Strategic Finance Partner, AI/ML & Infrastructure

Lila Sciences; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Lila Sciences is scaling its Scientific Superintelligence platform, and we’re building the finance backbone to match. As the Finance Business Partner for our AI/ML and Infrastructure teams, you’ll partner with Technology leaders to turn data into decisions and bring structure to ambiguity.

You’ll lead end-to-end FP&A for compute, GPU infrastructure, AI/ML costs, data storage, and pipelines, designing KPI reporting and rolling forecasts that guide resource allocation and strategic choices at

Qualifications

• 7 to 10+ years in FP&A, strategic finance, investment banking, consulting, or similar analytical roles.
• Startup or scale-up experience strongly preferred.
• Driver-based models, annual planning, rolling forecasts, KPI dashboards, and management reporting experience.
• Experience with technology cost management, including cloud infrastructure, compute/GPU, or AI/ML cost structures.
• Clear communication and ability to present to executives and Board.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary finance business partner for AI/ML and Infrastructure teams, providing end-to-end financial leadership across planning, performance management, investment governance, and risk controls.
• Partner with Technology leaders to translate AI and infrastructure roadmaps into financial outcomes with clear P&L, cash, and capital implications.
• Produce Board and investor materials and support fundraising diligence with crisp analyses and data room preparation.
• Assist with cash runway modeling and scenario planning across compute, AI/ML, and infrastructure cost vectors.
• Lead headcount and capacity planning across rapidly growing technical teams, tracking hiring pace and resource allocation across critical projects.
• Translate complex technical cost data into clear narratives, recommendations, and decision frameworks for executives and cross-functional leaders.
• Own financial tracking and analysis of compute and GPU infrastructure spend, including utilization reporting and efficiency benchmarks.
• Build and maintain LLM usage and API cost models, partnering with ML teams to track inference costs, training runs, and optimization opportunities.
• Develop frameworks for data storage and pipeline cost visibility, driving accountability for storage efficiency and lifecycle management.
• Co-own financial models and rolling forecasts across headcount, OPEX, CAPEX, cloud and GPU spend, LLM API costs, and data infrastructure.
• Expand KPI frameworks, reporting packages, dashboards, and variance analyses for executives and budget owners.
• Help implement and operationalize FP&A tooling through integrations with core business systems.
• Partner with Accounting, IT, and Procurement to improve data quality, chart of accounts structure, and source-of-truth metrics for cloud and infrastructure cost allocation.

Skills

FP&A

Strategic finance

Cost management

KPI dashboards

Forecasting

Executive communication

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, engineering, math, or related field

Job description

Lila Sciences is scaling its Scientific Superintelligence platform, and we’re building the finance backbone to match. As the Finance Business Partner for our AI/ML and Infrastructure teams, you’ll partner with Technology leaders to turn data into decisions and bring structure to ambiguity.

You’ll lead end-to-end FP&A for compute, GPU infrastructure, AI/ML costs, data storage, and pipelines, designing KPI reporting and rolling forecasts that guide resource allocation and strategic choices at