Finance Director for Frontier AI — Equity & Growth

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, 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.