Strategic Finance Lead – Infrastructure

Perplexity

Strategic Finance Lead managing financial aspects of cloud service provider spend at Perplexity. Collaborating with engineering and product teams on infrastructure economics and capacity forecasts.

Posted 6/9/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • 🇺🇸 United StatesSenior💰 $190,000 - $230,000 per yearWebsite

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

AWSAzureCloudGoogle Cloud Platform

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Build and maintain multi-year capacity forecasts and scenario models across CPU, GPU, and accelerator footprints
Partner with Strategic Finance leadership on long-horizon capacity decisions, including reserved/committed structures and build-out sequencing
Lead ROI and trade-off analysis for new platforms, hardware generations, and efficiency initiatives
Translate engineering and product roadmaps into capacity requirements and the cost envelope to support them
Own day-to-day management for all core infrastructure spend, including the monthly bill, variance analysis, and forecasting
Drive efficiency and optimization initiatives with engineering and infrastructure teams
Build cost-driver models that explain spend movements and surface the levers behind them
Support CSP rate and commit negotiations with rate analysis, benchmarking, and contract modeling
Maintain deep working knowledge of CSP contract terms, pricing structures, discount programs, and optimization opportunities
Partner with Accounting on contract operationalization, accrual accuracy, and compliance
Own management and forecasting of inference costs end-to-end, including product unit economics
Partner with Strategic Finance and executive leadership on scenario analysis to understand core unit economics and product-mix view and its impact on strategy and financial statements
Support training-run budgeting, tracking, and ROI analysis

Requirements

What you’ll need

4+ years of experience in strategic finance or FP&A at a high-growth technology company, plus 2+ years in investment banking at a top-tier firm
Strong financial modeling skills and the ability to translate complex operating data into clear, decision-ready analysis
A track record of partnering effectively with engineering or technical teams to drive financial outcomes
Comfort communicating complex financial concepts to non-finance audiences across the company
Bias for action, first-principles thinking, and an ability to make progress in ambiguous environments
Excitement about working in a fast-paced, hyper-growth setting and adapting quickly as priorities shift
Strong process discipline, business judgment, and cross-functional communication skills
Genuine interest in AI infrastructure and the cost dynamics of large-scale model serving and training
Direct experience managing or modeling cloud infrastructure spend (AWS, GCP, Azure)
Background in AI, ML, or high-performance computing infrastructure economics
Familiarity with GPU pricing, reserved/committed structures, and CSP discount mechanics
Experience supporting capital-intensive capacity decisions or multi-year vendor commitments
Advanced Excel and financial modeling skills

Benefits

Comp & perks

equity
health
dental
vision
retirement
fitness
commuter and dependent care accounts

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills & Tools

financial modelingcapacity forecastingROI analysisvariance analysiscost-driver modelingcloud infrastructure managementAI infrastructure economicsGPU pricingmulti-year vendor commitmentsExcel

Soft Skills

cross-functional communicationfirst-principles thinkingprocess disciplinebusiness judgmentability to work in ambiguous environmentspartnering with technical teamscommunicating complex conceptsadaptabilitybias for actioninterest in AI