Manager, Strategic Finance

Overview

The organization is seeking a Manager, Strategic Finance to lead strategic finance and investment analysis, shaping where resources are allocated and how growth is pursued. This role partners directly with the CEO and COO and is responsible for the analytics behind major decisions, including strategic prioritization, target and market sizing, sum-of-the-parts valuation, capital budgeting (NPV, IRR, payback), and investment cases for new markets, partnerships, and M&A.

Success requires deep understanding of operating drivers (including fleet deployment, utilization, unit economics, customer dynamics, and cost structure) and the ability to translate that insight into decision-useful recommendations. The role also owns the planning and forecasting foundation that makes the analysis credible, including the budget, long-range plan, and the Pigment planning environment. Initial focus may begin as an individual contributor with line of sight to building and leading a team within the first 12 months.

There is a strong preference for someone based in Austin, TX.

Responsibilities

Strategic Finance and Capital Allocation

• Lead strategic prioritization for the business by framing trade-offs across initiatives, quantifying resource requirements and expected returns, and recommending where to invest, scale back, or stop
• Own capital budgeting and investment analysis, building NPV, IRR, payback, and scenario/sensitivity models for capital deployment, major programs, pricing changes, and new market entry (including setting hurdle-rate and return frameworks)
• Size targets and market opportunities (TAM/SAM, unit economics, adoption and penetration curves) to support company goals, board-level targets, and the long-range plan
• Build and maintain sum-of-the-parts analyses to value and compare business lines, products, and markets, informing portfolio, pricing, and resource-allocation decisions
• Lead financial modeling for M&A, strategic partnerships, and commercial agreements, including valuation, synergies, integration scenarios, deal structuring inputs, and post-deal performance tracking against the original investment case
• Own the long-range strategic plan by translating company strategy into a multi-year financial model with explicit growth, margin, and capital assumptions, and refreshing it as strategy evolves
• Define and maintain KPI and unit-economics frameworks used to run the business, ensuring metrics connect to the financial model and value creation
• Prepare and deliver executive-ready presentations, valuation outputs, and financial narratives for leadership meetings, board reviews, and investor discussions
• Run ad hoc strategic analyses on pricing strategy, go-to-market investments, competitive positioning, and corporate development opportunities

Executive Business Partnership

• Serve as the primary Strategic Finance and FP&A partner to the CEO and COO as a trusted advisor on operating performance, resource allocation, and investment decisions
• Develop deep understanding of operating drivers by working closely with operations, deployment, and customer teams, translating that into forecast assumptions, KPIs, and decision frameworks
• Build equally deep understanding of the operating model, drivers, and strategic priorities so investment cases are evaluated in the context of the combined business
• Communicate complex financial concepts clearly to non-finance stakeholders and influence decisions through data-driven insight
• Build toward team leadership: as the function scales, hire, develop, and manage finance staff, set priorities and quality standards, and establish scalable processes

Planning and Forecasting Foundation

• Own the company-wide operating budget, rolling forecast, and long-range plan, reconciling top-down targets with bottom-up inputs to ensure internal consistency and decision usefulness
• Run the monthly and quarterly forecast cycle, including variance analysis and commentary connecting results to operational and strategic drivers
• Partner with functional leaders and Accounting to challenge assumptions, surface risks and opportunities early, and ensure forecasts, actuals, and financial statements tie
• Serve as the systems owner for Pigment, building financial models and conducting analysis, maintaining and extending the build, and keeping it as the single source of truth for planning
• Improve data accuracy, speed, and scalability through automation and process redesign using Excel/Google Sheets, Pigment, and emerging AI and workflow-automation tools

Requirements

• 6-8+ years of progressive experience in strategic finance, corporate finance, investment banking, corporate development, or FP&A with significant strategic scope, preferably in a tech, robotics, or high-growth environment
• Demonstrated ownership of strategic finance work, including capital budgeting (NPV/IRR), target or market sizing, sum-of-the-parts or valuation analysis, and M&A or partnership modeling (with examples of recommendations that changed a decision)
• Experience building and defending multi-year financial models and investment cases in front of executives, boards, or investors
• Proven ability to partner directly with C-level executives (CEO/COO) and influence senior leadership through analysis and executive presence
• Demonstrated curiosity and track record of learning an operating business from the ground up by getting close to operations and customers, then converting insights into better forecasts and decisions
• Proven ownership of a company-wide budget, forecast, and long-range planning cycle
• Expert-level proficiency in Google Sheets and Excel, including complex modeling and automation techniques
• Hands-on experience with Pigment or a comparable enterprise planning platform (Pigment strongly preferred)
• Solid understanding of accounting principles and financial statements; experience with ERP systems (e.g., NetSuite)
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and communication skills
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and evolving priorities in a fast-scaling organization

Preferred Qualifications

• Investment banking, management consulting, venture capital/private equity, or corporate development experience
• Experience in robotics, hardware, healthcare technology, or other capital-intensive operating businesses
• Prior people-management experience, or demonstrated readiness to build and lead a small team
• MBA, CFA, or CPA

Compensation & Benefits

• Not specified in the provided job description.

Location

• Austin, TX (strong preference)
• Travel required 2-4 times per year, approximately 4-5 business days per trip
• This role is expected to begin as an individual contributor; team scope, structure, and leveling will be revisited as the function grows.