VP / SVP of Finance (Early CFO Track)

Job Overview

We're seeking an exceptional VP/SVP of Finance — with a clear path to CFO — to own the entire finance function and report directly to the CEO. This is the senior-most finance seat in the company today, and it is built for someone who wants to operate as a true partner to the founder — world-class, deeply integrated across the business, and an enabler of every team rather than a gatekeeper.

The mandate spans the full arc of the company: carry us from our first contract, through development, and into mass production at scale (tens of thousands of units per year) — and take a hardware production program all the way to cash flow positive. In the near term, that means carrying the company through its next funding round, driving and delivering on spend plans for major government procurement contracts and fast-paced R&D. It means owning budgeting end-to-end, structuring and closing debt financing — facilities, equipment, and project-based/BOM working capital — and running airtight due diligence that holds up under sophisticated investor scrutiny. You will be accountable for burn, runway, spend controls, unit economics, and the financial discipline that lets a hardware company move fast without losing momentum.

For the person who executes, the scope of this role grows with the company — this seat is built to become the CFO chair as we scale into production.

Key Responsibilities

• Own all finance functions end-to-end: FP&A, accounting, treasury, controls, tax, audit, and financial reporting
• Build the financial roadmap that takes the company from first contract, through development, to mass production (10,000s of units/year) — and drive the production program to cash flow positive
• Prepare the company for venture fundraise — support equity raises, structure and close debt financing, and own diligence from data room to close
• Structure and manage the full debt stack for a scaling hardware business: facilities and real estate financing, equipment financing, and project-based/BOM and working capital facilities tied to production ramps
• Own the financial mechanics of US Government contracts — contract structures, milestone billing, cash flow timing, and compliant cost accounting
• Own budgeting across the company; build and defend the operating plan and tie it directly to program and hiring decisions
• Be the single accountable owner of burn, runway, and cash — with the spend controls, approval frameworks, and forecasting cadence to back it up
• Build the financial infrastructure (systems, processes, team) required to scale a capital-intensive, vertically integrated hardware business
• Own unit economics through the production ramp: BOM cost tracking, cost-down roadmaps, gross margin planning, and inventory/working capital management
• Serve as a genuine cross-functional partner — give engineering, ops, and program leadership the financial clarity they need to make fast, sound decisions
• Support investor and board materials; produce the metrics, models, and financial narrative that build conviction
• Manage the cap table, equity administration, banking relationships, and debt facilities
• Build financial models and scenario plans that hold up across growth, downside, and acceleration cases
• Recruit, hire, and lead a high-caliber finance team as the company scales

Qualifications

We're looking for someone who brings at least three of the following four backgrounds (all four is exceptional):

• Hardware production finance — direct experience taking a hardware production program to cash flow positive, including the ramp from development through volume manufacturing
• US Government contracts — hands-on experience with the financial side of USG contracts: structures, billing, cash flow, and compliance
• Debt & equity fluency — strong track record structuring debt (facilities, equipment, project-based/BOM, venture and growth debt) and fluency in growth-stage VC financing; a track record raising for startups at growth stage and beyond, with early-stage fundraising experience a strong bonus
• Core finance depth — a banking and/or accounting background, with intimate, hands-on familiarity with both debt and equity financing and with the mechanics of rapidly, responsibly scaling a business

Baseline Requirements for Every Candidate

• Demonstrated ownership of a finance function, with direct accountability for budgeting, burn, runway, and spend controls
• Experience leading or playing a central role in institutional fundraises, including diligence management
• Strong command of financial modeling, forecasting, and scenario planning in a high-growth environment
• Excellent cross-functional communicator with the credibility to partner with a CEO, a board, and technical leadership — and the judgment to know when to enable versus when to hold the line
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field

Preferred Skills

• Prior VP of Finance / CFO experience at a venture-backed hardware or deep tech company
• Experience in defense, aerospace, or another capital-intensive manufacturing environment
• Hands-on experience structuring debt — venture debt, growth debt, asset-backed, equipment, or project-based facilities
• Multiple Series B+ closes led or supported
• Familiarity with government contracting finance (DCAA, cost accounting standards, FAR/DFARS) and the financial implications of defense programs
• Legal and regulatory exposure — contract negotiation, compliance frameworks, export controls, or securities matters
• Engineering or technical background — the ability to speak the language of a hardware engineering organization (a plus, not a requirement)
• MBA and/or CPA
• An established network of growth investors, lenders, and finance talent
• Experience building a finance team and systems