AI Product Economics Lead

Perplexity; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Perplexity is seeking a Strategic Finance Lead to drive the economics of its AI products. You will partner with product, inference, and data teams to optimize model spend, inform pricing and margins, and build the product-margin framework across the portfolio.

You will own cost-per-request, margin by product, and a forward-looking model-cost forecast, translating roadmaps into spend and margin trajectories for leadership review.

Qualifications

• Exceptional analytical skills with ability to synthesize data into insights and develop complex financial operating models.
• Able to develop new frameworks for assessing product margin and unit economics in a rapidly evolving industry.
• Attention to detail and patience for getting to the source of truth on complex data including usage, revenue, and cost.
• Comfort working cross-functionally and adept at communicating complex financial information to non-finance audiences.
• Proven track record of partnering with technical and product teams to drive financial optimization initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Finance lead for inference and model spend, including budgeting, monthly forecasting, variance analysis, and financial plan maintenance.
• Build and maintain product-margin models across the product portfolio, reconciling revenue, serving cost, and gross margin from production usage data.
• Develop expertise in model provider contracts, pricing structures, and cost drivers, surfacing optimization opportunities across the portfolio.
• Own the source of truth on cost per request, margin by product and tier, and customer-segment economics.
• Own the consolidated model-cost forecast, translating roadmaps and model transitions into spend and margin trajectories.
• Analyze the margin impact of pricing, packaging, and model deployment decisions for pricing strategy.
• Partner with product, inference, and data engineering to translate usage and serving cost into financial frameworks.

Skills

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Attention to detail

Communication of financial information

AI/ML domain knowledge

Job description

Perplexity is seeking a Strategic Finance Lead to drive the economics of its AI products. You will partner with product, inference, and data teams to optimize model spend, inform pricing and margins, and build the product-margin framework across the portfolio.

You will own cost-per-request, margin by product, and a forward-looking model-cost forecast, translating roadmaps into spend and margin trajectories for leadership review.