Senior Director - AI Labs Strategic Finance

Salesforce, Inc.; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 182,000 - 305,000; Full time

Job summary

Salesforce, Inc. is seeking a senior strategic finance leader to validate and operationalize the financial deal model for AI Labs acquisitions and to own the operating models supporting strategic investments.

You will manage post-close budgets to ensure execution aligns with growth and innovation goals. You will collaborate closely with AI Labs leaders, portfolio CEOs, and Salesforce's Corp Dev & M&A Finance teams to translate commitments into actionable plans and track performance against

Qualifications

• Experience as a CFO, strategic finance leader, or senior finance executive in a high-growth tech company.
• Deep understanding of startup economics, SaaS/AI business models, and growth-stage operating decisions.
• Exceptional financial modeling skills and analytical judgment.
• Experience partnering directly with founders and executive teams, challenging assumptions with an operator's perspective.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end operating models for AI Labs acquisitions.
• Validate assumptions across revenue, growth, headcount, compensation, investment, margin and cash needs with AI Labs leadership and founding teams.
• After close, partner with portfolio CEOs/founders and AI Labs leadership to align on budget and growth metrics.
• Work with Corp Dev and M&A Finance to ensure alignment with guiding principles and clear communication.
• Operationalize models into post-close budgets and plans to drive growth and innovation.
• Track performance against model assumptions and address variances early with actionable paths.
• Maintain a forward-looking driver-based revenue forecast to meet deal-model targets.
• Establish a consistent modeling framework across AI Labs acquisitions adapting to company stage.

Skills

CFO experience

Strategic finance leadership

Startup economics

Financial modeling

Partnering with founders

Job description

Job Category

Finance

Job Details

About Salesforce

Salesforce is the #1 AI CRM, where humans with agents drive customer success together. Here, ambition meets action. Tech meets trust. And innovation isn't a buzzword - it's a way of life. The world of work as we know it is changing and we're looking for Trailblazers who are passionate about bettering business and the world through AI, driving innovation, and keeping Salesforce's core values at the heart of it all.

Ready to level-up your career at the company leading workforce transformation in the agentic era? You're in the right place! Agentforce is the future of AI, and you are the future of Salesforce.

The Experience

We are looking for a senior strategic finance leader with experience as a startup financial operator to validate and operationalize the financial deal model during due diligence, and build and own the operating models supporting AI Labs acquisitions and strategic investments, taking ownership of financial budgets to ensure post-close success.

This role will ensure that financial models reflect how AI-native companies actually operate and that the commitments made before close translate into executable post-close plans.

What You'll Actually Be Doing

• Own the end-to-end operating models for AI Labs acquisitions.
• Validate assumptions across revenue, growth, headcount, compensation, investment, margin, and cash requirements with both AI Labs leadership and founding teams
• After close, partner directly with portfolio CEOs/founders and AI Labs leadership to align on assumptions of existing budget and growth metrics established and before further investment decisions are made.
• Work closely and collaborate with Corp Dev and/or M&A Finance throughout their M&A process to ensure both alignment with AI Labs guiding principles and good communication between the organizations.
• Operationalize approved acquisition and strategic investment models into executable post-close budgets and operating plans to drive growth and innovation.
• Track actual performance against financial model assumptions and create processes that identify material variances early, feedback loop, resolution paths to get business back on track.
• Operate and own a forward looking driver based revenue forecast to ensure deal model assumptions can be achieved.
• Establish a consistent modeling framework across AI Labs acquisitions that also incorporates differences in company stage and business model.

You're Our Person If...

• Experience as a CFO, strategic finance leader, or senior finance executive in a Series B-D or similarly high-growth technology company.
• Deep understanding of startup economics, SaaS/AI business models, and growth-stage operating decisions.
• Exceptional financial modeling skills and analytical judgment.
• Experience partnering directly with founders and executive teams, Comfortable challenging assumptions and bringing an operator's perspective to investment decisions.
• Problem solver mindset to unlock barriers to growth by working with AI Lab companies and Salesforce's larger ecosystem.

Hiring preference:

External candidates with meaningful startup operating experience.

Even better if...

• Experience spanning venture-backed companies and/or scaled/public-company environments.

Accommodations

If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please submit a request via this Accommodations Request Form.

Posting Statement

Salesforce is an equal opportunity employer and maintains a policy of non-discrimination with all employees and applicants for employment. What does that mean exactly? It means that at Salesforce, we believe in equality for all. And we believe we can lead the path to equality in part by creating a workplace that's inclusive, and free from discrimination.

Any employee or potential employee will be assessed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications - without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, transgender status, age, disability, veteran or marital status, political viewpoint, or other classifications protected by law. This policy applies to current and prospective employees, no matter where they are in their Salesforce employment journey. It also applies to recruiting, hiring, job assignment, compensation, promotion, benefits, training, assessment of job performance, discipline, termination, and everything in between. Recruiting, hiring, and promotion decisions at Salesforce are fair and based on merit. The same goes for compensation, benefits, promotions, transfers, reduction in workforce, recall, training, and education.

Know your rights: workplace discrimination is illegal.

In the United States, compensation offered will be determined by factors such as location, job level, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Certain roles may be eligible for incentive compensation, equity, and benefits. Salesforce offers a variety of benefits to help you live well including: time off programs, medical, dental, vision, mental health support, paid parental leave, life and disability insurance, 401(k), and an employee stock purchasing program. More details about company benefits can be found at the following link: https://www.salesforcebenefits.com.Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance and the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring, Salesforce will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.At Salesforce, we believe in equitable compensation practices that reflect the dynamic nature of labor markets across various regions.The typical base salary range for this position is $181,700 - $304,700 annually. In select cities within the San Francisco and New York City metropolitan area, the base salary range for this role is $218,100 - $332,600 annually.The range represents base salary only, and does not include company bonus, incentive for sales roles, equity or benefits, as applicable.