VP Of Finance @ Aston Carter

Job Title: VP of FinanceJob DescriptionThe VP of Finance leads strategic finance, planning, and operations for a high-growth, early-stage mobility startup that is fundamentally redesigning electric vehicle architecture. This role owns both long-term financial strategy and day-to-day finance operations, builds scalable financial infrastructure from the ground up, and serves as a key partner to executive leadership and cross-functional teams. The position is highly visible, hands-on, and central to supporting company growth, government and defense contracting initiatives, and future fundraising.

Responsibilities

• Partner closely with executive leadership on financial strategy, capital allocation, and company growth, providing clear insights and recommendations to support strategic decisions.
• Lead annual budgeting, forecasting, cash-flow planning, and long-term financial modeling to ensure the company has a robust, forward-looking financial plan.
• Develop and manage departmental budgets, giving leaders visibility into spending, cash burn, and overall financial performance.
• Support capital allocation decisions and strategic business initiatives by providing rigorous financial analysis and scenario modeling.
• Create and maintain financial reporting and performance insights for leadership, investors, and other key stakeholders.
• Support fundraising initiatives by preparing financial models, materials, and analysis for future capital raises and investor discussions.
• Manage investor reporting and help leadership evaluate funding needs, capital requirements, and runway under different growth scenarios.
• Own day-to-day financial operations, including accounts payable, vendor payments, billing, expense management, and oversight of payroll as needed.
• Ensure accurate financial reporting and maintain appropriate accounting controls, policies, and procedures.
• Manage cash-flow visibility and working-capital needs to support ongoing operations and growth plans.
• Partner with external accounting, banking, tax, and legal providers to ensure compliance, accuracy, and efficiency across all financial activities.
• Design and build scalable finance and accounting processes from the ground up to support rapid growth and evolving business needs.
• Evaluate, select, and implement financial systems, ERP and accounting platforms, procurement tools, and expense-management solutions.
• Develop an effective procurement process that supports growth, maintains appropriate controls, and avoids unnecessary bureaucracy.
• Establish financial controls and reporting processes appropriate for a scaling organization, ensuring reliability and transparency.
• Support the financial requirements associated with Department of Defense and other government contracts, including compliance and reporting.
• Help establish processes that meet government-contracting requirements and ensure alignment with relevant frameworks and regulations.
• Partner with leadership to understand contract economics, program costs, and revenue forecasting for government and defense-related work.
• Navigate or rapidly build expertise in government and defense frameworks such as DCAA, FAR, DFAR, OTA agreements, and government grants.
• Collaborate with engineering, manufacturing, business development, and other teams to understand program costs, R&D spending, unit economics, and resource requirements.
• Translate complex financial information into clear, actionable insights and business decisions for non-finance leaders.
• Identify financial and operational problems proactively, design practical solutions, and execute with minimal direction.
• Operate effectively in a startup environment, balancing strategic leadership with hands-on execution across all finance functions.
• Work independently in the near term while laying the groundwork to build and scale a high-performing finance team over time.

Essential Skills

• At least 10 years of progressive finance and accounting experience, with increasing levels of responsibility and scope.
• Proven experience in a startup, high-growth technology, hardware, or similarly entrepreneurial environment.
• Demonstrated ability to own both strategic finance and hands-on financial operations within a scaling organization.
• Strong experience building or scaling financial processes, systems, and infrastructure from early stages.
• Expertise in financial planning and analysis, including budgeting, forecasting, and cash-management.
• Advanced skills in financial reporting, financial analysis, and performance measurement.
• Experience managing core finance functions such as accounts payable, vendor payments, billing, expense management, and payroll oversight.
• Comfort operating independently without a large team or established infrastructure, with a bias toward action and ownership.
• Proven ability to identify issues, design solutions, and execute initiatives with minimal direction.
• Strong executive communication skills, with the ability to present complex financial information clearly and persuasively.
• Excellent business partnering skills, collaborating effectively with leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Comfort working onsite in Denver five days per week in a highly collaborative environment.
• Hands-on experience with finance management, financial management, risk management, and budgeting.
• Experience in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), including long-term modeling and scenario analysis.
• Ability to support and participate in fundraising activities and financial due diligence.
• Startup experience and mentality, including adaptability, resourcefulness, and comfort with rapid change.
• Knowledge and experience with defense and government-related frameworks such as DFAR, FAR, DCAA, DoD requirements, OTA agreements, and tax considerations.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience in defense technology, aerospace and defense, hardware, deep tech, robotics, or advanced manufacturing.
• Direct experience with Department of Defense and other government contracting, including compliance and financial oversight.
• Knowledge of DCAA, FAR, DFAR, OTA agreements, and government grant processes.
• Experience supporting venture fundraising, ideally Series A or similar growth-stage rounds.
• Experience in investor and board reporting, including preparing dashboards, materials, and presentations.
• Experience selecting and implementing ERP, procurement, accounting, and expense-management systems in a growth environment.
• MBA or other advanced degree in finance, accounting, or a related discipline.
• Strong familiarity with financial planning tools, forecasting methodologies, and cash-flow modeling.
• Ability to thrive in a lean, fast-scaling organization with high visibility and broad responsibility.
• Comfort collaborating with engineering, manufacturing, and business development teams on cost structures and unit economics.

Work EnvironmentThis role is based onsite in Denver, with the expectation of working in the office five days per week, while offering some flexibility when needed. You will join a lean, fast-scaling team of roughly 1150 employees in a highly collaborative environment focused on breakthrough electric vehicle technology. The companys patented modular wheel system places motors, batteries, and intelligence directly inside and below the center point of the wheel, enabling exceptionally low center of gravity, high ground clearance, and total design freedom for new vehicle types.

The work environment emphasizes high-impact collaboration, especially with autonomy and defense technology partners, and offers rapid hands-on ownership, visibility, and the opportunity to shape the future of mobility. You will work closely with operations leadership, initially partnering with the current owner of accounting processes and gradually building out a finance team as the company continues to grow.

Job Type & LocationThis is a Contract to Hire position based out of Denver, CO.

Pay and BenefitsThe pay range for this position is $90.00 - $130.00/hr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment. Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms. If eligible, the benefits available for this temporary role may include the following:

Medical, dental & vision

Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital

401(k) Retirement Plan Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available

Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents)

Short and long-term disability

Health Spending Account (HSA)

Transportation benefits

Employee Assistance Program

Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Application DeadlineThis position is anticipated to close on Nov 27, 2026.

Workplace TypeThis is a fully onsite position in Denver,CO.

About Aston Carter

Aston Carter provides world-class corporate talent solutions to thousands of clients across the globe. Specialized in accounting, finance, human resources, talent acquisition, procurement, supply chain and select administrative professions, we extend the capabilities of industry-leading companies. We draw on our deep recruiting expertise and expansive network to meet the evolving needs of our clients and talent community with agility and excellence. With offices across the U.S., Canada, Asia Pacific and Europe, Aston Carter serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® Platinum Award winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [email protected] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.