Roles
The canonical roles within Finance.
Financial Planning & Strategy
Financial Planning & Strategy roles at AI companies build and run the financial planning function—forecasting models, KPI frameworks, planning and budget cycles, board and investor materials, and the cross-functional partnership that turns financial signal into operating decisions. The day-to-day is classical FP&A: building and maintaining models, running variance analysis, partnering with business owners on plans and reviews, and helping executives think through unit economics and capital allocation. Specific economic structure varies by business model—software-heavy AI companies focus on SaaS unit economics and pipeline-to-revenue conversion; infrastructure-heavy companies model GPU capacity, energy costs, and site deployments; vertical AI companies follow the financial pattern of the underlying industry. These roles typically sit within finance, reporting to a Head of FP&A or CFO, and partner across functions to ensure planning supports both day-to-day execution and longer-term strategy.
Controller
Controllers in AI infrastructure companies oversee the full accounting function for rapidly scaling operations, balancing hands-on execution of close cycles with strategic leadership of accounting teams and systems. They distinguish themselves by building accounting infrastructure from scratch in high-growth environments—designing controls frameworks, writing SOPs, and automating manual processes using AI tools—rather than maintaining existing structures. These roles typically sit within Finance organizations that support compute-intensive businesses, partnering across Treasury, FP&A, Tax, and Operations to ensure financial reporting accuracy, compliance, and audit readiness while the business scales infrastructure for AI workloads.
Accountant
Accountants at AI companies handle the universal close cycle—journal entries, reconciliations, financial statements, and supporting audit—across general ledger, fixed assets, and accrual accounting. The work is broadly the same as accounting at any high-growth software or infrastructure business: ensuring transactions are recorded correctly, reconciling accounts, supporting external audit, and maintaining GAAP and statutory compliance across multiple entities. Where AI-specific complexity does show up, it tends to be in fixed-asset capitalization for compute infrastructure, lease accounting under ASC 842 / IFRS 16, and revenue-related accruals tied to consumption-based pricing—but these are variants, not the core of the role. Accountants typically sit within finance teams, partnering with procurement, operations, and external auditors to keep the close clean as the business scales.
Revenue Accountant
Revenue Accountants at AI companies execute the operational backbone of the order-to-cash cycle, managing billing systems, revenue recognition entries, and account reconciliations in accordance with ASC 606. Unlike broader finance roles, they specialize in translating complex contractual terms—particularly usage-based and consumption pricing models common in AI products—into accurate accounting treatment and automated billing flows. These professionals typically sit within dedicated revenue or technical accounting teams, partnering closely with product, sales operations, and finance systems to ensure revenue data flows cleanly from deal execution through financial reporting while maintaining strong internal controls in fast-scaling environments.
Technical Accounting Manager
This role serves as the technical accounting authority for AI companies navigating rapid scaling and complex transactions. The Technical Accounting Manager researches and documents accounting positions on non-routine matters—from revenue recognition under ASC 606 to stock-based compensation, lease accounting, and M&A implications—while translating intricate GAAP guidance into practical operational solutions. What distinguishes this function is its strategic partnership across the business: rather than simply maintaining compliance, these professionals advise Sales, Legal, and Deal Desk on structuring commercial arrangements, guide Finance through novel accounting scenarios, and ensure technical conclusions embed cleanly into close processes and systems. The role typically sits within Finance operations, reporting to a Controller or Finance Director, and works closely with auditors, tax advisors, and cross-functional stakeholders to build defensible accounting frameworks that scale with the company's growth.
Tax Manager
Tax Managers at AI companies own corporate tax compliance, planning, and strategy across direct and indirect taxes—corporate income tax filings, VAT/GST and sales tax, transfer pricing, and the cross-border structures that come with multi-jurisdiction operations. The day-to-day is classical corporate tax management: preparing and reviewing returns, partnering with external tax advisors, managing the tax-provision process under GAAP, and advising the business on the tax implications of new entities, contracts, and product structures. Specific complexity varies by business model—infrastructure-heavy AI companies face heavier indirect tax exposure on data-center investment and compute services; software-only companies have a more standard SaaS tax footprint—but the role is recognizable as corporate tax across any multinational technology business. These roles typically sit within finance, partnering with accounting, FP&A, legal, and external advisors.
Accounts Payable & Payroll Specialist
This role manages the full accounts payable and payroll lifecycle for fast-growing AI companies, processing vendor invoices, employee expense reports, and payroll transactions with precision and speed. It sits at the intersection of finance operations and cross-functional collaboration, working closely with procurement, HR, and accounting teams to maintain accurate records, ensure regulatory compliance, and support month-end and year-end closes. What distinguishes this role from general accounting work is its focus on process automation and scalability—specialists in this function identify manual bottlenecks and implement systems-driven solutions to handle high transaction volumes as companies scale. Typically embedded within lean Finance teams at early-to-growth stage AI companies, these roles often expand in scope as organizations expand globally, requiring expertise in multi-entity accounting, international payments, and audit-ready controls.
Treasury Manager
This role oversees global cash positioning, liquidity management, and banking relationships for high-growth AI infrastructure and software companies, managing everything from daily cash operations to long-term forecasting across multiple currencies and jurisdictions. Treasury Managers in this context distinguish themselves by balancing hands-on operational execution—cash positioning, bank account administration, payment controls—with strategic involvement in capital structure decisions and complex financing transactions that support the company's rapid scaling. They typically sit within the Finance organization reporting to the CFO or Treasurer, working closely with FP&A, Accounting, Legal, and Tax teams to ensure the treasury function provides the financial infrastructure and liquidity visibility that powers ambitious AI companies' growth trajectories.
Recent Jobs
The latest Finance openings across the AI industry.