VP of Finance and Operations

Subcritical Systems Inc; Austin (TX); Presencial; USD 180 000 - 300 000; Tempo integral

Vantagens oferecidas por esta oferta de emprego

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Resumo da oferta

Subcritical Systems, Inc. in Austin, Texas, seeks a VP of Finance & Operations to build and run the finance function, owning payments, payroll, taxes, equity, contracts, procurement, and quarterly GAAP reporting to investors and shareholders.

This is a hands-on role working daily with engineering and manufacturing teams. With a small team, you will manage accounting, procurement, and investor relations while scaling systems and processes for growth.

Qualificações

• Experience building a finance function at a startup or venture-backed company.
• Hands-on scope: payables, payroll, tax filings, equity administration, contracts, and GAAP statements.
• Strong financial modeling skills and ability to forecast and explain results to executives.
• Pragmatic, low-friction approach to processes.
• Fluency with modern finance software and AI tools; comfortable building lightweight automations.
• Ability to lead with a small team and handle tasks at all levels.

Responsabilidades

• Build the finance function and scalable accounting, payables, payroll, procurement, and reporting systems.
• Own payments, expense management, and vendor relations; simplify employee expense processes.
• Manage payroll through third-party services, benefits deductions, and reimbursements.
• Oversee tax compliance across federal, state, local levels; coordinate with outside advisors as needed.
• Administer equity, cap table, stock option grants, 409A valuations, and records.
• Manage vendor and customer contracts; enable engineering and manufacturing teams to obtain what they need with proper controls.
• Deliver GAAP financial statements, close processes, audits, and board reporting.
• Lead financial modeling, budgeting, and cash forecasting; guide spending, hiring, and capital decisions.
• Support investor relations with updates and due diligence responses.
• Automate relentlessly using AI tools and integrations to reduce manual work.

Conhecimentos

Financial modeling

Startup finance

Automation

Independent work

GAAP reporting

AI tools

Formação académica

CPA or equivalent

Ferramentas

Trinet

Descrição da oferta de emprego

Subcritical Systems, Inc. is a venture-backed startup in Austin, Texas building the accelerator driven systems and the only US commercial manufacturer of accelerator cavities. What Space X did for rockets, we plan to do for accelerator cavities and commercialize across applications of power production, medical isotopes, semiconductors and waste transmutation.

We are in the process of building the Energy Amplifier — a novel nuclear fission system in which a particle accelerator drives a subcritical core, making melt del physically impossible for clean power production. Due to its inherent safety, our system has a more streamlined licensing process. Our founding team includes successful entrepreneurs with a track record of building several multibillion dollar companies in deep-tech, and scientists who were leading U.S. national labs with deep experience in accelerator & nuclear technologies.

We are actively hiring to expand our team as we work toward licensing, regulatory submissions, and construction of our first energy amplifier. More information is available at subcritical.com.

ROLE SUMMARY

Subcritical Systems is seeking a VP of Finance & Operations to build and run the company's finance function. Reporting to the Co-founder and President and to the CFO, you will own everything finance and operations touches for our employees and vendors: payments, payroll, taxes, stock options, contracts, procurement, and quarterly GAAP reporting to our investors and shareholders.

This is a hands-on, in-the-weeds role. You will be in the factory daily, working alongside the engineering and manufacturing teams whose work you support, and providing leadership with the detail behind the numbers. With a small team, you will independently handle accounting, procurement, and investor relations support, while building the systems and the team Subcritical needs as it scales.

We are looking for someone direct, pragmatic, and financially literate who solves problems the simple way. Every process should earn its place: if it doesn't make the company faster, better informed, or more compliant, it shouldn't exist. You will use AI tools and automation wherever possible to make finance as efficient and frictionless as possible for everyone who works with it.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Build the finance function. Design and implement the accounting, payables, payroll, procurement, and financial reporting systems Subcritical needs today, structured to scale as we move toward commercialization.
• Own payments and expense management. Run accounts payable and vendor payments. Set up a simple process for employees to upload receipts, categorize expenses, and complete a first-pass review, and delegate day-to-day screening as the team grows.
• Run payroll and employee finance. Manage payroll through Trinet, benefits deductions, and reimbursements accurately and on time, and serve as the go-to contact for employee finance questions.
• Manage tax compliance. Own federal, state, and local tax filings, including income, payroll, sales and use, and property taxes, working with outside advisors where it makes sense.
• Administer equity. Maintain the cap table, manage stock option grants and exercises, coordinate 409A valuations, and keep equity records accurate and diligence-ready.
• Own contracts and procurement. Manage vendor and customer contracts, purchasing, and supplier terms. Make it easy for engineering and manufacturing teams to get what they need, with controls that are proportionate rather than burdensome.
• Deliver GAAP reporting. Run a timely monthly close and deliver quarterly GAAP financial statements to investors and shareholders. Lead independent audits, board reporting, and grant or lender reporting as required.
• Lead financial modeling and planning. Build and maintain detailed financial models, budgets, and cash forecasts. Give the President and CFO the analysis they need to make decisions on spending, hiring, and capital raising.
• Support investor relations. Prepare investor updates, respond to diligence requests, and maintain the data room alongside leadership.
• Automate relentlessly. Use AI tools, integrations, and lightweight internal tools to eliminate manual work, reduce errors, and keep finance and operations frictionless for employees and vendors.

QUALIFICATIONS

Required

• Demonstrated experience building a finance function from the ground up at a venture-backed startup, ideally one that scaled into the hundreds of millions. We are looking for startup operators rather than candidates whose experience is primarily in large corporate finance organizations.
• Hands-on experience across the full scope of this role: payables, payroll, tax filings, stock options and equity administration, contracts, and GAAP financial statements. You have built these financial reporting systems yourself and know how to get them done well.
• Strong financial modeling skills, with the ability to build detailed operating models and forecasts and explain them clearly to executives and investors.
• A pragmatic, low-friction approach. You favor simple processes that make sense and avoid processes for its own sake.
• Fluency with modern finance software and AI tools, and comfort building or configuring lightweight tools and automations yourself, including with AI-assisted coding.
• The ability to work independently with a small team, take full ownership of problems, and handle tasks at every level.
• Sound judgment, discretion with confidential information, and a strong work ethic. We value demonstrated capability and results over specific qualifications or a prescribed number of years of experience.
• Finance leadership experience in start-up and medium-sized companies.
• Ability to complete clean and compliant external audits.
• CPA or equivalent accounting background

Preferred

• Exposure to hardware, manufacturing, or capital-intensive businesses, including capital projects, inventory, or cost accounting.
• Experience with government grant or award accounting and compliance.

BENEFITS

We offer health, dental, and vision insurance.

LOCATION & WORK POLICY

This role is fully in person in Austin, Texas. Our facility is located next to Austin Airport.