Head of Finance

The posting, as Highnote wrote it

About Highnote

Founded in 2020 by a team of leaders from Braintree, PayPal, and Lending Club, Highnote is the unified platform for embedded finance, built for modern issuing, acquiring, credit, ledger, and real-time money movement. With an integrated ledger, full program management, and a purpose-built architecture, we help companies design financial products around their customers and launch faster with greater control.

We’ve raised $145M+ and have grown our team to 140+ employees across 25+ US States, with headquarters in San Francisco. Along the way, we’ve built one of the most experienced payments teams in the industry.

We’re fast-moving and hands-on, and we believe everyone deserves a seat at the table. Our values of customer obsession, executional excellence, intentional inclusion, guide how we build the payment products of tomorrow's business needs. We’re looking for people who want to help shape the future of payments.

Job Description

This is a leadership role for a finance leader who wants to shape the direction of a high-growth payments company. Reporting to the COO and partnering closely with the CEO and the rest of the leadership team, you will be the person who looks ahead, reads what the numbers are telling us, and proactively lays out the financial moves the company should make. You will not wait to be asked for analysis. You will bring it, defend it, and help us act on it.

Payments is a business of fine margins and constant tradeoffs, where economics, mix, and cost all move together. We are looking for a leader who understands those dynamics, sees around corners, forms a clear point of view, and turns it into recommendations the leadership team can act on with confidence. You will also stand behind those numbers when it counts, including with our auditors, where your judgment and the integrity of our reporting matter.

We want someone who is genuinely forward-leaning on technology and AI, and who will use it to transform how our financial operations run. The goal is to take our analysis to the next level, using automation and AI to produce sharper, faster, and deeper insight and to give the team more room for the thinking that moves the business, all while preserving the auditability and control our reporting depends on.

What you will own

Financial and analytical leadership.

• Proactively analyze the business, spot where we are heading financially, and recommend the steps we should be taking, ahead of being asked.
• Own the strategic financial narrative: what is driving performance, what it means for the plan, and where the risks and opportunities are.
• Run scenario and sensitivity work so leadership can see the financial impact of major decisions, new products, and customer changes before they are made.
• Be a genuine partner to the CEO and COO, translating financial reality into clear, defensible guidance that shapes company decisions.

Planning and reporting.

• Guide the annual operating plan and regular fore

[…]
who thrive in ambiguity.

• Backed by top investors. Our investors include Oak HC/FT, Costanoa Ventures, Adams Street Partners, Westcap, and Pinegrove Venture Partners. Our angel investors include Bill Ready (CEO of Pinterest) and Renaud Laplanche (Co-Founder and CEO of Upgrade).

Highnote benefits

• Equity in Highnote
• Flexible paid time off
• Health coverage: 100% covered for employees and 75% for dependents
• 401(k) program
• Paid parental leave
• Remote work support: a home office stipend, plus internet and phone reimbursement

Compensation

Our total rewards approach is built on fair, equitable, location-based pay that reflects both performance and potential. We set our packages using thorough market research, and they combine base salary, equity, and benefits. In line with pay transparency requirements, the annual salary range for this role is $275,000-$315,000.

Work Location

Roles based in San Francisco are hybrid, and we’re in the office Monday through Thursday. We offer flexible arrangements depending on how far you live from our downtown SF office. We believe in the power of face-to-face connection, so we give priority to candidates who can work from the office.

Equal Opportunity

Highnote is committed to building a diverse and inclusive team, and we welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities. We do not discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race, religion, age, national origin, citizenship, disability, pregnancy status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by US federal, state, or local law, or by the laws of the country or jurisdiction where you work. We also invite you to share the pronouns you’d like us to use (e.g., she/her, he/him, they/them).

A Note on Recruitment Fraud

Highnote will never ask you for payment or bank details, and we never conduct interviews over text or chat apps. All official communication comes from an @highnote.com email address or through Greenhouse.