MISSION FOR YEAR 1You will be Kunin's first finance leader, hired with the explicit intent that you become Kunin's Chief Financial Officer. This is not a Controller seat with a vague promise attached. The path is defined: own the fiduciary stack in year one, take over deal structuring in year two, and step into the CFO chair at or before the Series A once the close, the controls, and the capital strategy are yours. The CEO will not hire a CFO above you if you earn it.
In year one you own the finances of a company that is closing a Seed round, executing a federal pilot award, standing up a first-of-a-kind plant with a partner, and forming a manufacturing joint venture: monthly close, cash and runway, government cost accounting, payroll and spend controls, tax, insurance, and the board pack. Every Kunin program is a streaming transaction applied to industrial waste, and every plant is a project finance problem. As the fiduciary base solidifies, you move onto the deal side beside the CEO: joint venture structures, streaming and royalty style recovery agreements, offtake agreements, debt and equipment financing, and the Series A and the capital markets work above it.
By the end of 2026, we expect:
- A reliable monthly close within ten business days, GAAP books with the outside CPA, and a monthly cash, runway, and board reporting pack.
- Government contract cost accounting, timekeeping, and invoicing on the Army OTA award that would survive a DCAA-style review.
- Seed closing financials and a Series A data room that an institutional investor can diligence without a cleanup.
- Your name on the term sheet and model for at least one joint venture, stream, royalty, offtake, or debt financing.
- A written CFO readiness plan agreed with the CEO: the controls, deal record, and capital markets exposure required for the promotion, with dates.
WHAT YOU'LL LEAD- The close: monthly close, GAAP discipline, audit readiness, and the outside CPA relationship.
- Cash and treasury: runway management, spend controls, payroll and benefits, tax, and insurance renewals.
- Government contract finance: cost accounting, indirect rates, timekeeping, and invoicing across federal awards.
- FP&A: the operating model, unit economics per program, metal price sensitivity, and the board and investor reporting built on them.
- Deal structuring with the CEO: joint ventures, streaming and royalty style recovery agreements, offtake agreements, and debt and equipment financing, from model to redline to signature.
- Capital strategy: the Series A process and data room, and the layering of equity, debt, and project finance as the deployment portfolio scales.
- Buildout of the finance organization beneath you: controller, analysts, and the systems they run on.
WHO YOU ARE- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or engineering with 8+ years in finance, including at least one Controller, Head of Finance, or senior investment or banking seat; CPA, CFA, or MBA preferred.
- Operator who has run or stood up a close process inside a venture-backed industrial or hardware company and knows what institutional diligence looks for.
- Skilled in building the model and redlining the agreement for the same transaction; exposure to streams, royalties, offtake, project finance, or metals and mining a strong plus.
- Fluent in government contract cost accounting, or able to become fluent in the first quarter.
- Builder who wants the CFO seat and can show the trajectory to earn it, not someone looking for a steady-state controllership.
- Communicator who translates financial results and deal structures into clear decisions for the CEO, the board, counterparties, and investors.
COMPENSATIONThis role will pay $225,000 - $350,000, benefits, and equity.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS- Must be willing to relocate to Chattanooga, TN. Regular travel to counterparty sites, investors, and the partner plant.
- Must sign Kunin's standard NDA before interviewing.
- Extended hours and weekends frequently required to support critical project milestones.
Chattanooga is more beautiful than expected, and Tennessee has no income tax.
"The Whole World Is Ion-Exchange And The Rest Are Merely Details!"
Dr. Robert Kunin of Rohm and Haas, The Pioneer of the Ion-Exchange Industry, 1951
