R&D Finance Manager

<h2>About the Role</h2> <p>Abnormal AI is looking for a Finance Manager, R&D to join the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) team reporting to the Sr Director of R&D Finance. The R&D Finance team is responsible for providing strategic financial support to our R&D organization.</p> <p>This is a builder’s role, ideal for someone who enjoys working hands-on with data, shaping processes from the ground up, and influencing decision-making through clear, compelling financial insights. You’ll work closely with Finance leadership in a role that blends FP&A rigor with operational pragmatism in a fast-paced, remote-first, AI-forward environment.</p> <p>This role will be responsible for building, owning & maintaining financial models in support of R&D. This role will help us develop the necessary product, engineering and infrastructure insights and business partnerships to support R&D.</p> <p>The ideal candidate is a proactive self-starter with demonstrated analytical strength and strong business partnering skills.</p> <h2>What you will do </h2> <ul> <li>Act as a finance business partner to R&D and Finance leaders, supporting budgeting, forecasting, headcount planning, and monthly/quarterly close deliverables</li> <li>Partner cross-functionally to understand strategic priorities and model scenarios, evaluate trade-offs, and inform decision-making</li> <li>Translate complex financial data into clear, actionable narratives for senior and executive stakeholders</li> <li>Build, maintain, and iterate on dashboards and performance metrics, with a focus on automation, scalability, and data integrity</li> <li>Support annual and quarterly planning cycles in collaboration with Finance, HR, Systems, and other partners as needed</li> <li>Improve forecasting accuracy and financial visibility for supported teams</li> <li>Identify and implement opportunities to streamline processes, improve reporting, and scale finance workflows</li> <li>Champion AI-enabled and automated finance solutions to improve speed, clarity, and efficiency</li> <li>Embrace feedback and iteration, refining analyses and outputs to meet evolving business needs</li> <li>Foster a culture of transparency, operational excellence, and “no ego, just impact” in Finance partnerships</li> <li>Analyze large data sets from our data warehouse to report and forecast infrastructure costs and influence cost optimization</li> </ul> <h2>Must Haves</h2> <ul> <li>Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business, Economics, Engineering or a related field. </li> <li>8+ years of FP&A or corporate finance or management consulting experience in a high-growth or fast-paced environment</li> <li>Proven ability to operate independently in ambiguous, evolving problem spaces</li> <li>Strong financial acumen across budgeting, forecasting, headcount planning, and executive reporting</li> <li>Experience partnering with senior leaders and influencing decisions through data-driven insights</li> <li>Excellent stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration skills</li> <li>Advanced modeling and analytical skills (Excel or Google Sheets required)</li> <li>Strong written and verbal communication skills, including comfort presenting to senior audiences</li> <li>Comfort working in a remote-first environment with clear, proactive, and async communication</li> <li>Interest or experience in applying AI or automation to improve finance workflows</li> </ul> <h2>Nice to Have</h2> <ul> <li>Experience supporting R&D functions</li> <li>Experience with planning or BI tools such as