Finance Lead

Epochal; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Epochal is seeking a hands-on leader to build and own its Finance function end to end. As the first Finance hire, you will establish the operating model, reporting cadence, and the financial tech stack, turning data into strategic decisions on investments, pricing, and growth with the leadership team.

You will own the forecast process, lead strategic analyses, and partner with functional leaders to balance growth, efficiency, and resources, while building a stellar Finance team and coordinating

Qualifications

• 7+ years of strategic finance experience at a high-growth tech company.
• Exceptional financial modeling skills and ability to work with operating data.
• Experience using AI tools in day-to-day finance work.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, able to present to Board or engineers.
• Bias to action with ability to solve complex problems quickly.
• Comfort operating in ambiguity and fast-changing environments.
• Track record of building a stellar Finance team/function.

Responsibilities

• Financial modeling: build and own operating model and forecasting.
• Strategic initiatives: lead analyses for major decisions including pricing and deals.
• Financial insights: assess performance and propose course corrections or investments.
• Business partnership: collaborate with leaders across functions.
• Technology: own the internal finance stack (ERP, billing, spend management, cap table).
• Accounting: ensure timely, accurate closing with outsourced team.
• Reporting and investor relations: prepare board/investor materials and support fundraising.

Skills

Financial modeling

AI tools in finance

Communication skills

Bias to action

Ambiguity tolerance

Strategic finance experience

Tools

ERP

Billing systems

Spend management

Cap table management

Job description

We’re looking for a hands-on leader to build and own Epochal’s Finance function end to end. As the first Finance hire, you’ll develop the operating model, establish our financial reporting and planning cadence, and own the underlying finance tech stack. More importantly, you’ll turn financial and operating data into strategic decisions on investments, pricing, and growth alongside the leadership team and other cross-functional leaders across the company.

What you'll do

• Financial Modeling: Build and own our operating model and forecasting process, including rolling forecasts, annual budgeting, headcount planning, and long-range planning

• Strategic Initiatives: Lead financial analysis for major strategic decisions, including business-model evaluation, deal modeling, resource allocation, and pricing and packaging

• Financial Insights: Assess performance against financial and operating targets, identify the most impactful underlying drivers, and recommend where to course-correct or invest further.

• Business Partnership: Partner with functional leaders on key initiatives and help the leadership team navigate tradeoffs among growth, efficiency, and resourcing

• Technology: Own the internal finance stack (ERP, billing, spend management, cap table management)

• Accounting: Ensure books are closed accurately and on time, working with an outsourced accounting team to start

• Reporting and Investor Relations: Build board and investor materials and support fundraising and diligence

What we're looking for

• 7+ years of Strategic Finance experience at a high-growth tech company, including prior experience in investment banking, PE/VC, or consulting

• Exceptional financial modeling skills and the ability to work directly with operating data

• Habitual use of AI tools in your day-to-day finance work — modeling, research, reporting

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to take the same analysis to the Board or to an engineer

• Extreme bias to action – you find complex problems and figure out how to solve them

• Comfort operating in ambiguity and adapting to a fast-changing environment

• Track record of building out a stellar Finance team / function