Vice President, Strategic Finance

Company: Merlin Labs
Location: Boston
Posted on: February 17, 2026

Job Description:

Job Description Job Description About Merlin: Merlin is a venture backed aerospace startup building a non-human pilot to enable both reduced crew and uncrewed flight. Backed by some of the world’s leading investors, Merlin is scaling alongside our customers to begin leveraging autonomy today to solve some of aviation’s biggest challenges. About You: You are a strategic finance leader who thrives at inflection points, with experience guiding companies through the transition to a public-company operating model. You partner closely with the CFO, executive leadership, and Board to drive investor readiness, liquidity planning, capital allocation, and high-stakes financial decision-making, bringing clarity and rigor to complex situations. You have owned or led critical strategic finance functions including investor relations operations, cash and liquidity management, treasury, board reporting, financial systems, and corporate development finance. Comfortable in highly visible roles, you engage confidently with Boards, investors, banks, and external advisors, and enjoy building scalable processes and high-performing teams that support long-term growth. Responsibilities: Investor Relations & Public Company Readiness : Support the end-to-end investor relations operating model, including earnings preparation, investor and analyst materials, KPI definition and narrative consistency, guidance posture (as applicable), investor outreach tracking, and partnership with the CFO and CEO on disciplined investor communications and repeatable quarterly and annual IR workflows. Cash Management & Liquidity Planning: Own short- and medium-term liquidity planning through 13-week cash forecasting, scenario and sensitivity modeling, runway and capital allocation analysis, covenant compliance, and ongoing engagement with banking partners. Treasury & Risk Management: Lead treasury operations and strategy encompassing payments and disbursements, investment policy execution, debt facilities, FX exposure (as applicable), insurance coordination, and establishment of public-company-appropriate treasury policies and controls. Financial Systems & Infrastructure: Partner with the Controller and IT to design and implement scalable, public-company-ready financial systems that support planning, forecasting, management and external reporting, unit economics, and investor-grade analytics. Board & Executive Materials: Prepare and elevate finance-related Board and executive materials, including liquidity and capital structure updates, capital allocation frameworks, scenario analyses, and strategic finance deep dives, with a focus on clear, consistent financial storytelling. Corporate Development & M&A Finance : Provide financial leadership for corporate development activities, including deal modeling, valuation, return and synergy analysis, integration planning, post-close tracking, and coordination with the Controller and external advisors on purchase accounting. Team & Cross-Functional Leadership: Build and scale a high-performing Strategic Finance function while serving as a trusted partner across Product, Engineering, Operations, Legal, and People, and driving a culture of rigor, ownership, and sound financial decision-making. Qualifications: 12 years of experience in strategic finance, FP&A, investment banking, private equity, or a combination thereof. Prior experience supporting a public company, IPO, or de-SPAC strongly preferred. Deep understanding of investor-facing financials, liquidity management, and capital markets. Strong modeling and analytical skills with the ability to translate complexity into clear executive-level insights. Experience building or operating scalable financial systems and processes. Proven ability to work effectively with Boards, investors, banks, and external advisors. Excellent judgment, communication skills, and executive presence. Nice to Haves: A finance leader who can operate at both 30,000 feet and ground level. Someone who thrives in fast-moving, high-accountability environments. A builder mindset—comfortable designing processes where none exist yet. Strong sense of ownership, discretion, and partnership. This position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA. Once you’re here, you’ll enjoy a variety of on-site perks designed to make your workday enjoyable and convenient. These include catered lunches featuring a rotating menu of delicious options, an assortment of snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day, and a selection of beverages, including coffee, tea, and other drinks, to keep you refreshed. Our goal is to create an environment where you can thrive both professionally and personally Merlin Labs offers an innovative, entrepreneurial, and team-focused startup environment. We also offer a top-notch benefits package (health, dental, life, unlimited vacation, and 401k with match) and work/life integration. Being part of the Merlin team allows you to become part of a small team that supports professional development while working together to achieve our mission. Merlin Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military service or obligation or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks. At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates who require visa transfers. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future. In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to: people@merlinlabs.com Merlin Labs does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates.

Keywords: Merlin Labs, Providence , Vice President, Strategic Finance, Accounting, Auditing , Boston, Rhode Island