Chief Financial Officer

Subsense•Palo Alto, CA

16d

About The Position

Subsense is seeking a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to lead its capital strategy, including defining valuation and funding pathways, and spearheading a Series A fundraising round. The CFO will serve as the financial and strategic partner to the CEO, responsible for shaping the fundraising architecture, managing investor engagement from start to finish, and translating complex scientific and business milestones into a compelling investment narrative. This role requires integrating R&D, Product, Operations, external advisors, and strategic partners into a cohesive fundraising engine to secure the necessary capital for scaling Subsense.

Requirements

Proven experience in venture-backed startups, deep-tech, medtech, biotech, or related high-complexity fields.
Proven experience in top-tier financial institutions (investment banking, hedge funds, private equity, or asset management) with a track record in high-stakes financial analysis, transactions, or capital markets work.
Proven record leading or materially driving $50–150M institutional fundraising rounds.
Established relationships with top-tier VCs, strategics, family offices, or crossover funds.
Direct experience structuring equity economics, valuation narratives, and cap table strategies.
Fluency in investor processes, technical diligence, financial defensibility, and milestone-driven capital planning.
Strong command of modeling logic, investment scenarios, and deal negotiation principles (built on top of existing company models).
Exceptional communicator who can craft high-conviction investor stories and influence diverse senior stakeholders.
Comfortable operating in scientific, regulated, and cross-functional environments with R&D, Product, and external advisors.

Responsibilities

Shape the fundraising strategy, including round size, structure, timing, sequencing, and investor tiering.
Define capital allocation logic tied to milestones and long-term funding pathways.
Craft the core investor narrative, including market framing, positioning, and value-creation path.
Build strategy for competitive tension, syndicate composition, and negotiation positioning.
Prioritize investor segments and define the approach for each segment.
Partner with the CEO on strategy, messaging, and board alignment.
Build and manage the investor pipeline across VCs, strategics, family offices, and crossover funds.
Lead all investor interactions, including outreach, screening, meetings, diligence coordination, and closing.
Own investor materials such as the deck, data room, trackers, and diligence responses.
Maintain consistent investor communication regarding updates and milestones.
Coordinate advisors, legal counsel, technical reviewers, and bankers.
Represent Subsense at fundraising-relevant conferences and strategic events.
Own valuation strategy, valuation assumptions, and the defensibility of the valuation narrative.
Develop equity economics and investment scenarios aligned with financial models and milestones.
Run cap table modeling, dilution scenarios, and option pool planning.
Present and defend valuation during investor discussions and diligence, defining valuation boundaries and negotiation logic.
Align R&D, Product, and Operations milestones with capital-to-milestones logic and investor expectations.
Ensure defensible KPIs, clean financials, and a coherent technical milestone trajectory.
Translate scientific progress into measurable investor KPIs and funding logic.
Drive internal preparedness for diligence, including strategy clarity, documentation, risks, and feasibility.
Ensure internal alignment on fundraising timeline, critical path, and interdependencies.
Evaluate partnerships (pharma, CROs, enterprise) for their impact on valuation and fundraising leverage.
Structure partnership terms, pilots, LOIs, and commercial frameworks to enhance investor credibility.
Integrate partner traction and external validation into the fundraising narrative.
Coordinate legal, technical, and commercial inputs for partnership-related diligence.
Utilize strategic partners to strengthen negotiation leverage and valuation defensibility.