Director, Finance

Patronus AI, Inc.; San Francisco, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 250,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Equity

15 days vacation

Parental leave

Sick leave

Health, dental, and vision insurance

401(k) plan + matching

Whoop band

Meal stipend

Wellness stipend

Global offsites

Job summary

Patronus AI, Inc. is seeking a Director of Finance to build and own the finance function for a fast-growing frontier AI data lab. You will oversee accounting, close, cash management, planning, pricing, and fundraising support, partnering with leadership and researchers to ground decisions in solid numbers.

Your work directs how efficiently Patronus turns capital into research and revenue, shaping compute, talent, and expertise investments for the next generation of frontier models.

Qualifications

• 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!

Responsibilities

• 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.

Skills

GAAP

Finance leadership

Forecasting

Board reporting

Cash management

Unit economics

Automation tools

Communication

Education

Finance degree

CPA / CFA / MBA

Tools

ERP systems

Accounting software

Excel

AI tools

Job description

Patronus AI is a frontier lab developing simulation research and infrastructure to accelerate progress toward human-aligned AGI. We are on a mission to simulate all of the world’s intelligence.

We are the team behind some of the earliest and most influential research in AI evaluation like FinanceBench , Lynx , SimpleSafetyTests , CopyrightCatcher , Humanity’s Last Exam , and more. We are formerly AI researchers and engineers from companies like Meta AI, Amazon AGI, and Google. Our customers include foundation model labs and Fortune 500 enterprises like Adobe. We are backed by top-tier investors like Lightspeed Venture Partners, Notable Capital, Stanford University, Noam Brown, Gokul Rajaram, and more.

Responsibilities

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!

Nice to have:

• Experience supporting a company through IPO readiness or the public-company transition, including audit preparation, financial controls, SEC reporting, and cross-functional coordination.

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

The expected base salary range for this role is $250,000 - $290,000. In addition to base salary, we offer equity and benefits. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, skills, and location.

• Competitive salary and equity packages
• 15 days of paid vacation per annum
• Parental & sick leave
• Health, dental, and vision insurance plans
• 401(k) plan + matching
• Whoop band
• Monthly meal stipend
• Monthly health and wellness stipend
• Fun global offsites!

Patronus AI is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity in our workplace, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or other legally protected characteristics.