Director of Finance & Strategic Planning
Hybrid-Remote (California) | Full-Time
We're looking for a builder. Most finance jobs ask you to explain yesterday. This one asks you to help design tomorrow. At Kaylus, finance isn't a department tucked away at the end of the hallway. It's one of the engines that will determine whether our company succeeds.
- Every pricing decision.
- Every loyalty reward.
- Every enterprise partnership.
- Every product investment.
- Every strategic bet.
Every one of them begins with a thoughtful financial strategy. If your idea of finance is simply closing the books, this is not your role. If your favorite question is "What if?" instead of "What's standard?", then keep reading.
About Kaylus:
Kaylus is building a next-generation fintech platform designed to help households become healthier, wealthier, and more resilient. Our platform combines AI-powered receipt intelligence, retailer and consumer packaged goods (CPG) partnerships, personalized rewards, loyalty, and a long-term vision for consumer financial empowerment.
We're still early. That means every leader has the opportunity to influence not only what we build, but how we build it.
We're intentionally assembling a leadership team that enjoys solving difficult problems, challenging assumptions, and creating systems that don't exist yet.
The Opportunity:
We're not looking for someone to inherit a mature finance organization. We're looking for someone to help build one. You'll work directly with the CEO as one of the company's earliest strategic leaders. You'll have a voice in product strategy, commercial strategy, financial strategy, long-term company strategy.
Some weeks you'll build a financial model. Other weeks you'll challenge the economics of a new product feature. You will help determine how our loyalty platform should be funded, develop pricing for enterprise CPG partnerships, sit alongside engineering designing financial ledgers capable of supporting millions of future transactions.
Finance at Kaylus isn't a support role. Instead finance helps to shape the product.
What You'll Build:
Strategic Financial Planning
- Build the company's long-term financial model.
- Lead budgeting, forecasting, and operating planning.
- Develop hiring and growth scenarios.
- Build executive dashboards and KPI reporting.
- Analyze unit economics and contribution margins.
- Help leadership make better decisions through rigorous financial analysis.
Product & Platform Economics
Partner with engineering and product leadership to help design the economic foundation supporting:
- Loyalty rewards
- Campaign funding
- Digital wallets
- Financial ledgers
- Redemption liabilities
- Future consumer financial products
The goal is simple: Help ensure every feature is financially sustainable before it's technically scalable.
Commercial Strategy
Develop pricing frameworks, profitability models, and decision tools that support enterprise partnerships and long-term business growth.
- Challenge assumptions.
- Ask difficult questions.
- Identify risks others don't see.
- Bring clarity to ambiguity.
- Help transform ambitious ideas into durable businesses.
- Forge executive partnerships
Who You Are:
You don't see finance as accounting. You see finance as a strategic advantage. You enjoy building things that have never existed before. You're comfortable debating ideas with engineers, product leaders, sales executives, and founders. You know when to say "yes," and you know when to ask "have we considered." You don't wait for perfect information. You make thoughtful decisions with imperfect information. Most importantly, you are excited by the idea of helping build a company rather than simply managing one.
We Think You'll Thrive Here If:
- You're intellectually curious.
- You enjoy healthy debate.
- You value humility over ego.
- You take ownership without waiting for permission.
- You're energized by solving problems no one has solved before.
Qualifications:
Required
- 7–12 years of progressive finance experience
- Outstanding financial modeling and analytical skills
- Experience with forecasting, planning, and business modeling
- Strong strategic thinking and business judgment
- Excellent communication skills
- Ability to collaborate across technical and commercial teams
Preferred
- Active CPA license strongly preferred
- Experience in fintech, financial services, SaaS, payments, loyalty, marketplaces, or consumer technology
- Experience partnering directly with executive leadership
- Experience designing pricing models, incentive programs, or platform economics
- MBA, CFA, or similar advanced credentials are welcomed
As Kaylus expands its consumer financial capabilities through strategic partnerships, experience within regulated financial services is highly valued. Candidates should be willing to pursue applicable FINRA registrations or other regulatory qualifications as the company's consumer financial capabilities continue to evolve.
What Success Looks Like:
Within your first year you'll help Kaylus:
- Build a finance organization from the ground up.
- Create the financial framework supporting our loyalty platform.
- Develop pricing strategies that become competitive advantages.
- Build meaningful KPIs that drive company decisions.
- Help leadership invest capital wisely.
- Become one of the CEO's closest strategic thought partners.
Build Your Career Alongside the Company:
We're intentionally hiring someone who wants to grow. As Kaylus grows, we expect this position to expand into broader executive finance leadership. We aren't hiring someone to fill today's role. We're hiring someone who wants to grow into tomorrow's finance leader.
Think Like an Owner:
We believe the people who help build long-term value should have the opportunity to share in creating it. While our executive equity program is still being finalized, our intention is to align long-term leadership with long-term ownership. We want leaders who are excited to build an enduring company and, as that framework develops, participate in the value they help create.
Compensation & Benefits:
- $150,000–$170,000 base salary
- Hybrid remote within California
- Opportunity to participate in the company's future executive ownership program as it is established
- Health, dental, and vision insurance
- Unlimited PTO
- Direct partnership with the CEO and executive leadership team
- Opportunity to influence the strategy, not just the finances, of a growing fintech company
- Clear path toward executive leadership and long-term ownership participation
Pay: $150,000.00 - $170,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Paid time off
- Parental leave
- Vision insurance
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Carlsbad, CA 92008
