Chief Financial Officer

Emeryville, California
Operations /
Full time /
On-site
Prolific Machines is ushering in a new era of biotechnology with light. We harness light to produce everyday essentials more efficiently, from food and lifesaving drugs to novel biosolutions. Our first-of-its-kind photomolecular biology platform delivers unprecedented control, precisely guiding cellular behavior when and where it matters most. Unlike existing tools used to control biology, our technology unlocks dynamic control over virtually any cellular function in any cell type. We're enabling partners to unlock robust efficiency, quality, reproducibility, and sustainability advantages across pharmaceuticals, nutritional and therapeutic proteins, cellular agriculture, and more. Prolific is supported by leading investors, including Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mayfield and SOSV.

Help us create a brighter tomorrow with biology. We're looking for mission-driven, talented, and kind people to join our team.

About this job

We are looking for an experienced CFO to both lead our financial strategy and work with our executive team to help define and execute on our commercial strategy. Using your extensive experience in successfully scaling start-ups from an early stage, you will improve, optimize and scale financial systems, controls and processes, as well as advise on commercialization strategies.We are seeking an individual who has experience scaling a fast growing start-up and is highly mission driven. In this role you will be in charge of managing/ allocating our funds, as well as, defining solutions and processes that scale. This is a great opportunity for a business-oriented leader to work directly with the executive team and to build a finance function at a high-impact organization at the forefront of biotech.

Responsibilities

    • You will be responsible for communicating to investors our financial position, run rate and budget through the preparation of reports, presentations and financial models and are expected to both join board meetings (as appropriate) and meetings with potential investors to help raise capital.
    • You will work closely with the executive team using your experience, vision, and strategic thinking to influence the trajectory of the organization.
    • You will review monthly financial reports, confirm accuracy and identify opportunities for savings/ optimization of our activities and forecasting models. 
    • You will be responsible for ensuring that our procurement processes are optimizedYou will be in charge of capital allocation and cash management for Prolific Machines, balancing return and liquidity to ensure we have cash on hand to make our capital investments.
    • You will manage our outsourced finance team and review and approve large invoice items.

About you

    • You will have overseen the finance department of a start-up taking them from early stage (Series A/ B) to late stage (Series C, D or IPO) and have experience managing budgets >$100m.
    • You will have 10+ years of relevant professional experience, ideally in a start-up environment.
    • You can develop and present a compelling & comprehensive vision that is grounded in data, and enjoy building models that allow selecting the best strategy.
    • You understand and are familiar with the benefits of the funding instruments available to start-ups across debt, capital raising and grants.
    • You will be flexible, pragmatic and willing to assist with duties outside of your domain when required for the business. You have a growth oriented mindset and want to develop solutions that scale.
$200,000 - $250,000 a year
Diversity: We value diverse people, perspectives, and knowledge. To this end, we aim to foster a sense of belonging that enables everyone to bring their whole, authentic self to work everyday. We are committed to growing a diverse and inclusive team that encompasses all types of people. We believe this can only be achieved by acknowledging the ancestral, historic, and current systemic and communal inequities.

Location: The San Francisco Bay Area (Emeryville, CA)

Benefits: Outstanding Health, Vision & Dental Insurance (including full spouse coverage), at least one all-expense-paid team holiday per year, flexibility in schedule and unlimited vacation days. Free lunch every day!