Head of Finance & Operations

eAI

Head of Finance & Operations

San Francisco, CA
Full Time
Paid
  • Responsibilities

    Role Overview

    We are hiring a high-impact Head of Finance & Operations to serve as a strategic partner to the CEO as we raise our institutional seed round and scale our AI analytics platform.

    This is a mission-critical role for a finance leader who has successfully supported and closed seed rounds before , brings warm relationships across top-tier Silicon Valley seed-stage venture firms , leading AI/enterprise SaaS investors, and select strategic corporate venture partners.

    The ideal candidate combines fundraising execution, investor-grade financial storytelling, and operational discipline - with the ability to drive fundraising momentum from warm introductions through a fast and efficient close.

    **

    **

    Key Responsibilities

    1. Fundraising Execution & Investor Network Leverage (Top Priority)

    • Partner directly with the CEO to lead and accelerate the seed fundraising process from open → term sheet → close.

    • Leverage an existing network of top-tier Silicon Valley venture firms , leading institutional seed investors, and aligned strategic corporate venture arms (financial services, enterprise tech, cloud) to generate warm introductions and build rapid momentum.

    • Drive fundraising execution end-to-end: investor pipeline management, outreach sequencing, diligence workflows, and closing coordination.

    • Shape fundraising strategy, syndicate composition, valuation positioning, and SAFE/priced round structuring.

    • Ensure investor confidence through disciplined metrics, clean diligence readiness, and clear financial narratives.

    **

    **

    2. Investor-Grade Financial Narrative & Seed Metrics

    • Build and own the company's core financial model (3–5 year forecast) including revenue growth, margins, and hiring plans.

    • Translate traction into investor-ready KPIs and storytelling across:

      • unit economics (CAC/LTV, payback)

      • revenue expansion pathways

      • enterprise sales pipeline dynamics

      • AI infrastructure economics and gross margin profile

    • Prepare materials for investor discussions, partner meetings, and diligence Q&A.

    **

    **

    3. Runway Management, Burn Control & Capital Efficiency

    • Own cash flow forecasting, burn management, and runway planning with precision.

    • Implement spend controls and operating discipline across the organization.

    • Partner with leadership on hiring pace, budget allocation, and resource prioritization post-close.

    • Establish monthly financial cadence: reporting, budget vs actuals, KPI dashboards.

    **

    **

    4. AI Infrastructure Cost & Margin Optimization

    • Monitor and optimize AI-specific cost drivers: GPU usage, cloud spend, inference/training costs.

    • Partner with engineering leadership to forecast compute needs and improve cost efficiency over time.

    • Negotiate key vendor agreements across cloud, tooling, and infrastructure providers.

    **

    **

    5. Finance & Operational Foundation Post-Seed

    • Build the operational backbone expected by institutional investors:

      • payroll and expense systems

      • procurement and vendor management

      • compliance, tax coordination, insurance

      • investor reporting and board-ready finance cadence

    • Maintain strong post-close investor relationships through structured updates and KPI communication.

    • Lay the groundwork for Series A readiness within 3–6 months.

    **

    **

    Ideal Candidate Profile

    Required Experience

    • Proven experience helping raise and close institutional seed rounds at a high-growth startup.

    • Existing warm relationships with leading seed-stage investors in AI, analytics, enterprise SaaS, or infrastructure.

    • Strong fundraising execution mindset - able to create velocity, not just build models.

    • Advanced financial modeling, KPI communication, and diligence leadership skills.

    • Operational ownership mindset - comfortable running both finance and internal execution.

    • Deep understanding of AI business economics, including compute-driven cost structures.

    **

    Strong Preference For Candidates With**

    • Prior Head of Finance, Strategic Finance, or Fractional CFO experience at a VC-backed startup.

    • Background in venture capital, investment banking, or startup finance with institutional credibility.

    • Experience progressing a company from Seed → Series A preparation.

    • Track record of building finance + ops infrastructure from scratch.

    **

    What Success Looks Like (First 6–12 Months)**

    • Seed round executed efficiently with strong institutional investor participation and clean diligence.

    • Investor-grade finance function established: runway control, reporting cadence, KPI discipline.

    • AI infrastructure spend actively managed with improving margin visibility.

    • Strong investor communication rhythm and Series A readiness foundation in place.

    Investor Caliber Summary Line

    We are looking for a finance and operations leader who has closed institutional seed rounds before and can leverage a strong Silicon Valley and strategic investor network to accelerate fundraising, while building the financial backbone for long-term scale.