Vice President, Strategic Finance (R&D, Procurement & Corporate Model)

About this role

About AiDASH

AiDASH is leading the PreventionFirst™movement for electric utilities and transforming grid resilience through its pioneering platform that unifies vegetation, asset, storm, and wildfire intelligence. Powered by SatelliteFirst™ Inspection & Monitoring, AiDASH delivers comprehensive visibility across the entire grid at the right frequency and budget, using the right data modality. More than 200 customers trust AiDASH to keep the lights on, spend where it counts, and defend every decision, Securing Tomorrow across every mile of the grid. Learn more at www.aidash.com.

The PreventionFirst movement is growing, and so is the recognition behind it. In 2026, Forbes named AiDASH one of America's Best Startup Employers for the 4th consecutive year, and TIME included AiDASH among America's Top GreenTech Companies for the 3rd year in a row. Deloitte Technology Fast 500 ™ ranked AiDASH No. 12 in the San Francisco Bay Area, and No. 59 overall in their selection of the top 500 for 2024.

Join us in Securing Tomorrow Together!

The Role

Reporting to the CFO, this leader owns the finance partnership with AiDASH’s R&D (Engineering, Product, Data Science, and AI Data Ops), and Professional Services teams. Their role spans R&D investment and launch economics, infrastructure cost management and reduction targets , partnering with procurement strategy, and owning the corporate operating model. They will help determine where the company invests, how products are priced, and how innovation translates into profitable growth through the Schneider Electric integration and the company's next phase of scale.

This is a highly operational finance leadership role for someone who wants to influence and partner on product strategy, accelerate launches, improve gross margins, and shape investment allocation decisions alongside the executive team. As the primary finance partner to R&D leadership, this person will translate product roadmaps into forecast impact, turning launch velocity into on-schedule ARR.

This position will partner with R&D to accelerate launch economics and pricing, cloud infrastructure and strategic vendor negotiations, quarterly planning and forecasting, headcount governance, and the executive narrative around R&D performance. The ideal candidate combines strategic finance expertise with a hands-on operating style, a proven track record of negotiating infrastructure and data costs, and the credibility to influence leaders across R&D and the executive team.

How you'll make an impact:

Immediate

• Become deeply familiar with AiDASH's products (IVMS, CRIS, AIMS, and BNGAI), R&D organization and sprint cadence, infrastructure footprint, Schneider Electric integration, financial model, and strategic priorities

• Build trusted finance partnership with R&D leadership by joining sprint-close cadences and establishing monthly workstream reviews with GTM and Delivery

Ongoing

R&D and Finance Partnership

• Own R&D financial management, including capitalization policy, department-level cost visibility, AI initiative ROI, and build-versus-buy analysis

• Partner with R&D leadership to evaluate roadmap trade-offs, investment priorities, and resource allocation

Launch Economics & Pricing

• Partner with R&D on launch economics across the product portfolio, including business cases, pricing and packaging strategy, and post-launch revenue performance

• Track sales readiness, delivery commitments, and roadmap execution to ensure launches convert into ARR on schedule

• Monitor roadmap slippage with R&D leadership and key delivery risks, escalating issues and recommendations to the executive team

Infrastructure & Cloud COGS Management

• Partner with R&D on commercial strategy for cloud, infrastructure, imagery, and strategic technology vendors, ensuring scalable economics as the business grows and developing and achieving BoM down targets

• Negotiate long-term infrastructure and platform commitments that improve unit economics , aligning to Company Gross Margin targets, and support future scale with the R&D team

• Manage infrastructure COGS as a strategic operating metric, delivering measurable savings while improving gross margin

Corporate Model & Planning Governance

• Own the corporate driver-based model and quarterly reforecast, enabling disciplined capital allocation, operating expense decisions, and scenario planning

• Lead headcount and requisition governance, maintaining a single source of truth for approved, open, and frozen roles while ensuring AI automation is evaluated before incremental hiring

Executive Commu nication

• Own the R&D financial narrative for the CFO and CEO , translating complex operating performance into clear business insights, strategic recommendations, and forward-looking perspectives

M&A & Integration Support

• Lead finance support for the Schneider Electric integration, including synergy tracking, operating model alignment, reporting harmonization, day-one readiness, and continuity of the planning cycle through close

What we’re looking for:

• 12+ years of experience in Strategic Finance, FP&A leadership, corporate development, investment banking, private equity, or related investment roles, with meaningful experience in high-growth enterprise SaaS or data-intensive product companies

• Experience in investment banking or private equity followed by strategic finance leadership within a venture-backed or late-stage SaaS company preferred

• Proven operator in cloud, infrastructure, or data cost management, with a track record of negotiating commercial agreements that delivered measurable savings

• Experience partnering directly with R&D leadership, with a strong understanding of sprint cadences, roadmap prioritization, and technical cost drivers such as cloud infrastructure, AI model training, and data pipelines

• Proven track record building driver-based operating models that guide investment decisions, forecasting, and company planning

• Strong exec

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