Strategic Finance Lead, AI Infrastructure & R&D

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Strategic Finance Lead, AI Infrastructure & R&D based in the United States.

This is a senior strategic finance role with direct influence over how a high-growth technology organization invests in AI, cloud, compute, engineering, and product development. You’ll partner closely with senior technical and R&D leaders to turn complex operational and financial data into clear investment recommendations. The role goes beyond traditional FP&A, encompassing infrastructure economics, investment cases, forecasting, resource allocation, and build-versus-buy decisions. You’ll have substantial ownership in designing the financial frameworks and operating mechanisms that support rapidly scaling AI and technology capabilities. The environment is highly collaborative, fast-paced, and characterized by significant ambiguity, autonomy, and executive exposure. Success will depend on your ability to combine rigorous financial analysis with technical curiosity, strong judgment, and practical business partnership. For a strategic finance leader who wants to shape consequential AI and infrastructure decisions, this role offers meaningful scope, visibility, and the opportunity to build a scalable function.

Accountabilities:: Serve as the primary finance partner to the CTO and R&D leadership, influencing investment decisions across AI, cloud and compute infrastructure, engineering capacity, and product development.

Own the economic framework for AI, cloud, and compute by connecting usage, billing, operational, and financial data to forecasts and investment decisions.

Lead financial evaluations for major R&D investments, from initial business cases and alternatives analysis through execution, measurement, and post-investment review.

Own R&D planning, forecasting, and performance management across engineering headcount, AI and cloud infrastructure, compute, software, and external partners.

Develop driver-based models that identify changes, risks, opportunities, and performance trends early enough for leadership to take action.

Partner with AI, Engineering, Infrastructure, Procurement, and Accounting teams to improve infrastructure economics, evaluate major commitments, and optimize vendor and technology decisions.

Analyze strategic questions around infrastructure commitments, workload architecture, technical investments, resource allocation, and build-versus-buy decisions.

Translate complex R&D and infrastructure performance into concise executive and board-level narratives, clearly explaining what changed, why it changed, and what decisions should follow.

Establish scalable financial frameworks, operating metrics, and decision mechanisms that can evolve with the organization’s AI and R&D footprint.

Use AI, automation, and scalable systems to improve the speed, quality, and leverage of financial analysis while reducing manual reporting and recurring administrative work.

Build trusted relationships across technical and business functions, challenging assumptions constructively while maintaining a practical, outcome-oriented approach.

Help establish the foundations of an R&D finance function capable of scaling alongside increasingly complex AI, infrastructure, and product investments.

Requirements:

7+ years of experience in strategic finance, FP&A, investment banking, investing, consulting, business operations, or a related analytical discipline, with demonstrated ownership of complex and consequential work.

Proven ability to independently take ambiguous problems from initial framing through analysis, recommendation, stakeholder alignment, and execution.

Exceptional financial and analytical capabilities, including experience developing driver-based forecasts, investment cases, business models, and scalable decision frameworks from complex or incomplete data.

Strong understanding of financial planning, forecasting, performance management, investment analysis, and resource allocation.

Ability to quickly understand technical systems and learn how AI products, cloud infrastructure, compute environments, and modern technology organizations operate and scale.

Experience supporting Engineering, Product, Data Science, AI, Infrastructure, or similar technical organizations is highly valuable.

Relevant experience analyzing cloud, compute, AI infrastructure, usage-based technology costs, vendor commitments, product economics, or build-versus-buy decisions is preferred.

Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate sophisticated financial and technical concepts into clear recommendations for senior technical and business leaders.

Demonstrated judgment and confidence to challenge assumptions constructively, influence senior stakeholders, and operate effectively without complete information.

Applied AI fluency, including demonstrated use of AI to improve financial analysis, modeling, research, workflows, or decision-making, together with the ability to evaluate the reliability of AI-generated outputs.

Strong ownership mentality, adaptability, curiosity, and comfort working in a fast-moving environment where priorities and assumptions can change quickly.

Ability to operate as a senior individual contributor with substantial autonomy while collaborating closely across multiple functions.

Benefits:

Opportunity to influence high-impact investment decisions across AI, cloud infrastructure, engineering, and product development.

Direct exposure to senior technical and business leadership, with significant ownership from the outset.

High-autonomy environment where you can design financial frameworks, operating mechanisms, and scalable systems.

Opportunity to use AI and automation to expand individual impact and transform how strategic finance operates.

Potential to shape and build the supporting team as the mandate grows, with career progression not dependent on people management.

Distributed-first working environment with flexibility to collaborate across multiple locations.

Mission-driven work focused on helping public and private sector organizations investigate and disrupt crime and build a safer world.

Fast-paced, high-ownership culture with opportunities to solve complex problems and work across AI, technology, and security.

Strong emphasis on continuous learning, experimentation, feedback, craftsmanship, and cross-functional collaboration.

Inclusive environment built

How Jobgether works: We use an AI-powered matching process to ensure your application is reviewed quickly, objectively, and fairly against the role's core requirements. Our system identifies the top-fitting candidates, and this shortlist is then shared directly with the hiring company. The final decision and next steps (interviews, assessments) are managed by their internal team. We appreciate your interest and wish you the best!  Why Apply Through Jobgether?    Data Privacy Notice: By submitting your application, you acknowledge that Jobgether will process your personal data to evaluate your candidacy and share relevant information with the hiring employer. This processing is based on legitimate interest and pre-contractual measures under applicable data protection laws (including GDPR). You may exercise your rights (access, rectification, erasure, objection) at any time.     #LI-CL1