Strategic Finance Lead

MISSION OF THE ROLE

We're hiring a Strategic Finance Lead to own the operational, in-the-weeds finance work that keeps Heron running — accounts receivable and billing (one of our most important and trust-critical customer touchpoints), burn reconciliation, revenue reconciliation, and the numbers that feed our investor reporting and business reviews. As we scale, we want someone who can take full ownership of these workflows and run them reliably and independently — becoming the person who owns how operational finance actually runs day to day.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Finance and BizOps are a central enabler at Heron. The function isn't a back office - it sits at the intersection of every team, and deep financial knowledge of the business is what lets us connect dots that aren't obvious from any single seat.

You'll be hands-on and exacting from day one: owning accounts receivable, getting billing right, reconciling burn and revenue. This is a finance-heavy, operational role - the work is in the details, and owning it well is the job. Over time, there's real room to grow: more scope as the company scales, ownership of how the whole operational finance function runs, and a front-row seat to the financial story we tell investors as we raise. You'll be in the finance mix of a fast-growing startup, with the chance to build something you own.

This is a role for someone who genuinely enjoys getting the details right and wants to own operational finance at a scaling startup - running finance operations exceptionally well, while also being a key partner on the forward-looking side (planning, budgeting, and pressure-testing the model).

WHAT YOU'LL DO

• Own accounts receivable end-to-end: billing is one of our most important and direct customer touchpoints, and getting it right protects both revenue and customer trust. You'll work cross-functionally to make sure every customer is billed correctly, run the month-end billing process, and own the AR function as it scales
• Run month-end finance cycles: own burn calculation and reconciliation across our banking and spend stack, plus the data inputs that feed business reviews
• Own revenue reporting investors can trust: reconcile billing and CRM data against our source of truth, untangle the messy edge cases, and build out the retention and revenue metrics (e.g. GRR, NRR, cohort views by segment) that show how the business is really performing and that go to our board and investors
• Contextualize the numbers: understand where we're spending and investing as a company, and what the numbers mean in the broader context of the business
• Support planning & FP&A: partner on our financial model, budgeting, and forecasting: pull together the inputs, pressure-test assumptions, and help translate the numbers into a forward view.
• Automate the finance function: find the repetitive, manual work and build it away; help move us toward a finance function that scales without linearly adding headcount
• Use AI deeply: you'll lean on AI heavily, both to automate finance work and to dig into how our product actually generates revenue, so the numbers always reflect what's really happening under the hood

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Our ideal hire started their career in accounting, finance, or banking and has since pivoted into a startup (2–5 years of experience). You genuinely enjoy the detail-oriented work of getting the numbers exactly right, even when it's painstaking. The best fit is someone who wants to own operational finance at a startup. That's who we picture in the seat - but if that's not quite you and you think you're right for it anyway, make the case for why we should take the bet. What matters most: you're excited to run finance operations exceptionally well, not impatient to skip past them.

Regardless of background, you'll be:

• Detail-obsessed where it counts — you take real satisfaction in getting the numbers exactly right, and you don't drop the ball
• A collaborative team player — you work well across functions and bring people along
• Growth-minded — you want to stretch, learn, and grow into more over time
• Eager to leverage AI — you're excited to be in a seat where you use AI heavily, both to automate and to understand the product and the business
• Opinionated and able to back it up — you form a view and can defend it with evidence
• Trustworthy with sensitive data — you'll handle the company's financials; we'll count on your judgment and care

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT AS A HERON

• Competitive compensation, including equity
• Based full-time in NYC, where the team works in-person
• Your choice of top-of-the-line equipment to fit out your desk in the office
• Occasional travel for retreats and to work with the team
• Competitive benefits: health insurance; pension/401k; uncapped annual leave; parental leave
• Free mental health support via Spill - on-demand access to therapy
• Weekly company lunches (always inclusive and vegan-friendly - especially if you like Korean or Vietnamese food!)
• Applicants from any background and gender are welcome and we have a zero tolerance policy on discrimination

ABOUT THE INTERVIEW

• Initial screen (20 minutes) - conversation to discuss what you're looking for, what Heron offers, and to see if there's a good fit.
• Take-home challenge and review (~3 hours in total) - a task which represents the work we would expect from you, followed by a review of the work with members of our team.
• Team interviews (2-3 hours in total) - mix of technical and behavioral conversations with Heron teammates and founders. You'll get a feel for the people you'll work with and how we approach problems, and we'll get to know how you collaborate, communicate, and think.
• References - 2 references from people you've worked with who can speak to your impact, working style, and contributions in a professional setting.

ABOUT HERON DATA

We are Heron Data https://www.herondata.io/, a Series A stage company based in New York and London.

• At Heron, we use the latest advances in AI and LLMs to automate document processing. Our software handles emails, analyzes attachments, and takes actions like updating CRMs or requesting more info to execute workflows end-to-end for our customers. We serve a range of businesses including some of the world's largest fintechs, banks and other specialty finance companies, commercial insurers, and more.
• Our largest product automates underwriting for small business lenders and other specialty finance companies. We eliminate cumbersome manual processes and enable our customers to provide their services with much greater speed, precision, and fairness.
• We are a rapidly growing company with over 150 customers in financial services and beyond who trust us to be embedded in critical processes - without us, their businesses stop. We analyze tens of thousands of documents a day, including over 20 million individual bank transactions daily for our customers. We continue to grow into more segments and workflows: further into lending, banking, insurance. And we think there's much more we can do!
• We are a lean, scrappy and committed team with a flat structure and collaborative culture. Our team brings together a wealth of experience from great tech companies including Facebook, Spotify, Revolut and many other startups from around the world.
• With team members from five different continents, we embrace multiculturalism and diversity. From company events to everyday interactions, we make sure everyone feels welcome and accommodate all cultural and dietary requirements.
• Since our launch in September 2020, at the end of the S20 batch, we've experienced a lot of growth! Today, we serve over 150 customers and have over $12M in ARR. Read more about our mission here https://www.herondata.io/about