Strategic Finance Associate, R&D Finance San Francisco, CA

Rippling gives businesses one place to run HR, IT, and Finance. It brings together all of the workforce systems that are normally scattered across a company, like payroll, expenses, benefits, and computers. For the first time ever, you can manage and automate every part of the employee lifecycle in a single system.

Take onboarding, for example. With Rippling, you can hire a new employee anywhere in the world and set up their payroll, corporate card, computer, benefits, and even third-party apps like Slack and Microsoft 365—all within 90 seconds.

Based in San Francisco, CA, Rippling has raised $1.4B from the world’s top investors—including Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Sequoia, Greenoaks, and Bedrock—and was named one of America's best startup employers by Forbes.

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About the role

We're looking to hire a Strategic Finance Associate to join the R&D Finance team, who will partner with our Research & Development (R&D) teams here at Rippling. R&D spans Engineering, Product Management, Product Design, and Data Science. This role will work directly with senior management within the R&D organization and play a role in key financial decisions.

R&D is a critical component of Rippling’s success and this position is fundamental to driving strategic and financial initiatives within the R&D org. Primary responsibilities will include a combination of building and maintaining models, creating new models to evaluate potential investments and product launches, ensuring teams remain within financial guardrails, and partnering with key cross‑functional stakeholders. There will be an emphasis on drawing data‑driven insights to further enhance the impact and success of the R&D org at Rippling.

The role is based in San Francisco, CA (in‑office only). The ideal candidate will have relevant experience in investment banking, investing, or Finance at a high‑growth technology company.

What you will do

• Work closely with functional leadership, cross‑functional partners, and colleagues across the Finance organization to support date driven decision making
• Support the monthly close and re‑forecast process
• Coordinate with Accounting partners to ensure flow of information during close cycles
• Create financial models from scratch to size business initiatives and the investment required to achieve them in order to help business leaders make ROI‑based trade‑offs
• Evaluate unit economics for new and existing products to understand their margins
• Develop a greater depth of understanding around R&D efficiency metrics
• Partner with R&D leadership to develop and monitor budgets and headcount needs ensure that the company’s financial plan remains on track.
• Partner with the business and cross‑functional team members to develop and maintain robust, scalable forecasting models
• Coordinate and prepare materials for executive review, including for board meetings and fundraising efforts

What you will need

• 4+ years of experience in finance. Previous experience in a high‑growth technology company, investing, and/or investment banking is preferred
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Business, or a related field.
• Excellent financial modeling and analytical skills. A track record of building and maintaining complex operating models
• Excellent communication - written, verbal, and presentation
• Self‑starter with the ability to manage time, deliverables, and cross‑functional relationships
• Ability to navigate a fast‑paced, entrepreneurial work environment
• Organized, attentive to detail, and intellectually curious
• Experience with financial planning tools (e.g. Anaplan) and Salesforce is a plus but not required
• Experience partnering with Engineering and Product teams a bonus

Additional Information

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,…