Strategic Finance Associate
About The Position
Freeform is seeking an early-career Associate to join its Strategic Finance team and contribute to the financial infrastructure supporting company-wide decision-making. The role offers significant ownership and visibility, with responsibility for financial models that power planning cycles and support M&A and partnership activity. The Associate will work closely with leadership as a hands-on analytical contributor in a fast-moving company developing AI-native manufacturing systems. The position is based at Freeform’s vertically integrated facility in Hawthorne, where technology development, R&D, and production take place. It requires full-time onsite presence five days a week, with very limited exceptions. Freeform describes its environment as fast-paced, cross-functional, and collaborative.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, accounting, or a related field.
- At least 2 years of experience in investment banking, private equity, or a strategic finance role at a high-growth company.
- Experience with variance analysis, budgeting, and financial reporting in an operating company context.
Nice To Haves
- MBA or advanced degree in finance or business.
- Exceptional financial modeling skills.
- Strong command of Excel; comfort working with large, complex datasets and building dynamic, assumption-driven models.
- Private equity or growth equity experience, particularly at the portfolio company level.
- Experience in manufacturing, deep tech, or a hardware-intensive business.
- Experience with financial planning tools such as Mosaic, Pigment, Adaptive, or similar.
- A “No job too big or small” mindset and willingness to roll up sleeves and build from zero.
Responsibilities
- Own and maintain the company’s integrated financial model, including three-statement modeling, bottoms-up budgeting, and rolling forecasts across business units.
- Lead monthly and quarterly variance analysis, comparing actuals with budget and prior year, and provide executive-ready commentary for leadership and the Board.
- Build and maintain customer- and product-level pricing models, including unit economics, segment contribution margins, and scenario and sensitivity analyses.
- Lead financial modeling for M&A opportunities, including target evaluation, DCF/LBO valuation, synergy modeling, accretion/dilution analysis, and post-close integration tracking.
- Own the 3–5 year long-range financial plan, translating strategic initiatives into detailed projections with documented assumptions and risk sensitivities.
- Support structuring and evaluation of joint ventures and strategic partnerships, including economic modeling, waterfall and return attribution, and term sheet analysis.
- Drive capital allocation frameworks to help leadership assess trade-offs among organic investment, M&A, and balance sheet decisions.
- Prepare board materials, investor reporting, and ad hoc analyses for senior leadership and external stakeholders, including venture and growth equity investors.
- Partner with Operations, Sales, and Engineering to embed financial rigor in business decisions and provide real-time analytical support for strategic initiatives.
Benefits
- Significant stock option packages.
- 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, with premium PPO and HMO options.
- Life insurance.
- Traditional and Roth 401(k).
- Paid vacation, sick leave, and company holidays.
- Paid parental leave and an extended transition back to work for the birthing parent.
- Free daily catered lunch and dinner, and a fully stocked kitchenette.
- Casual dress, flexible work hours, and regular catered team-building events.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
