Finance Manager, R&D Finance & FinOps

About the role

We’re looking for a dedicated Finance Manager (aka Finance Business Partner / FinOps leader) to support our R&D organization and join Zapier’s Strategic Finance team. This person will partner closely with Product, Engineering, and Infrastructure leaders to drive financial accountability, improve investment visibility, and enable better decision-making across our R&D portfolio.

Responsibilities

• Own R&D financial planning and analysis.
• Lead forecasting, budgeting, and variance analysis for R&D spend, including headcount, cloud infrastructure (AWS), tooling, and AI-related costs.
• Model and manage cloud & infrastructure economics.
• Build and maintain models that explain cloud costs, key usage drivers, unit economics, and scaling behavior; partner with technical teams to improve cost visibility and efficiency.
• Analyze and support AI investments.
• Evaluate and track AI-related spend (internal and vendor-based), assess ROI and trade-offs, and support decision-making as AI usage scales across the product and internal operations.
• Drive strategic insights for R&D leadership.
• Identify trends, risks, and optimization opportunities across R&D spend, translating complex cost drivers into clear recommendations for leadership.
• Develop scalable, decision-ready models.
• Build flexible models to support scenario planning, capacity planning, and long-term investment decisions tied to product growth and technical architecture.
• Support executive and board-level reporting.
• Prepare clear, concise materials that explain R&D performance, cloud and AI cost dynamics, and forward-looking implications for company strategy.
• Improve tools, processes, and data quality.
• Enhance forecasting accuracy, automate reporting where possible, and improve how R&D, cloud, and AI cost data flows into FP&A systems and decision-making.

Requirements

This isn't your first rodeo. You have 4-6+ years of accounting/finance-specific experience, with 2+ years of working with R&D orgs. A background in Big 4 Accounting, Investment Banking, or Management Consulting with meaningful ownership of operating expense areas - ideally R&D or technical cost structures, is a plus.

Qualifications

You understand financial modeling well. You have experience building bottoms up and high level financial models.

You understand how modern R&D organizations operate. You can translate engineering, product, and infrastructure inputs into clear financial implications and trade-offs.

You’re energized by owning a process from A-Z. You take initiative, thrive in ambiguity, and enjoy seeing things through from scoping and modeling to execution and follow-through.

You’re resourceful. You love a challenge and always question the status quo. You are highly adaptive and enjoy getting creative to solve new problems.

You love data. You are innately curious, analyze everything, look for trends, and always forever truth-seeking.

Experience writing SQL is a plus.

You care about the nitty gritty. You are detail-oriented, highly organized, understand priorities, and thrive in a fast paced environment.

You love to collaborate and coordinate. You’re comfortable driving cross-functional alignment and take pride in delivering high-quality work with minimal oversight.

You actively experiment with AI. You think critically about where automation and AI can meaningfully improve financial analysis, forecasting, and decision support.

You use AI in your work today — not occasionally, but as part of how you operate at a high level. You can point to workflows you’ve built, how your approach has evolved through iteration, and the impact on quality, efficiency, and experience — while intentionally applying AI for the right outcomes, setting a high bar for outputs, and taking ownership of what ships.

Skills

You have a strong understanding of financial modeling and can translate technical roadmaps into financial frameworks.

You have experience working with R&D organizations and can effectively communicate financial implications and trade-offs to stakeholders.

You are proficient in SQL and can leverage data to inform financial analysis and decision-making.

You are skilled in collaboration and coordination, able to drive cross-functional alignment and deliver high-quality work with minimal oversight.

You are adept at using AI and automation to streamline financial analysis, forecasting, and decision support processes.

Benefits

Our benefits package includes:

• Competitive compensation and benefits package
• Flexible work arrangements
• Continuous learning and development opportunities
• Work-life balance initiatives
• Employee recognition programs
• Health and wellness programs
• Community involvement and volunteer opportunities
• Professional networking and mentorship programs
• Family-friendly policies
• Annual bonus and profit-sharing plans
• Generous paid time off
• Comprehensive health insurance options
• Retirement savings plans
• Employee assistance programs
• Discounts on technology and other products
• Company-sponsored events and activities
• Regular team-building and social events
• Flexible spending accounts
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks
• Professional development workshops and seminars
• Employee resource groups and affinity networks
• Peer-to-peer recognition and awards
• Volunteer time off
• Parental leave and adoption benefits
• Telecommuting and remote work options
• Employee stock purchase plan
• Wellness programs
• Flexible vacation and sick leave
• On-site fitness centers and wellness resources
• Subsidized meals and snacks