while helping build the systems, controls, reporting, and finance practices the organization needs for its next stage of growth.

This role requires regular working-hour overlap with the COO, finance team, and other colleagues across North American time zones. Candidates based in Eastern or Central time zones are preferred; candidates elsewhere in the United States should be comfortable maintaining substantial overlap with those working hours. Flexibility for meetings with colleagues, advisers, and affiliated organizations in Europe is also expected.

What you’ll do 

• Lead MZLA’s finance function, with overall responsibility for accounting, financial planning and analysis, tax, treasury, and finance operations.
• Manage and develop MZLA’s finance team, establishing clear priorities, responsibilities, review practices, and accountability.
• Oversee monthly and annual close, financial reporting, reconciliations, accounting policies, and internal controls.
• Oversee accounting and revenue recognition across donations, subscriptions, enterprise arrangements, partnerships, and other revenue streams.
• Lead annual budgeting, forecasting, longer-range financial planning, and scenario analysis.
• Develop clear management reporting and visualizations that highlight important trends, risks, tradeoffs, and decisions.
• Oversee tax, audit, indirect tax, VAT/GST, corporate filings, and related work with external advisers.
• Evaluate the financial, tax, accounting, and operational implications of entering new jurisdictions or establishing additional entities.
• Work with Enterprise Partnerships and Legal to establish financial reporting, reconciliation, and control processes for partner-led commercial arrangements.
• Oversee financial reporting to MZLA’s parent organization and affiliated Mozilla organizations.
• Own financial oversight of payroll across multiple providers in partnership with the People team.
• Strengthen finance systems and workflows, including accounting, expense management, payment-platform reconciliation, documentation, and automation.
• Oversee cash-flow planning, treasury, banking, and investment activities, working closely with the Senior FP&A Analyst.
• Serve as a trusted finance adviser to organizational leaders, translating complex financial information into clear recommendations.

What you bring 

• 15+ years of relevant professional experience, including progressively responsible roles spanning accounting, financial planning and analysis, and finance operations.
• Significant accounting or controllership experience, including responsibility for U.S. GAAP financial reporting, close processes, internal controls, revenue recognition, and complex accounting judgments.
• 5+ years of people management experience in a finance or accounting environment, including coaching, feedback, prioritization, performance support, career development, and team development.
• Demonstrated ability to improve budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, and financial data visualization and translate complex information into clear insights and recommendations for non-finance leaders.
• Substantive experience with subscription, SaaS, digital-product, enterprise, or comparable technology-based revenue models.
• Experience supporting partner-led commercial arrangements, such as reseller, licensing, wholesale, or revenue-sharing models, including evaluating financial terms and developing or overseeing the related reporting, reconciliation, controls, and revenue-recognition processes.
• Working knowledge of merchant-of-record arrangements, payment platforms, indirect tax, and international VAT/GST requirements.
• Experience supporting an internationally distributed organization and coordinating financial obligations across multiple jurisdictions.
• Proven ability to oversee tax, audit, and other external finance requirements and effectively manage outside advisers.
• Experience providing oversight and review of cash management, treasury, banking, and organizational investment activities, including developing recommendations for senior decision-makers.
• A track record of strengthening financial systems, workflows, documentation, and controls.
• Strong judgment and comfort moving between people leadership, detailed financial review, practical hands-on problem-solving, and organization-level decision support.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, including the ability to identify and explain financial risks, implications, and tradeoffs.

Bonus points for

• Experience working within a subsidiary, portfolio, federated, or similarly affiliated organizational structure, including reporting to a parent organization or shareholder.
• Prior work supporting the establishment of a new legal entity or expansion into a new jurisdiction.
• Familiarity with Intacct, Ramp, or comparable finance and expense-management systems.
• Experience in a mission-driven, open-source, nonprofit-affiliated, or similarly values-oriented organization.

About you

You are an experienced finance leader who is equally comfortable reviewing detailed financial work and advising senior leaders. You know that an effective finance function requires accurate reporting, sound controls, integrated planning, clear analysis, and a willingness to surface risks and make recommendations.

You understand the complexity created by multiple revenue models, partner-led commercial arrangements, international operations, and evolving tax and reporting obligations. You can translate those requirements into practical processes, recognize when external expertise is needed, and provide appropriate rigor without unnecessary complexity.

You are a thoughtful people manager who gives experienced team members direction, oversight, and room to grow. You can distill sophisticated analysis into what matters most for decision-makers and are motivated by building finance capability in a lean, hands-on environment.

Work environment

This is a full-time, fully remote position. You’ll work with colleagues, partners, and customers across multiple countries and time zones, so strong communication and documentation skills are essential.

Availability to participate in required company-wide gatherings and team workweeks, which may involve periodic domestic or international travel.

Compensation & benefits

We benchmark our base salaries to local markets and target the 60th percentile of the peer market. The salary ranges for this role are:

• US: $165,000 - $190,000 USD

We may consider candidates with strong skills but less than the required experience. Title, level and compensation will be determined based on qualifications and experience.

In addition to competitive salaries, we offer a comprehensive benefits package designed to support your whole self.

Work & career

• Fully remote work & schedule flexibility
• Company-provided laptop
• Annual bonus program
• Monthly remote work stipend
• Annual professional development stipend
• Access to Coursera learning platform
• Company all-hands and team gatherings

Rest & play

• 24 days PTO per year (prorated) 
• Your birthday
• Year-end company shutdown
• 9 wellbeing days 
• Public holidays
• Other paid leave
• Quarterly wellbeing stipend for personal / family activities

Health & family

• 401(k) contributions
• Health, dental, & vision insurance
• Disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Employee assistance program 
• Paid parental leave
• Paid sick days 

Work eligibility

Applicants must reside in and have permanent work authorization for the country location(s) specified in the posting. We are unable to consider applicants outside of these markets at this time. And, we do not provide visa sponsorship.

How to apply

Please apply directly through our career page. We carefully review every cover letter and screening question, so take the time to answer each fully. We value authentic, thoughtful responses that reflect your own experience and perspective. It is fine to use AI tools to polish your writing, but your answers should be your own. Candidates who submit generic or unoriginal AI-generated responses may be disqualified from further consideration.

Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion

MZLA believes in the value of diverse creative practices and forms of knowledge, and knows diversity, equity and inclusion are crucial to and enrich the company’s core mission. We encourage applications from everyone, including members of all equity-seeking communities, such as (but not limited to) women, racialized and Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, persons of all sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions.

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race (including hairstyle and texture), religion (including religious grooming and dress practices), gender, gender identity, gender expression, color, national origin, pregnancy, ancestry, domestic partner status, disability, sexual orientation, age, genetic predisposition, medical condition, marital status, citizenship status, military or veteran status, or any other basis covered by applicable laws. MZLA will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics or any other unlawful behavior, conduct, or purpose. 

We will ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, as appropriate. Please contact us at hiringaccommodations@thunderbird.net to request accommodation.

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