Head of Finance

Western Magnetics Company•South San Francisco, CA

About The Position

Westmag is seeking its first finance hire to build the finance function from the ground up. Reporting to the COO, the Head of Finance will own accounting, planning, cash management, and reporting, and establish the systems, controls, and processes needed by a fast-scaling manufacturer. This is a hands-on role that initially involves closing the books and building the financial model before hiring a team. The role works closely with Production, Supply Chain, and Engineering to provide leadership with visibility into unit costs, margins, and cash, and to support the company's production growth in U.S. factories.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field.
At least 8 years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including at least 3 years leading a finance function or serving as the senior finance person at a company.
Hands-on manufacturing or hardware finance experience, including inventory accounting, standard costing, and COGS analysis.
Strong command of U.S. GAAP, monthly close, and financial statement preparation.
Demonstrated ability to build financial models, budgets, and cash forecasts from the ground up.
Experience implementing or scaling accounting and ERP systems such as QuickBooks, NetSuite, Xero, or similar.
Comfort working hands-on in an ambiguous, fast-paced environment where processes are still being established.
Excellent communication skills, including the ability to explain financial results clearly to engineers, executives, and investors.
Authorization to work in the United States.

Nice To Haves

CPA certification or an MBA.
Experience as the first finance hire at a venture-backed startup.
Background in drone, robotics, automotive, aerospace, defense, or electromechanical component manufacturing.
Experience supporting equity fundraising, venture debt, or equipment financing.
Experience preparing a company for its first financial audit.
Familiarity with government contracts, grants, or manufacturing incentive programs.
Experience with multi-state tax and compliance.

Responsibilities

Build Westmag's finance function from scratch and determine which activities to handle in-house and which to manage through external partners.
Build and maintain the financial model, annual budget, and rolling forecasts, including visibility into cash, runway, gross margin, and operating spend.
Manage cash and treasury, banking relationships, payment approvals, collections, and short-term cash forecasting.
Own accounting operations, including monthly close, general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, and GAAP-compliant financial statements.
Partner with the COO and CEO on fundraising, debt and equipment financing, investor updates, and board materials, and maintain diligence readiness.
Select and implement scalable finance systems, including accounting and ERP platforms, and integrate them with inventory and manufacturing systems such as MES.
Support Production, Supply Chain, and Sales with capital equipment business cases, supplier terms, customer pricing and quote models, and make-versus-buy decisions.
Establish internal controls, approval policies, and spend management, and prepare Westmag for its first financial audit.
Oversee tax compliance, insurance, 409A valuations, and cap table administration with outside advisors.
Track and report grants, incentives, and government contracts as Westmag expands its U.S. manufacturing footprint.
Establish manufacturing cost accounting, including inventory accounting, standard costs, bills of materials, scrap and yield tracking, and true unit costs for motors and actuators.
Hire and develop the finance and accounting team as the company scales.