Senior Finance & Strategy Partner (AI Cloud)

Lightning AI; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 135,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage

Equity

401(k) matching

Unlimited PTO

Winter break

Parental leave

Professional development

Wellness stipend

Sabbatical program

Hybrid work

Job summary

Lightning AI, the company behind PyTorch Lightning, seeks a Senior Finance Associate to shape unit economics and guide investment decisions. You will partner across Sales, Marketing, Product, and Infrastructure to align financial planning with strategic priorities.

This hybrid San Francisco role offers high visibility, ownership of P&L, and a chance to influence revenue growth and capital allocation as Lightning expands.

Qualifications

• 4+ years in Strategic Finance, FP&A, investment banking, private equity, or venture capital, ideally focused on software/AI/cloud infra.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and Google Sheets; experience building complex financial models.
• Track record of cross-functional partnership.
• Analytical and problem‑solving abilities.
• Bias to action; startup environment experience.
• Experience with capital markets, M&A, or CapEx financing.
• Exposure to cloud/AI infra economics and data center capacity planning.
• Familiarity with FP&A systems and data tooling (e.g., NetSuite).

Responsibilities

• Support deal reviews with Sales and leadership and advise on pricing decisions.
• Partner with Marketing on spend allocation, pipeline efficiency, and unit economics analyses (LTV/CAC, payback).
• 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 P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow models.
• Prepare executive-level business reviews for leadership and board.
• Lead monthly and quarterly reporting, ensuring accuracy and highlighting key drivers.
• Develop forecast cycles and improve forecast accuracy with cross-functional partners.
• Support annual and long-range planning.
• Analyze KPIs, operational metrics, and business trends.
• Manage FP&A systems and data tooling and maintain data accuracy.

Skills

Excel

Financial modeling

Cross-functional partnership

Analytical thinking

Startup mindset

Capital markets / M&A

Cloud / AI infra economics

FP&A systems

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, or related field

Tools

NetSuite

Job description

Lightning AI, the company behind PyTorch Lightning, seeks a Senior Finance Associate to shape unit economics and guide investment decisions. You will partner across Sales, Marketing, Product, and Infrastructure to align financial planning with strategic priorities.

This hybrid San Francisco role offers high visibility, ownership of P&L, and a chance to influence revenue growth and capital allocation as Lightning expands.