Calling all 2026 graduates! Are you interested in developing real consulting skills across a diverse mix of businesses? Curious to know what it takes to be a Sandbox’er? Our boutique consulting firm, Sandbox, is currently recruiting for our Junior Associate role. We are looking for driven, curious college grads who are ready to hit the ground running and grow fast.
Our employees, affectionately referred to as Sandboxers, are a collection of repeat entrepreneurs, recovering corporates, reformed management consultants, and rogue college grads who believe in a creative approach to traditional consulting. What makes us great? Our sandbox is full of richly diverse skills, talents, thoughts, lifestyles, and experiences AND we all share a love for getting our hands dirty and doing what it takes to help our clients achieve their business goals. This commitment to collaboration, creativity, and impact has earned us recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in Virginia, an award that reflects the culture we’ve intentionally built.
A little bit about the job!
This is a role for someone who is ready to learn everything, contribute from day one, and grow quickly. You won’t be handed a rigid task list and left to figure it out alone. You’ll be plugged into real client work from the start, supported by Associates and Senior Associates who are invested in your development, and given the room to build skills that most people take years to acquire.
Your days will be rooted in the fundamentals: keeping the books clean, supporting client deliverables, and making sure the small things never fall through the cracks. You’ll also get exposure to financial modeling, investor materials, and client-facing work as you grow into the role. No two days look exactly alike, and that’s the point. As a Junior Associate, you will:
- Own the day-to-day bookkeeping tasks that keep our clients’ financials in order, including data entry, transaction coding, reconciliations, accounts payable and receivable tracking, and keeping records clean heading into month-end close. This is the foundation of the role, and doing it well matters.
- Support Associates and Senior Associates on client deliverables, including pulling data, building out sections of financial models, formatting reports, and helping prep materials for client meetings. You’ll be in the work, not just watching it.
- Maintain and improve the templates, trackers, and documentation systems that keep our clients organized and our team running smoothly. Good organization isn’t glamorous, but it makes everything else possible.
- Draft sections of financial reports, investor updates, and client communications under the guidance of senior team members, learning how to translate numbers into clear, accurate language for non-financial audiences.
- Jump into ad hoc projects as they come up, which might mean scrubbing a PowerPoint, setting up a new software account, helping with a data migration, or pulling together a quick research summary. You’ll figure it out, and you’ll document what you learn.
- Show up for your clients and your team. That means joining client meetings when needed, contributing to internal Sandbox initiatives, and staying engaged with the local business community through our partner and affiliate networks.
- Stay curious and keep asking questions. The single most important thing you can do in this role is be hungry to learn. The tools, clients, and challenges will evolve constantly, and so should you.
We are excited about you because…
You’re finishing your degree and ready to put it to work.
You hold (or are on track to hold) a bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Mathematics, or a related business field. You have a working grasp of accounting fundamentals and can find your way around a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. You don’t need to know everything yet. What matters is that you have the foundation and the drive to build on it fast.
You sweat the details without losing sight of the big picture.
You catch the things others miss. Whether it’s a misclassified transaction, an off number in a model, or a template that’s one formula away from breaking, you notice. You take accuracy seriously, especially in work that goes to clients or partners, and you understand that getting the small things right is what earns the opportunity to take on bigger ones.
You take initiative before someone has to ask.
You don’t wait to be told what to do next. If something needs doing, you find a way to do it. If you hit a wall, you try to work through it before asking for help, and when you do ask, you come with context and a proposed approach. You’re proactive, resourceful, and comfortable operating in an environment where the playbook is still being written.
You pick up new tools fast and aren’t scared to try.
You’re comfortable in Excel or Google Sheets and have used tools like QuickBooks, GSuite, or Slack before. More importantly, when you encounter something new, you lean in rather than back away. You’re willing to learn software, systems, and skills on the fly and apply them in real client situations, even when you haven’t fully mastered them yet.
You communicate clearly and professionally from day one.
You know how to write a clear, concise email. You can take notes in a meeting and turn them into something useful. You’re comfortable asking clarifying questions, flagging when something doesn’t look right, and communicating status updates without being chased down. Strong communication at this level isn’t optional, it’s what makes everything else work.
You’re genuinely excited about business, growth, and what’s ahead.
You’re not here to punch a clock. You’re here because the world of business is interesting to you, whether that’s an early-stage startup finding its footing, an established company scaling up, or a mission-driven nonprofit making an impact. The work sounds challenging in a good way, and you want to build a career that means something. Bonus points if you’re working toward your CPA or have a specific interest in venture capital and early-stage company finance. Either way, your enthusiasm for the work will take you further here than almost anything else.
You will love playing in the Sandbox if our core values resonate with you:
- Curiosity | Be insatiably Curious. | Sandboxers demonstrate a relentless appetite for the pursuit of understanding - we never settle for surface level knowledge, but strive to dive deeper, uncover insights, and explore new possibilities.
- Scrappy & Nimble | Startuper’s understand and speak Founder. | Sandboxers are resourceful, creative, and resilient professionals who possess an entrepreneurial spirit, understand how to do more with less, and have a bias for action when it comes to solving startups’ greatest challenges.
- Growth | Growth is universal. | Sandboxers fail forward through experimentation, innovation, and calculated risk-taking to challenge ourselves, push the boundaries, and constantly evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of our team, our clients, and our communities.
- Welcoming & Authentic | Come as you are, we choose you! | Sandboxers celebrate and value our employee and clients’ authentic selves to build strong foundations of trust, foster diversity, and create vibrant and inclusive relationships.
Reasons it pays to work at Sandbox (in addition to the pay itself):
- Comprehensive health benefits with employer contribution. It pays to keep your employees healthy.
- Family friendly, flexible work schedule with generous PTO and mental wellness days. Work life integration is a thing and we are here to support.
- Employer-matched 401K. No time delays & no vesting schedules. Enroll and keep all money on day one.
- Ongoing professional development and networking opportunities.
- Monthly team events - We sure know how to host a happy hour and we are never too busy to break for a volunteer opportunity.
- Bragging rights that you are part of something BIG!
- Most importantly, you get to go to sleep each night knowing you are helping savvy, driven entrepreneurs achieve their goals - how awesome is that??
Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every. single. qualification. At Sandbox, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and just workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with 100% of the qualifications listed, we encourage you to still apply. Our hiring philosophy looks to weed people INTO our process, not weed them out! Who knows, you may be just the right candidate for a future role inside or outside of the Sandbox. Just go for it... submit your resume!
