The posting
THE OPPORTUNITY
insitro is looking for a senior finance leader to build and run our FP&A function, and to take what is already an AI-forward finance capability into the next generation of FP&A. We've done the work of embedding AI across finance; this role owns taking that foundation further so the business has seamless access to information and makes faster, better-informed decisions.
Your year-one priorities: move us from a bi-annual budget to a rolling quarterly forecast; make scenario planning routine enough that the Executive Team sees the budget impact of a decision in days, not weeks; extend our AI-enabled, self-serve FP&A capability; and tighten the partnership with Accounting so planning, close, and reporting run as one system.
You'll own the company-wide budget and forecast, the headcount and compensation model, and the financial materials for the Executive Team and Board, and you'll present directly to the Board. You'll partner closely with Research, Platform, Clinical Development, People, and G&A, serve as a standing partner to Accounting leadership, and work tightly with Investor Relations, Corporate Strategic Finance, and Corporate Development to keep the internal plan and the external financial narrative consistent.
Based in South San Francisco, this position reports to the CFO, leads the FP&A team (today, our Director of R&D and Clinical FP&A), and offers an in-person hybrid schedule of three days per week, on average.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Planning, Forecasting & Scenario Analysis
- Own the Planning Cycle: Run the planning calendar end to end, covering the annual operating plan, quarterly reforecasts, and the long-range plan.
- Rolling Forecast: Lead the shift from a bi-annual budget to a rolling quarterly forecast.
- Bottom-Up Budget: Build the annual budget across Research, Platform and Compute, Clinical Development, lab operations, and G&A.
- Scenario Planning: Make scenario planning a standing capability that quantifies the budget impact of decisions before commitments are made.
Next-Generation FP&A & Finance Systems
- Systems Roadmap: Own insitro's finance systems roadmap for planning and analysis, including how Oracle Cloud ERP is configured and used across finance alongside ongoing integration of LLM-based tools and potential onboarding of an FP&A solution.
- Scale AI-Enabled FP&A: Use LLM-based tools directly in your own work and turn strong individual practices into durable, team-wide capability.
- Automate & Integrate: Automate management packages, scorecards, and variance reports, and work with IT and Accounting so Oracle, the data warehouse, and AI tooling form one architecture.
- Self-Serve Access: Give cost center managers and project leads dashboards and data access so they can make decisions without waiting on FP&A.
Business & Accounting Partnership
- R&D, Clinical & Compute Finance: Translate Research, Platform, and clinical plans into cost, headcount, and timeline models, covering trial costs, CRO/CMO spend, cloud and GPU commitments, and build-vs-buy decisions.
- Portfolio & Headcount Decisions: Bring program-level cost visibility into portfolio decisions, including insitro Decision Boards (iDBs), and partner with People on requisition sequencing and headcount governance.
- Partner to Accounting: Co-own the data model, chart of accounts governance, controls alignment, and close-cycle responsibilities to support Accounting leadership as we mature toward public-company standards.
Leadership, Board & Investor Relations
- Lead the Team: Lead and grow the FP&A team and advise the CFO on finance org design and future hiring.
- Board & Executive Reporting: Own the Executive Team and Board financial materials, and personally present budget, forecast, and variance drivers to the Board and Audit Committee.
- One Financial Narrative: Partner with Investor Relations, Corporate Strategic Finance, and Corporate Development to keep the operating plan, guidance, capital allocation, and deal modeling consistent.
ABOUT YOU
Experience & Qualifications
- Proven Tenure: 12+ years of FP&A/finance experience in biotech or life sciences, including owning a full planning cycle end to end.
- Education: Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
- FP&A Builder: Track record of building an FP&A function, including standing up a planning system, moving to a rolling forecast, and automating reporting.
- Board & Public Company: Experience presenting at the Board and Audit Committee level, plus public-company experience with SEC reporting cycles and guidance-setting.
- IPO Readiness: IPO preparation experience, with a working understanding of public-company planning and reporting discipline.
- Clinical & Technical Accounting: Clinical development finance experience (trial cost modeling, CRO/vendor management, accruals) and working knowledge of the R&D accounting judgments that shape the forecast (e.g., ASC 730, ASC 808).
- Systems & Tools: Hands-on experience with an enterprise planning platform, strong knowledge of Oracle Cloud ERP/EPM or equivalent, and strong modeling and presentation skills in Excel, think-cell, and Google Workspace.
- AI at Team Scale: Track record of scaling AI/LLM-enabled capability across a finance team, beyond personal use.
- People Leadership: Experience leading finance teams, including managing senior individual contributors.
Core Competencies
- Translator: You build credibility with technical leaders who don't think in financial terms.
- AI Enthusiast: You're energized by using LLMs and AI tools to improve the work, and you bring your team along.
- Get Things Done: You prioritize and advance multiple projects under real constraints.
- Engage with Respect: You understand the needs of insitro teams and leaders in every interaction.
- Own the Outcome: You take ownership of problems and of the systems that keep them solved.
Preferred Qualifications
- Advanced Credentials: An MBA, CFA, or CPA, or a consulting background.
COMPENSATION & BENEFITS AT INSITRO
Our target starting salary for successful US-based applicants for this role is $300,000-$345,000. To determine starting pay, we consider multiple job-related factors including a candidate's skills, education and experience, market demand, business needs, and internal parity. We may also adjust this range in the future based on market data.
This role is eligible for participation in our Annual Performance Bonus Plan (based on company targets by role level and annual company performance) and our Equity Incentive Plan, subject to the terms of those plans and associated policies.
In addition, insitro also provides our employees:
- 401(k) plan with employer matching for contributions
- Excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage as well as mental health and well-being support
- Open, flexible vacation policy
- Paid parental leave of at least 16 weeks to support parents who give birth, and 10 weeks for a new parent (inclusive of birth, adoption, fostering, etc)
- Quarterly budget for books and online courses for self-development
- New hire stipend for home office setup
- Monthly cell phone & internet stipend
- Access to free onsite baristas and daily lunch for employees who are either onsite or hybrid
- Access to a free commuter bus network that provides transport to and from our South San Francisco HQ from locations all around the Bay Area
insitro is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status.
We believe diversity, equity, and inclusion need to be at the foundation of our culture. We work hard to bring together diverse teams–grounded in a wide range of expertise and life experiences–and work even harder to ensure those teams thrive in inclusive, growth-oriented environments supported by equitable company and team practices. All candidates can expect equitable treatment, respect, and fairness throughout the interview process.
#LI-Hybrid
Please be aware of recruitment scams: we never request payments, all recruitment communications are from @insitro.com http://insitro.com, and if in doubt, contact us at [email protected].
About insitro
insitro is a drug discovery and development company using machine learning (ML) and data at scale to decode biology for transformative medicines. At the core of insitro’s approach is the convergence of in-house generated multi-modal cellular data and high-content phenotypic human cohort data. We rely on these data to develop ML-driven, predictive disease models that uncover underlying biologic state and elucidate critical drivers of disease. These powerful models rely on extensive biological and computational infrastructure and allow insitro to advance novel targets and patient biomarkers, design therapeutics and inform clinical strategy. insitro is advancing a wholly owned and partnered pipeline of insights and therapeutics in neuroscience and metabolism. Since launching in 2018, insitro has raised over $700 million from top tech, biotech and crossover investors, and from collaborations with pharmaceutical partners. For more information on insitro, please visit www.insitro.com http://www.insitro.com.
