VP of Strategic Finance

Lightning AI is the company behind PyTorch Lightning. Founded in 2019, we build an end-to-end platform for developing, training, and deploying AI systems—designed to take ideas from research to production with less friction.

Through our merger with Voltage Park, a neocloud and AI Factory, Lightning AI combines developer-first software with cost-efficient, large-scale compute. Teams get the tools they need for experimentation, training, and production inference, with security, observability, and control built in.

We serve solo researchers, startups, and large enterprises. Lightning AI operates globally with offices in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and London, and is backed by Coatue, Index Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Firstminute.

The people who thrive here are builders who move fast, communicate openly, take ownership, and continuously improve themselves, their teams, and our company. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• Move with Urgency: We move quickly, make thoughtful decisions, and keep momentum. We value action over perfection and learn by shipping.
• Take Ownership: We own outcomes, not just our individual work. We make decisions that move the company forward and follow through.
• Communicate Openly: We communicate directly, seek to understand, and create clarity for others. Honest conversations help us move faster together.
• Build Great Teams: We lead by example, empower others, and create healthy teams where people can do their best work.
• Raise the Bar: We're always improving ourselves. We learn from feedback, consistently challenge ourselves to grow, and focus on the work that matters most.
• Think Long-Term: We design for what's next. We create scalable systems, simplify complexity, and use AI and automation to amplify our impact.

We are looking for a VP of Strategic Finance to shape the financial strategy of a company operating at the intersection of AI software and large-scale compute infrastructure. You'll be a key thought partner to the CFO and executive team, building the models, plans, and insights that guide how we allocate capital, price our products, and scale the business.

You will be joining the Finance Team and report to our Chief Financial Officer. This is a hybrid role based in our San Francisco office with in-office requirements of 2 days per week. 

• →Strategic Planning: Own the annual operating plan and long-range financial model; translate company strategy into clear financial targets and track performance against them
• →Capital Allocation: Model and evaluate major investment decisions, including GPU and data center capacity, infrastructure expansion, and build vs. buy vs. lease trade-offs
• →Unit Economics & Pricing: Develop a deep understanding of the economics across our software platform and compute business, including utilization, gross margin, and customer profitability; partner with Product and GTM on pricing and packaging
• →Executive & Board Partnership: Prepare board materials, investor updates, and executive reporting; deliver clear, data-backed recommendations that inform company-level decisions
• →Fundraising & Financing: Support equity fundraising, debt and asset-backed financing, and investor diligence; build the models and narrative that underpin capital raises
• →Merger Integration: Lead the financial integration of Lightning AI and Voltage Park, including unifying planning processes, reporting structures, and KPIs across both businesses
• →Business Partnership: Act as a strategic partner to Engineering, Infrastructure, Sales, and Marketing leaders, helping them plan headcount, budgets, and investments with financial discipline
• →Corporate Development: Evaluate strategic opportunities including partnerships, acquisitions, and large customer or supplier contracts
• →Team Leadership: Build, manage, and develop a high-performing FP&A and strategic finance team as the company scales

• 12+ years of experience across strategic finance, FP&A, corporate development, investment banking, or management consulting, with at least 5 years in a senior finance leadership role
• Infrastructure economics expertise: Experience with capital-intensive businesses such as cloud infrastructure, data centers, telecom, or hardware; comfortable modeling capex, depreciation, utilization, and asset-backed financing
• Software and usage-based revenue fluency: Understanding of SaaS and consumption-based business models, including revenue forecasting, cohort analysis, and margin drivers
• Exceptional modeling skills: Able to build sophisticated, flexible financial models from scratch and pressure-test assumptions with rigor
• Capital markets experience: Hands-on involvement in equity fundraising, debt financing, or M&A transactions at a venture-backed or growth-stage company
• Executive presence: Credibility with CEOs, boards, and investors; able to distill complex financial analysis into clear recommendations and influence decisions
• Leadership: Track record of building and developing finance teams in a fast-growing environment
• Business acumen: Ability to connect financial outcomes to operational drivers and partner with technical and commercial leaders in their language
• Bias for action: Comfortable operating in ambiguity, prioritizing what matters most, and moving quickly without sacrificing accuracy