VP, Finance

Engine; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 300,000 - 375,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Equity for all employees

Bonus or commission potential

Job summary

Engine seeks a VP of Finance to lead the Finance function and partner with the CEO and executive team. You will own financial strategy, planning, reporting, and capital allocation to drive growth and investor confidence.

The role builds scalable processes, leveraging data and AI to optimize performance across the organization. You'll lead fundraising, governance, and the Board communications while building a high-performance Finance team and partnering with Accounting, Treasury, Legal, and

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience across investment banking, private equity, growth equity, corporate finance, FP&A, strategic finance, or related field.
• Experience leading Finance at high-growth tech, SaaS, marketplace, fintech, or similarly complex company.
• Strong financial modeling, three-statement modeling, unit economics, and capital allocation.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the CEO's financial thought partner on growth strategy and resource allocation.
• Own fundraising, debt and liquidity strategy, M&A, and other strategic transactions; prepare Board story and governance.
• Own the financial plan: quarterly forecasting, long-range modeling, scenario analysis; understand revenue, margins, pricing, cash flow.
• Tell Engine's financial story to Board, investors, lenders, and partners with clarity.
• Build and lead a high-performance Finance team, modernizing with AI and automation.

Job description

About Engine

Engine is the AI-native platform for intelligent travel. For a decade, Engine has built the proprietary technology and supply behind modern business travel, serving over 40,000 customers and nearly 2 million travelers, along with leading travel and AI companies that build on Engine's infrastructure. One system powers business travel, group travel, human agents, and AI agents.

About Engine

Engine is the AI-native platform for intelligent travel. For a decade, Engine has built the proprietary technology and supply behind modern business travel, serving over 40,000 customers and nearly 2 million travelers, along with leading travel and AI companies that build on Engine's infrastructure. One system powers business travel, group travel, human agents, and AI agents.

About Engine

Engine is the AI-native platform for intelligent travel. For a decade, Engine has built the proprietary technology and supply behind modern business travel, serving over 40,000 customers and nearly 2 million travelers, along with leading travel and AI companies that build on Engine's infrastructure. One system powers business travel, group travel, human agents, and AI agents.

That work has earned recognition as one of Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators (2025), TravelTech's Reservation Platform of the Year (2026), and one of Built In's Best Places to Work (2020–2026).

We're looking for bold, ambitious people to help redefine how businesses manage and experience travel. Working here, you can expect exponential growth, an ambitious pace, full ownership, and high-caliber colleagues who push you to do the best work of your career. Every hire raises the bar.

Come outpace the ordinary and build the future of travel with us.

About the Role

We're looking for a VP, Finance to lead Finance at Engine and serve as a strategic partner to our CEO and executive leadership team.

You’ll own the financial strategy and operating cadence of the company, from planning and forecasting to capital allocation, business performance, financial reporting, and long-range strategy. You’ll help leadership understand what is driving the business, where we should invest, and what we need to do next. You’ll also be the architect of Engine’s financial story, shaping how the company is understood by its Board, investors, and partners.

You’ll build the Finance organization and infrastructure to support Engine through its next phase of growth. That means creating clarity where there is ambiguity, building scalable processes before they become bottlenecks, and using data, systems, and AI to make Finance increasingly leveraged.

Success in this role will be measured by business impact and the results of the Finance organization.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Financial Leadership

• Serve as the CEO’s financial thought partner on growth strategy, investment priorities, resource allocation, and profitability. Drive capital allocation decisions across the executive team — where Engine invests people, capital, and resources, and where we make tradeoffs. Bring financial rigor to pricing, monetization, new products, markets, and partnerships.

Capital Strategy & Transactions

• Own fundraising, debt and liquidity strategy, M&A, and other strategic transactions. Build investor relationships, lead the Board story on performance, and prepare Engine for future capital events — including the reporting, controls, and governance a public-ready company requires (SOX readiness, audit committee partnership, external guidance frameworks).

Financial Planning & Business Insight

• Own the financial plan — quarterly forecasting, long-range modeling, scenario analysis, and the operating cadence across Engine. Develop a deep understanding of revenue, margins, customer economics, pricing, payment economics, and cash flow. Build the metrics and frameworks that make the business legible to leadership.

Narrative & Communication

• Tell Engine’s financial story to the Board, investors, lenders, and partners — turning complex numbers into a narrative leadership can act on and external audiences believe. Lead financial reporting and help the CEO communicate performance, outlook, risks, opportunities, and key decisions with clarity.

Build Finance for Scale

• Build and lead a high-performance Finance team — attracting exceptional talent, modernizing through AI and automation, and establishing systems, processes, data infrastructure, and controls that scale without creating bureaucracy. Partner with Accounting, Treasury, Legal, and external advisors to ensure Engine has the financial foundation required to scale responsibly.

What You’ll Bring

Experience and Background

• 12+ years of experience across investment banking, private equity, growth equity, corporate finance, FP&A, strategic finance, or a related field, with significant experience in high-growth technology.
• Investment banking or private equity background, with hands‑on experience in valuation, transaction execution, and capital markets. Strongly preferred.
• Experience leading Finance, or a major component of Finance, at a high-growth tech, SaaS, marketplace, fintech, or similarly complex company.

Financial Expertise

• Exceptional financial modeling skills and a strong understanding of three-statement modeling, unit economics, cash flow, and capital allocation.
• A track record of building financial planning, forecasting, reporting, and analytical infrastructure in environments that are scaling quickly.
• Experience evaluating pricing, monetization, new products, investments, headcount, and other strategic decisions.

Communication and Partnership

• A track record of communicating complex financial stories to investors, boards, and executive teams in ways that drive decisions and build confidence.
• Experience partnering directly with a CEO, executive team, and Board.

Leadership and Team Building

• Experience building and developing high-performing Finance teams. Comfort operating without a fully defined playbook and building structure where it doesn't exist.

Judgment and Execution

• Strong commercial instincts. You understand that Finance exists to help the business make better decisions, not simply to explain what happened last quarter.
• The ability to operate at both the strategic and tactical level and an usually high bar for execution and bias towards action
• Strong conviction and judgment. You bring a point of view vs just presenting options.

Compensation

Our compensation packages are based on several factors, including your experience, expertise, and location. In addition to a competitive base salary, all roles receive equity. Depending on the role, total compensation may also include an annual bonus. Your recruiter will share your complete compensation package as you move through the process.

Base Pay Range

$300,000—$375,000 USD

The Engine Edge: Perks & Compensation

We believe in rewarding great work with great benefits:

• Compensation: Competitive base pay tied to role and experience, with equity for all employees. Some roles are also eligible for bonuses or commissions.
• Benefits: Check out our full list at engine.com/culture
• Environments for Success: Different roles have different needs in terms of the environments that drive success which is why we have a hybrid-hub model. Whether you are in one of our amazing offices or fully remote, we’ll make sure you have what you need to succeed.

Perks and benefits may vary based on employment type, location, and more