Director, Finance

Patronus AI; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Patronus AI, a fast-growing frontier AI data lab, seeks a Director of Finance to own the finance function and lead accounting, close, cash management, planning, pricing, fundraising support, and board reporting from our San Francisco headquarters.

This highly autonomous role requires building processes, partnering with leadership across research, delivery, and go-to-market, and driving data-driven decisions while ensuring GAAP compliance and scalable financial systems.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in finance and accounting, incl. public accounting, investment banking, or FP&A, with 3+ years leading a startup finance function.
• Proven track record of building a finance function from the ground up, including close process, controls, and reporting.
• Deep understanding of GAAP and ASC 606.
• Analytical with operating-model skills and ability to translate into board recommendations.
• Strong written and verbal communication for researchers, engineers, and investors.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity with structure and automation.
• Familiarity with using AI tools for finance work.
• Integrity and collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Own accounting and monthly close end to end with GAAP financials.
• Build and maintain operating model, budgets, forecasts, runway analysis.
• Manage cash, treasury, and working capital, including vendor payments.
• Own revenue operations, billing, collections, and deal-level margin analysis.
• Partner with leadership on pricing, packaging, unit economics.
• Manage major cost lines: headcount, compute, cloud, contractors; forecast and controls.
• Prepare board materials, investor updates, KPI reporting, and support fundraising diligence.
• Oversee payroll, equity, 409A valuations, tax filings, and audits.
• Build finance stack and processes using automation and AI tools.

Skills

Finance experience

Build finance function

GAAP & ASC 606

Operating models

Communication

Automation mindset

AI for finance

Integrity

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field

CPA, CFA, or MBA is a plus

Job description

As the Director of Finance at Patronus AI, you will build and own the finance function for a fast-growing frontier AI data lab. Our business spans foundation model labs and Fortune 500 enterprises, a growing network of expert contractors, new compute commitments, and each of these needs rigorous financial management behind it.

This is a highly autonomous role. You will own every part of the function, from accounting, close, and cash management through planning, pricing, fundraising support, and board reporting. You will partner closely with leadership, research, delivery, and go-to-market teams to make sure every major decision is grounded in accurate numbers.

Your work determines how efficiently Patronus turns capital into research and revenue, and how confidently we can invest in the compute, talent, and expertise that the next generation of frontier models demands.

In this role, you will:

• Own accounting and the monthly close end to end, delivering accurate, timely GAAP financials and building toward audit readiness.
• Build and maintain the company’s operating model, including budgets, forecasts, scenario planning, and runway analysis.
• Manage cash, treasury, and burn, including banking relationships and working capital across customer collections and vendor payments.
• Own revenue operations and contract economics, including billing, collections, revenue recognition, and deal-level margin analysis for customers.
• Partner with leadership on pricing, packaging, and unit economics.
• Manage major cost lines such as full-time headcount, compute, cloud, and expert contractor spend, building forecasting and controls that keep spend efficient as we scale.
• Prepare board materials, investor updates, and KPI reporting, and support fundraising diligence and data rooms.
• Oversee payroll, equity administration, 409A valuations, tax filings, and compliance, managing outside accountants, auditors, and advisors.
• Build the finance stack and processes, including the ERP, spend management, procurement, and approval policies, using automation and AI tools to keep the team lean.

Qualifications

“The number one qualification to succeed in this machine learning course is gumption” - John Lafferty, CS Professor at Yale

Above all, we look for an eagerness to learn, creativity in problem solving, and a proactive mindset. You are a great fit if you have a background in the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field. CPA, CFA, or MBA is a plus.
• 8+ years of experience in finance and accounting, including time in public accounting, investment banking, or FP&A, and at least 3 years leading finance at a venture-backed startup.
• Proven track record of building a finance function from the ground up, including the close process, controls, and reporting.
• Deep understanding of GAAP and revenue recognition (ASC 606).
• Highly analytical, with experience building operating models and translating them into clear recommendations for leadership and the board.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to explain financial tradeoffs to researchers, engineers, and investors alike.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and building structure where none exists, with a hands‑on mentality and a strong bias toward action and automation.
• Comfort using AI tools to do real finance work is a must.
• Good character, integrity, and respect for others!

To support close collaboration, this role is based in our San Francisco headquarters and requires in-office attendance five days a week.