Strategic Finance Director

Thinking Machines Lab

$275K — $325K *
Finance & Insurance
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 10+ years of experience in strategic finance, corporate finance, FP&A, investment banking, consulting, growth/private equity, or a similar high-growth tech environment.
  • Proven expertise in financial modeling and forecasting, including detailed P&L, operating models, and scenario analyses.
  • Strong business partnering skills to work with non-finance leaders and translate financial data into actionable insights.
  • High comfort with ambiguity and rapid changes in scaling environments.
  • Excellent communication skills for crafting narratives and presentations for executives and Boards.
  • Familiarity with SQL, BI tools like Tableau/Looker, and advanced proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets.
  • Experience in AI or R&D-heavy companies is a significant advantage.

Responsibilities

  • Develop, own, and maintain financial models for planning, forecasting, and strategic decision-making.
  • Establish a robust compute measurement and budgeting process for the largest cost bucket.
  • Lead budgeting and forecasting processes; analyze variances for actionable insights.
  • Collaborate with cross-functional business stakeholders to understand financial drivers and targets.
  • Provide financial guidance on major investment decisions and present recommendations to leadership and the Board.
  • Monitor key financial metrics and dashboards to drive insights and optimization.
  • Prepare high-quality materials for executive and Board presentations.

Benefits

  • Generous health, dental, and vision benefits.
  • Unlimited PTO.
  • Paid parental leave.
  • Relocation support as needed.
Full Job Description
About this role

As a member of our Strategic Finance / FP&A team, you will operate at the core of our finance organization, driving the financial strategy for major functional domains (e.g., Compute & Infrastructure, Go-to-Market, Product). You will build and maintain sophisticated financial models, analyze business performance and investment trade-offs, partner closely with leaders across the business, and deliver executive-level presentations to inform decision-making.

This role is ideal for someone who thrives in fast-paced, ambiguous environments, has deep analytical rigor, strong business partnership skills, and is excited to make a meaningful contribution to scaling a technology business.
What you'll do
  • Develop, own and maintain financial models (P&L, operating model, scenario modelling) to support planning, forecasting, and strategic decision-making.
  • Help us stand up a strong compute measurement and budgeting process to help plan the largest cost bucket
  • Lead budgeting and quarterly/annual forecasting processes; analyze variances and translate them into actionable insight.
  • Partner cross-functionally with business stakeholders (e.g., engineering, product, sales, marketing, infrastructure) to understand drivers, demand, capacity, against financial targets.
  • Provide financial guidance on major investment decisions: build business cases (e.g., expand capacity, build vs. buy, launch new product, entering new market), quantify ROI, present recommendations to senior leadership and/or Board.
  • Develop and monitor key metrics and dashboards (e.g., unit economics, cost trends, efficiency, productivity, capacity utilisation) and drive insights and optimization.
  • Prepare high-quality executive & Board-facing deliverables including presentations, memos, and scenario summaries.
  • Stay abreast of market and competitive dynamics (e.g., technology/infrastructure market, go-to-market channels, pricing models, business model shifts), and ensure financial strategy evolves accordingly.
  • Partner with accounting and other finance functions to ensure alignment of financial planning with the broader company's financial framework and strategy.
Qualifications
  • 10+ years of experience in strategic finance, corporate finance, FP&A, investment banking, consulting, growth/private equity, or an equivalent high-growth technology environment
  • Proven expertise in financial modelling and forecasting; skilled at building detailed P&Ls, operating models, scenario analyses.
  • Strong business partnering skills: ability to work with non-finance leaders, translate complex financial data into actionable business insights, influence leadership decisions.
  • High comfort with ambiguity, rapid change, and scaling-up environments.
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, able to craft compelling narratives and presentations for executives/Board.
  • Familiarity with SQL, BI tools (e.g., Tableau, Looker) and advanced Excel/Google Sheets proficiency.
  • Experience with AI or R&D-heavy companies is a major plus.
Logistics
  • Location: This role is based in San Francisco, California.
  • Compensation: Depending on background, skills and experience, the expected annual salary range for this position is $275,000 - $325,000
  • Visa sponsorship: We sponsor visas. While we can't guarantee success for every candidate or role, if you're the right fit, we're committed to working through the visa process together.
  • Benefits: Thinking Machines offers generous health, dental, and vision benefits, unlimited PTO, paid parental leave, and relocation support as needed.


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