Chief Financial Officer

Posted 3 Days Ago
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Arlington, VA, USA
Hybrid
Expert/Leader
Artificial Intelligence • Information Technology • Robotics • Defense
The Role
Lead corporate finance and capital strategy as a partner to the CEO: design forecasting and controls, co-lead institutional fundraising, evaluate investor and governance risk (CFIUS/ITAR/EAR), defend financial diligence, and hire/scale a high-performing finance team while enabling audit and compliance functions.
Summary Generated by Built In
About the Role

We're looking for a battle-tested Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to partner directly with our CEO and executive leadership team. Someone who has spent years in high-growth, Series A-and-beyond startups and knows what that pace demands.

This isn't an inheritance role. We need someone who has seen productive chaos before, isn't rattled by it, and treats it as raw material to build order from—building the finance plane while flying it. You'll be the key asset for designing core systems, establishing forecasting rigor, enforcing controls, and managing capital so Quartermaster AI scales cleanly without missing a beat.

What You'll Do
  • Commercial Thought Partnership: Act as the strategic co-pilot to the CEO and functional leaders on pricing, deal structuring, unit economics, and go-to-market strategies.

  • Fundraising & Capital Strategy: Co-lead institutional fundraising alongside the CEO—shaping valuation, managing investor syndicates, structuring equity/debt facilities, and leading term sheet negotiations through final close.

  • Capital Protection & Governance: Partner with legal counsel to screen prospective investors for regulatory, CFIUS, and governance risks, protecting long-term operating flexibility and compliance.

  • Financial Authority & Diligence Defense: Own the financial narrative for the board and investors, defending complex international revenue, FX exposure, enterprise payment terms, and unit economics under institutional scrutiny.

  • Team Building & Operational Agility: Hire, mentor, and scale a high-performing finance team while ensuring resilient financial controls and navigating the evolving needs of a fast-growing startup.

What We're Looking For
  • Experience: 10+ years of progressive financial leadership, with proven experience as a CFO, VP of Finance, or Head of Finance at a high-growth, Series B or later venture-backed startup.

  • Investment banking or capital markets experience — ECM, leveraged finance, or growth-stage tech/industrial coverage — followed by direct operating experience inside a company, ideally as CFO, deputy CFO, or Head of Corporate Development, through at least one full raise-to-close cycle and beyond. We're looking for someone who has sat on the company side of the table, not just advised from across it, and who knows how to work as a true partner to a CEO rather than run the process in isolation.

  • Real experience with export-controlled, dual-use, or defense-adjacent companies raising outside capital. Comfort with ITAR/EAR fundamentals and CFIUS mechanics, you don't need to be a compliance expert, but you need to spot structural risk in a term sheet or cap table before anyone else does, and bring it to the CEO early.

  • A track record leading large, competitive primary raises in close collaboration with a CEO or founder, with the negotiation skill and structuring fluency to blend debt and equity without diluting the growth story.

  • Demonstrated presence at the board level — you've stood alongside a CEO in front of a board and institutional investors as a genuine partner in the room, not just supporting someone else doing it.

  • Comfort leading a finance organization where compliance reports in but isn't personally owned, freeing you to spend the bulk of your time as the CEO's partner on capital strategy. Our Controller and compliance team handle DCAA/CAS and audit-readiness day to day; you'll know enough to ask the right questions and speak to it credibly alongside the CEO with the board and investors.

Nice To Have
  • Experience supporting a company through major financial milestones (e.g., Series B/C/D rounds, debt financing, M&A, or IPO preparation).

  • Background in a fast-paced technology or AI company.

  • Direct experience managing international expansion, complex multi-entity structures, or defense/government contracting finance.

Why Join Quartermaster AI

You'll work at the center of the company, with direct visibility into strategy, capital structure, and how a high-growth AI company is really built. This role has real influence—the person in this seat helps set the financial discipline, strategic pace, and operational foundation for how the entire business scales.

Skills Required

  • 10+ years of progressive financial leadership with experience as CFO, VP of Finance, or Head of Finance at high-growth, Series B or later venture-backed startups
  • Direct operating experience through at least one full raise-to-close cycle (CFO, deputy CFO, or Head of Corporate Development)
  • Investment banking or capital markets experience (ECM, leveraged finance, or growth-stage tech/industrial coverage)
  • Experience with export-controlled, dual-use, or defense-adjacent companies raising outside capital and ability to spot term-sheet/cap-table structural risk
  • Comfort with ITAR/EAR fundamentals and CFIUS mechanics (ability to assess governance/regulatory risk)
  • Proven track record leading large primary raises and negotiating equity/debt structures in partnership with a CEO
  • Demonstrated board-level presence and experience presenting/defending financials to boards and institutional investors
  • Experience supporting Series B/C/D rounds, debt financing, M&A, or IPO preparation
  • Background in fast-paced technology or AI companies
  • Direct experience managing international expansion, multi-entity structures, or defense/government contracting finance
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The Company
45 Employees
Year Founded: 2023

What We Do

Quartermaster AI leverages cutting-edge AI and robotics to create distributed open-ocean systems that enhance maritime domain awareness. Their systems enable vessels to sense, compute, and communicate, aiming for a safe and sustainably managed ocean.

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