VP Finance VC-Backed Frontier Deeptech Startup | London / Hybrid

The Client

Harmonic is delighted to have been retained by a newly funded deep-tech startup building an entirely new category of infrastructure at the frontier of AI and science. Backed by leading venture investors and funded through a mix of equity and debt, the business is building physical capacity from the ground up and selling access to it on a usage basis. This is truly one of the most impressive founding teams we have worked with. They have extensive experience in the space; with mixed backgrounds, having been investors, operators and founders of multi-$100m and unicorn valued businesses. They have now come together to capture an estimated $1T TAM. It is an unusually rare time to join a deeptech who is positioned to scale rapidly: pre-product, capital-intensive, and moving fast toward its first operational site later this year.

This is a founding hire, where the expectation is you will have an outsized impact on the business as an early hire.

The Role

This is the first dedicated finance hire, owning the finance function end to end and reporting directly to a co-founder who currently carries finance himself. It is a true individual-contributor role, and it is designed to stay that way: rather than building a team, you own an area larger than one person by working through smart outsourcing, contracting and tooling. You are properly backed to do exactly that. The business invests heavily in giving this person everything they need, from a genuinely strong outsourced accounting partner already handling the bookkeeping, expenses and filing, through to a real budget for tools, systems and the AI tokens to automate the function from day one. The intent is simple: automate and delegate the day-to-day controllership so the majority of your time and headspace goes to the commercial and strategic finance work.

You will stand up and oversee the operational foundations while owning three things that go well beyond standard controllership and are the reason this role matters:

• The financial model and corporate finance that go to founders, investors and lenders;
• The accounting and debt structuring behind a CAPEX-heavy operating model;
• The usage-based pricing model that turns physical capacity into customer cost.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the operational core end to end, working through and getting the best from the outsourced accounting partner: month-end close, management accounts, payroll, statutory accounts, the first audit, and the R&D tax position.
• Take ownership of the financial model, scenario planning, and the numbers that go to the co-founders, investors and lenders.
• Run the cap table through SAFE conversion and into the priced rounds that follow.
• Account for a CAPEX-heavy operating model (depreciation policy, asset accounting, and vendor contracting), and structure and manage the venture and infrastructure debt that funds it, sequencing drawdown to keep the cash position clear.
• Fold government grant and other non-dilutive funding into the same capital picture.
• Build the underlying cost model, stress-test the current usage-based pricing hypothesis, take it to early customers, and operationalise it as the commercial pricing system connected to real billing and revenue recognition.
• Establish a clear monthly rhythm and make the business one whose finances can be explained in five minutes.
• Position the finance function for the next raise: clean numbers and defensible unit economics that investors, lenders and customers all understand.

A track record of building (ideally from scratch) or rebuilding a finance function end to end, typically six or more years of progressive finance experience including a senior finance role at a venture-backed or capital-intensive growth company.

Strong FP&A ownership: building and owning the financial model, scenario planning, investor updates, and partnering with an executive team on commercial and fundraising decisions.

Direct experience of CAPEX-heavy operating models: depreciation, asset accounting, vendor contracting, and the cash dynamics of significant up-front spend.

Corporate finance and debt: cap table mechanics, SAFE conversion, and structuring or managing venture or infrastructure debt against a capital programme.

Direct experience of usage- or capacity-priced commercial models: cost-to-serve modelling, pricing design, revenue recognition under usage rules, and the operational link between billing and product.

A background in a capital-intensive, usage- or capacity-priced infrastructure business (compute, cloud, data centres, robotics, energy, telecoms, or similar).

Comfortable personally owning controllership through smart outsourcing, contracting and tooling rather than by building a team, at least through the first year, and energised by automating the day-to-day so more of your time goes to strategy.

Qualified accountant (ACA / ACCA / CIMA or equivalent) preferred.

Designing or operationalising token-based, unit-based, or otherwise usage-quantified pricing.

Salary: Highly competitive - above market rate with generous options.

Location: London, hybrid with regular time in person on site.

Start Date: ASAP / flexible, considering all notice periods.

At Harmonic, we are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and equitable workplace. We actively welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds and assure you that every candidate will be thoughtfully considered for the roles we represent, without regard to race, religion, gender expression, disability, or sexual orientation.