Senior Finance Associate

lightningai; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 145,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Lightning AI is seeking a Senior Finance Associate to drive strategic finance, FP&A, and corporate development as the company scales its AI cloud platform. You will partner with Sales, Marketing, Product, and Infrastructure to shape unit economics, pricing, and investment decisions, while supporting GPU financing, fundraising, and investor relations.

This role offers meaningful ownership and high leadership visibility.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in Strategic Finance, FP&A, investment banking, private equity, or venture capital, ideally with software, AI, and/or cloud infrastructure
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets; experience building complex financial models
• Excellent written and verbal communication; track record of cross-functional partnership
• Analytical and strong problem-solving ability; bias to action and startup mindset

Responsibilities

• Support deal reviews with Sales and leadership and recommend pricing decisions
• Partner with Marketing on spend allocation, pipeline efficiency, and unit economics analyses (LTV/CAC, payback period)
• Partner with Product on ROI for software investments and strategic initiatives
• Partner with Infrastructure Operations on capacity planning and CapEx assessment
• Model GPU financing structures and assess returns
• Support lender and investor communications, materials, and data rooms
• Monitor industry trends and the competitive landscape to identify risks and opportunities
• Contribute to M&A sourcing and diligence models
• Build and maintain driver-based model for P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement
• Prepare executive-level business reviews for leadership and board
• Lead monthly and quarterly reporting, ensuring accuracy and highlighting key business drivers
• Develop forecast cycles and strengthen forecast accuracy with cross-functional stakeholders
• Support annual planning and long-range planning
• Conduct rigorous analysis of KPIs, metrics, and business trends
• Manage FP&A systems and tooling and maintain data accuracy

Skills

Cross-functional partnership

Advanced Excel

Financial modeling

Strategic finance

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics

Tools

NetSuite

Job description

Who We Are

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems-designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction.

Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in.

We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute.

The Way We Work

The people who thrive here are builders who move fast, communicate openly, take ownership, and continuously improve themselves, their teams, and our company. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• Move with Urgency: We move quickly, make thoughtful decisions, and keep momentum. We value action over perfection and learn by shipping.
• Take Ownership: We own outcomes, not just our individual work. We make decisions that move the company forward and follow through.
• Communicate Openly: We communicate directly, seek to understand, and create clarity for others. Honest conversations help us move faster together.
• Build Great Teams: We lead by example, empower others, and create healthy teams where people can do their best work.
• Raise the Bar: We're always improving ourselves. We learn from feedback, consistently challenge ourselves to grow, and focus on the work that matters most.
• Think Long-Term: We design for what's next. We create scalable systems, simplify complexity, and use AI and automation to amplify our impact.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a Senior Finance Associate to drive priorities across strategic finance, corporate development, and FP&A as Lightning AI scales. You will partner with cross-functional stakeholders to shape unit economics, advise on deal pricing, and guide investment decisions. You will support GPU financing, fundraising, and investor relations to help Lightning AI acquire and allocate capital effectively. You will also build an operating cadence for P&L management, reporting, forecasting, and planning, turning data into decision-ready insights for leadership.

The finance scope is deep, leadership visibility is high, and the work directly influences revenue growth, margin expansion, and capital allocation. If you want meaningful ownership, steep learning, and proximity to the decisions that shape an AI cloud, this role is for you.

This is a hybrid role based in our San Francisco with an in-office requirement of 2 days per week.

What You'll Do

• Support deal reviews with Sales and leadership and recommend pricing decisions
• Partner with Marketing on spend allocation, pipeline efficiency, and unit economics analyses (LTV/CAC, payback period)
• Partner with Product on ROI for software investments and strategic initiatives
• Partner with Infrastructure Operations on capacity planning and CapEx assessment
• Model GPU financing structures and assess returns
• Support lender and investor communications, materials, and data rooms
• Monitor industry trends and the competitive landscape to identify potential business risks and opportunities
• Contribute to M&A sourcing and diligence models
• Build and maintain a driver based model for P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement
• Prepare executive-level business reviews for leadership and board
• Lead monthly and quarterly reporting, ensuring accuracy and highlighting key business drivers
• Develop forecast cycles and strengthen forecast accuracy by partnering closely with cross-functional stakeholders
• Support annual planning and long-range planning
• Conduct rigorous analysis of key performance indicators, operational metrics, and business trends
• Manage FP&A systems and tooling and maintain data accuracy

What You'll Need

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or a related field
• 4+ years in Strategic Finance, FP&A, investment banking, private equity, or venture capital, ideally with a focus on software, AI, and/or cloud infrastructure
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets and experience building complex financial models
• Excellent written and verbal communication
• Track record of cross-functional partnership
• Analytical and strong problem-solving ability
• Team player with a growth mindset, positive attitude, and strong work ethic
• Bias to action and desire to work in a startup environment
• Experience with capital markets, M&A, or CapEx financing
• ExposuretocloudorAI infrastructure economicsanddata center capacity planning
• FamiliaritywithFP&A systemsanddatatooling(e.g.,NetSuite )

We are committed to offering competitive compensation that reflects the value eachteammemberbringstoourmission. Final offe