Strategic Finance Lead - Compute
perplexity
Híbrido
San Francisco
Advertising
Job Score
90 pts
Hybrid model (+80)
Advertising (+10)
About the Role
We are seeking a Strategic Finance Lead for our GPU compute fleet. In this role, you will be a key partner to our inference and infrastructure teams, providing financial expertise to optimize our compute investments and drive capacity decisions.
In this role, you'll develop deep expertise in the economics of AI compute, from token-level serving cost to the long-range financial planning of our GPU fleet. You'll build the models that inform Perplexity's capacity and make-versus-buy decisions, own the internal-cost analysis that underpins internal and external token pricing, and translate complex infrastructure dynamics into clear financial narratives for leadership.
This is a high-impact role for someone who thrives at the intersection of finance and infrastructure, and who is energized by building frameworks from scratch in a fast-moving environment.
This position is based in San Francisco and requires in-person attendance 2-3 days per week.
Key Responsibilities
Finance lead for GPU compute spend, including budgeting, monthly forecasting, variance analysis, and financial plan maintenance
Build and maintain detailed bottoms-up financial models for the GPU fleet, including capacity forecasts, cost driver analyses, and investment scenario modeling
Develop deep expertise in GPU vendor contracts, pricing structures, and cost drivers, and surface optimization opportunities across the fleet
Serve as subject matter expert for Perplexity's compute capacity plan, owning source of truth on utilization, committed-versus-consumed spend, and capacity by vendor and cluster
Build internal token-cost curves distinguishing marginal from fully loaded serving cost, and translate them into internal and external token pricing
Analyze the ROI of in-house inference and training, including opportunity cost across chip types, cluster configurations, and workloads, distilled into a framework for capacity deployment
Partner closely with inference and infrastructure engineering to understand how serving and training workloads scale, and translate those technical dynamics into financial frameworks
You May Be a Good Fit If You Have
Exceptional analytical skills with an ability to synthesize data into compelling insights and develop complex financial operating models
Extraordinary problem-solving and critical thinking abilities to develop new frameworks for assessing utilization and capital efficiency in a rapidly evolving industry
Attention to detail and patience for getting to the source of truth on complex and interconnected contract and usage data
Comfort being the finance person in the room with engineering leads and vendor counterparts, and adept at communicating complex financial information to non-finance audiences
A proven track record of partnering with technical teams to drive financial optimization initiatives, building enough trust to become indispensable to their roadmap and resourcing decisions
A bias toward action, strong work ethic, and experience driving operational outcomes under tight timelines
Background in AI, ML, or high-performance, large-scale computing infrastructure, including data centers and cloud service providers
Preferred Qualifications
4+ years of experience in strategic finance, infrastructure investment, private equity, growth equity, consulting, or investment banking, preferably with infrastructure or datacenter experience
Experience in cloud or GPU infrastructure financial management, including direct work with major cloud service providers or neoclouds
Direct experience with committed-use economics — reserved capacity, savings plans, committed-use discounts — and GPU procurement
Deep expertise in GPU vendor economics, contract structures, and pricing models
Experience with chip architecture economics and optimization strategies
Proficiency with financial modeling tools
What did you think of this job?
Loading comments...
About Advertising
The Advertising area is aimed at the planning, creation, and delivery of communication campaigns to promote brands, products, ideas, or services. Professionals in the sector work in advertising agencies or in-house marketing departments in creative fields (art direction, copywriting), strategic planning, account management, and media buying.
Discover Other Areas
Understand the scope of work, key skills, and tools used in different career areas.
About Technical Support
Technical Support is essential to ensure customer satisfaction and retention. Support professionals resolve technical issues, document solutions, and identify patterns that can lead to product improvements.
Key skills include troubleshooting, customer service, technical documentation, ITIL knowledge, and ticketing tools (Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom).
Technical support has evolved from a reactive to a proactive function, with high-level professionals working in Customer Engineering and Support Engineering.
About Product Management
Product Management is one of the most strategically relevant areas in technology organizations. The Product Manager is responsible for defining product vision, prioritizing features, and coordinating multidisciplinary teams to deliver value to users.
Essential skills include strategic thinking, data analysis, communication, leadership, and technical knowledge. Tools like Jira, Confluence, Miro, and analytics platforms are fundamental in daily work.
Salaries for PMs range from entry-level to senior positions at major tech companies, with growing opportunities for international remote work.
About Graphic Designer
The Graphic Designer is the professional responsible for creating visual pieces for print and digital communication, from visual identity and logos to marketing materials and packaging. They combine creativity with technique to convey messages visually and impactfully.
Key skills include Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, CorelDRAW, visual identity design, typography, color theory, packaging design, and motion graphics. Knowledge of vector illustration, offset/digital printing, and print production is a differentiator.
Graphic Designers in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who master social media design, infographics, and can create materials that strengthen brand visual identity. The field offers opportunities from junior graphic designer to art director and design director.
About Scrum Master
The Scrum Master is the professional responsible for facilitating the adoption of Scrum and agile practices within development teams. They act as servant leaders, removing impediments, promoting continuous improvement, and ensuring Scrum events and ceremonies happen in the best possible way.
Key skills include event facilitation (sprint planning, daily, review, retrospective), backlog management, team coaching, conflict resolution, and agile metrics (velocity, burndown, cycle time). Knowledge of Jira, Trello, Azure DevOps, and frameworks like Kanban, XP, and SAFe is a differentiator.
Scrum Masters in technology companies are highly valued, especially those who can promote team autonomy, create psychologically safe environments, and lead agile transformations at scale. The field offers opportunities from junior scrum master to agile coach, head of agile, and director of agile transformation.
About UX Design
The User Experience (UX) Design area focuses on optimizing the overall user experience when interacting with a product or service. UX professionals conduct user research (UX Research), map journeys, create wireframes, perform usability tests, and define navigation flows to ensure the product is intuitive, useful, and meets users' real needs.
Comments 0