Research Accountant I

Engineering a world of possibilities

As our next Research Accountant I, you will be responsible for the expense management of research grants and contracts in the Office of Research Administration (ORA). This position is key to the research team and serves as a resource to faculty and administrators regarding the financial administration of sponsored research awards. Essential duties include the set-up of new awards in the financial system, expense and account monitoring, financial reporting, financial closeout and other post-award financial analysis and support for sponsored awards.
As a Research Accountant, you will interpret federal, state and School terms and advise Mines’ research community on their application. This position requires critical thinking skills to apply regulatory interpretation to sponsored activity. You will also be responsible for independently compiling, analyzing, and presenting financial data. You will work with campus constituents including faculty and staff to manage and reconcile sponsored activity.
This position is currently hybrid; the successful candidate must commute to campus in Golden, Colorado on a regular basis.

Primary Responsibilities

Award set-up and modifications

• Transactional responsibilities include: Create new research accounts and amend existing accounts in the School’s financial system and ORA’s enterprise project tracking system. Utilize information obtained from the legal agreement, proposal documents and other project related documents. Decides appropriate financial codes to input into the School’s financial system to accurately administer and monitor awards in accordance with federal regulations, sponsor terms and conditions, and School policy.
• Become familiar with Sponsor agreement format, financial terms and conditions to be able to perform setup appropriately.

Award Financial Monitoring

• Monitor, review and reconcile award budgets, balances and expenses.   This includes deficit monitoring and expense review both pre-expenditure and post-expenditure. Expenses must be allowable, allocable, and reasonable in accordance with grant terms and conditions, the budget limits and period of performance.
• Review, approve, and perform transactional salary redistributions and journal entries as needed to ensure proper expenditure accounting.
• Identify, investigate and resolve discrepancies or errors found within research accounts. Resolution will require coordination with the applicable faculty members, ORA staff members, other departments and/or project sponsor, as applicable. 
• Assist the Property Manager in the Controller’s Office to ensure all equipment is titled, accounted and tagged properly within School systems and per regulations.
• Develop and/or update ad-hoc reports using data from the School’s systems or other database applications for tracking, diagnostic and financial analysis of sponsored activity.
• Become familiar with Uniform Guidance regulation to be able to perform financial monitoring appropriately.

Award Reporting

• Prepare and accurately submit required financial reports within sponsoring agency timeframes. This position will analyze the financial statements, supporting documentation and other necessary information for each research account to ensure accurate financial reports are submitted.
• Prepare and accurately submit required non-financial reports within sponsoring agency timeframes. This includes Property Reports, Patent Reports, Cost Share reports, etc.
• Utilize School systems to extract data needed for required reporting. Successfully navigate sponsor reporting systems to submit required reports.

Award Closeout

• Determines and performs all closeout actions required by sponsoring agency and School policy and procedures, including, but not limited to:
• Maintain a detailed tracking of closeout activities.
• Track all outstanding accounts receivable actions to successfully coordinate the process of financial closeout between the grant sub-ledger and the school’s General Ledger
• Perform final expense review and account reconciliation

Training and Process Improvement

• Provide guidance, advice, and training in policy, procedures, and regulations related to research administration to faculty, department administrators, college fiscal officers and other administrative departments.
• Actively participate in office wide process evaluation and reengineering efforts. Critically evaluate process and procedures with a goal of efficiency and optimal resource utilization. Make recommendations for improvements to management and lead improvement efforts if approved.

Minimum Qualifications

Salary and Benefits

$64,000 - $70,000

Mines takes into consideration a combination of candidate’s education, training and experience as well as the position’s scope and complexity, the discretion and latitude required in the role, work location, and external market and internal value when determining a salary level for potential new employees.

Colorado School of Mines offers a robust portfolio of benefits for all employees. For this role, that includes:

• Flexible health and dental care options
• Generous sick/vacation time: 13 paid holidays per year – including a week-long winter break for entire campus.
• Fully vested retirement plan on first day of employment, with generous employer contribution
• Tuition benefits (6 credits per year for employees, 50 percent discount for dependents)
• Free RTD Ecopass

All Mines employees also have access to discount programs through the State of Colorado and free tickets for Mines Athletics home games, as well as access to the state of the art Recreation Center (fitness classes and training, swimming pool and more) and equipment rentals through the Outdoor Rec Center. We are proud to have recently opened an on campus daycare center. For more details about benefits at Mines, visit mines.edu/human-resources/benefits.

How to Apply

Complete an online application (personal information, demographic information, veteran status)

• Upload a resume or CV
• Upload a cover letter

Candidates must be currently authorized to work in the United States. Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

This posting may be used to fill more than one vacancy based on business needs.

References will not be contacted until later in the selection process and you will be informed before that contact is made.

This posting has been extended from the original posting period of March 4 - March 18, 2026. If you have already applied, you do not need to reapply. This posting may close without notice. Please apply as soon as possible for best consideration.

Successful Completion of a Background Investigation is Required for this Position.

Additional Information and Reasonable Accommodation Requests
It is the intent of Mines to comply with the applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, and their implementation rules and regulations, in support of equal opportunities for qualified applicants with disabilities. To meet this goal, Mines will make reasonable accommodations during the employment selection process and within our working environment.

If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to access job openings or apply for a job on our site as a result of your disability. You can request a reasonable accommodation by contacting our Human Resources team at [email protected] or 303.273.3250 for assistance.

Successful completion of a background investigation is required for this position.
Equal Opportunity

Colorado School of Mines is committed to equal opportunity for all persons. Mines does not discriminate on the basis of age, sex, gender (including gender identity and gender expression), ancestry, creed, marital status, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, veteran status or current military service. Further, Mines does not retaliate against community members for filing complaints regarding or implicating any of these protected statuses.

Mines’ commitment to nondiscrimination, equal opportunity and equal access is reflected in the administration of its policies, procedures, programs and activities and in its efforts to achieve a talented student body and workforce.

Through its policies, procedures and resources, Mines complies with federal law, Colorado state law, administrative regulations, executive orders and other legal requirements to prevent discrimination (including harassment or retaliation) within the Mines campus community and to address potential allegations of inequality or concerns for safety.

Colorado's premier engineering and applied science university for 150 years and counting