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Salary: USD 280,000 - 310,000 / annual
Lightning AI is seeking a VP of Strategic Finance to shape financial strategy for a company operating at the intersection of AI software and large-scale compute infrastructure. Founded in 2019, Lightning AI builds an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems. The company recently merged with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, combining developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Lightning AI serves solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises globally, with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by top-tier investors including Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute.
In this role, you will report to the Chief Financial Officer and serve as a key thought partner to the executive team. You will own the annual operating plan and long-range financial model, translating company strategy into clear financial targets and tracking performance. You will model and evaluate major investment decisions, including GPU and data center capacity, infrastructure expansion, and build vs. buy vs. lease trade-offs. You will develop deep understanding of unit economics across the software platform and compute business, partnering with Product and GTM on pricing and packaging strategies.
You will prepare board materials, investor updates, and executive reporting, delivering data-backed recommendations that inform company-level decisions. You will support equity fundraising, debt and asset-backed financing, and investor diligence, building the models and narrative that underpin capital raises. A critical responsibility is leading the financial integration of Lightning AI and Voltage Park, including unifying planning processes, reporting structures, and KPIs across both businesses. You will act as a strategic partner to Engineering, Infrastructure, Sales, and Marketing leaders, helping them plan headcount, budgets, and investments with financial discipline. You will evaluate strategic opportunities including partnerships, acquisitions, and large customer or supplier contracts. Finally, you will build, manage, and develop a high-performing FP&A and strategic finance team as the company scales.
This is a hybrid role based in the San Francisco office with in-office requirements of 2 days per week.
REQUIREMENTS:
- 12+ years of experience across strategic finance, FP&A, corporate development, investment banking, or management consulting, with at least 5 years in a senior finance leadership role
- Infrastructure economics expertise: experience with capital-intensive businesses such as cloud infrastructure, data centers, telecom, or hardware; comfortable modeling capex, depreciation, utilization, and asset-backed financing
- Software and usage-based revenue fluency: understanding of SaaS and consumption-based business models, including revenue forecasting, cohort analysis, and margin drivers
- Exceptional modeling skills: able to build sophisticated, flexible financial models from scratch and pressure-test assumptions with rigor
- Capital markets experience: hands-on involvement in equity fundraising, debt financing, or M&A transactions at a venture-backed or growth-stage company
- Executive presence: credibility with CEOs, boards, and investors; able to distill complex financial analysis into clear recommendations and influence decisions
- Leadership: track record of building and developing finance teams in a fast-growing environment
- Business acumen: ability to connect financial outcomes to operational drivers and partner with technical and commercial leaders in their language
- Bias for action: comfortable operating in ambiguity, prioritizing what matters most, and moving quickly without sacrificing accuracy
