Instacart

Strategic Finance Special Projects Manager

Instacart$174K — $219K *
US-AnywhereRemote in United States
Finance & Insurance
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 5+ years of experience in strategic finance, corporate finance, investment banking, private equity, or management consulting with a focus on commercial deals or partnerships.
  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business, Mathematics, or equivalent practical experience.
  • Advanced financial modeling skills in Excel or Google Sheets, including multi-scenario and sensitivity analyses for complex agreements.
  • Proven track record owning the finance workstream end-to-end for complex commercial agreements.
  • Hands-on experience partnering with Sales/Business Development and Legal to structure and negotiate contract terms.
  • Strong command of accounting fundamentals and unit economics, with ability to build and reconcile P&Ls.
  • Ability to communicate complex analyses and recommendations clearly to senior executives.

Responsibilities

  • Own high-impact, ambiguous projects end-to-end from opportunity sizing to executive recommendation.
  • Build and maintain complex forecasting and scenario models for strategic decisions.
  • Translate financial analysis into clear, executive-ready narratives and dashboards.
  • Define the right metrics and surface insights that significantly impact business performance.
  • Partner on high-priority projects across the Strategic Finance organization.

Benefits

  • Remote work flexibility under the Flex First policy.
  • Highly market-competitive compensation and benefits.
  • Eligibility for a new hire equity grant and annual refresh grants.
  • Opportunity to work on varied and impactful special projects.
Full Job Description
Why this role is on the menu

Instacart's Strategic Finance team partners across the business to drive disciplined growth and long-term value creation. The Strategic Finance Special Projects Manager reports directly to the VP of Strategic Finance, working on special projects across the business.

You will collaborate closely across Strategic Finance and key business partners. This role is ideal for someone who thrives in ambiguity, rolls up their sleeves, and communicates with clarity and conviction. We work together, move quickly, and put facts and transparency on the table to make the best decisions for our customers, shoppers, retailers, brands, and partners.
What you'll cook up in your first year
  • Own high-impact, ambiguous projects end-to-end - from opportunity sizing and financial modeling to scenario analysis and executive recommendation
  • Build and maintain complex forecasting and scenario models that inform strategic decisions across pricing, monetization, resourcing, and investment allocation
  • Translate financial analysis into clear, executive-ready narratives, dashboards, and KPI scorecards that drive C-suite action
  • Define the right metrics, then dig into them - surfacing the insights and frameworks that move the needle on business performance
  • Partner with the team on high priority projects across the Strategic Finance organization, leaning into high-priority work spanning Consolidation, Operating Costs, Commercial, and Marketing Finance


The secret ingredients we're looking for

Must-have pantry staples (Minimum Qualifications)
  • 5+ years of experience in strategic finance, corporate finance, investment banking, private equity, or management consulting with a focus on commercial deals or partnerships.
  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business, Mathematics, or equivalent practical experience
  • Advanced financial modeling skills in Excel or Google Sheets, including multi-scenario and sensitivity analyses for complex, multi-year agreements.
  • Proven track record owning the finance workstream end-to-end for complex commercial agreements-from initial scoping and pricing through signature and post-close performance tracking.
  • Hands-on experience partnering with Sales/Business Development and Legal to structure and negotiate contract terms that balance growth and unit economics.
  • Strong command of accounting fundamentals and unit economics; ability to build and reconcile partner- and portfolio-level P&Ls and cash flow impacts.
  • Ability to communicate complex analyses and recommendations clearly to senior executives in written and verbal formats.

Optional garnishes (Preferred Qualifications)
  • MBA or relevant advanced degree.
  • Experience in marketplace, consumer internet, retail, or B2B SaaS business models.
  • Proficiency in SQL and familiarity with BI tools and building AI workflows (e.g., complex Claude prompts).
  • Experience building pricing frameworks, rate cards, and scalable deal desk processes.
  • Familiarity with revenue recognition and partnership accounting considerations for multi-element arrangements.
  • Demonstrated success managing a fast-moving pipeline with multiple concurrent deals and cross-functional stakeholders.

#LI-Remote

Instacart provides highly market-competitive compensation and benefits in each location where our employees work. This role is remote and the base pay range for a successful candidate is dependent on their permanent work location. Please review our Flex First remote work policy here.

Offers may vary based on many factors, such as candidate experience and skills required for the role. Additionally, this role is eligible for a new hire equity grant as well as annual refresh grants. Please read more about our benefits offerings here.

For US based candidates, the base pay ranges for a successful candidate are listed below.

CA, NY, CT, NJ

$208,000-$219,500 USD

WA

$199,000-$210,000 USD

OR, DE, ME, MA, MD, NH, RI, VT, DC, PA, VA, CO, TX, IL, HI

$191,000-$201,500 USD

All other states

$174,000-$183,500 USD

About Instacart

Instacart is an American company that operates a grocery delivery and pick-up service in the United States and Canada. The company offers its services via a website and mobile app. The service allows customers to order groceries from participating retailers with the shopping being done by a personal shopper. Instacart was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Apoorva Mehta, a former Amazon.com employee. Apoorva was born in India and moved with his family to Canada in 2000. He studied engineering at the University of Waterloo and graduated in 2008. He was a participant in Y Combinator's Summer 2012 batch, which eventually led to the creation of Instacart. In 2013, Mehta was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Apoorva previously worked at BlackBerry, Qualcomm, and then Amazon as a supply chain engineer, where he developed fulfillment systems to move packages from Amazon's warehouses to customers' homes. Before founding Instacart, Apoorva had tried to start at least 20 other services. He tried building an ad network for social gaming companies, and developing a social network specifically for lawyers, among other start-ups. Instacart originally launched in San Francisco. By April 2015, the firm had about 200 employees. It introduced a new policy around June allowing some shoppers to choose to be part-time employees, starting with Chicago and Boston and extending its offer to shoppers in Atlanta, Miami, and Washington D.C. the following month.
Learn more about Instacart
Industry
Founded
2012

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