Senior Associate, R&D Finance

Senior Associate, Finance

Rippling is expanding its product portfolio into new areas, moving beyond its current pricing model into product lines with different cost structures, infrastructure economics, and pricing constructs. This means building financial frameworks where there is limited precedent, and the person in this role will play a key part in developing them.

About the role

We are looking for a Senior Associate to serve as a finance partner to Rippling's R&D organization. You will own the financial models that underpin our infrastructure spend, develop unit cost frameworks for new product lines, and work closely with Engineering and Product leadership to drive cost discipline and investment efficiency. This role has meaningful executive visibility and is well-positioned to grow with the business.

Responsibilities

• Own the financial models that govern Rippling's infrastructure footprint, including bottoms-up forecasts, tracking actuals, and translating complex cost drivers into clear business narratives
• Develop unit cost frameworks and efficiency metrics for new product lines that operate outside Rippling's current pricing model, requiring first-principles thinking about cost attribution and margin structure for an increasingly AI native product experience
• Establish month-end reporting processes and controls, partnering with Accounting to ensure accuracy and speed in our close cycle
• Partner directly with Engineering and Product leadership to evaluate infrastructure investment decisions, identify cost efficiency opportunities, and hold the business accountable to its financial commitments
• Build and maintain budget and forecasting models that balance near-term cost discipline with the flexibility needed to support a rapidly evolving product roadmap
• Use technology, including AI productivity tools and data querying, to automate reporting and help the finance function operate at scale

Requirements

• 4+ years of experience in high-growth technology, strategic finance, investing, and/or investment banking
• Advanced financial modeling and analytical skills; ability to structure ambiguous, open-ended problems and drive them to a clear conclusion
• Working knowledge of cloud infrastructure cost dimensions. You understand how compute, storage, and data transfer costs behave and can model them at a unit level
• Self-starter mentality, comfortable operating with limited guidance in a fast-moving environment, with a strong desire to own outcomes rather than just analyze them
• Strong cross-functional communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with engineering and product audiences on financial topics

Nice to have

• Prior experience at AWS, GCP, Azure, or a cloud infrastructure company
• Familiarity with observability or cloud cost management tooling (e.g., Datadog, CloudHealth, Vantage)
• Experience modeling consumption-based or usage-based pricing economics
• SQL proficiency and experience working with large datasets to build financial insights
• Hands-on experience with AI productivity tools (e.g., Claude, Claude Code)
• Establishment of robust unit cost models that provide clear visibility into infrastructure economics across Rippling's product lines, and help senior leaders understand the impact of AI inference and make informed product decisions
• Demonstrated improvement in cost efficiency, tracked against defined metrics in partnership with Engineering
• A tight, reliable month-end reporting process that scales with the business
• A trusted partnership with Engineering and Product leadership, where you are seen as a thought partner and not just a reporter of numbers

Benefits

Rippling is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive workforce and do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, or any other legally protected characteristics.

Rippling highly values having employees working in-office to foster a collaborative work environment and company culture. For office-based employees (employees who live within a defined radius of a Rippling office), Rippling considers working in the office, at least three days a week under current policy, to be an essential function of the employee's role.

Pay

The pay range for this role is:
$102,000 - $170,000 USD per year (US San Francisco Bay Area)

Location

San Francisco, CA