Director of Finance and Strategic Planning

About Kaylus

Kaylus is developing an innovative fintech platform aimed at helping families improve financial health, wealth, and resilience. The platform integrates AI-driven receipt insights, partnerships with retailers and consumer packaged goods companies, personalized reward programs, loyalty initiatives, and a vision for long-term consumer financial empowerment. As a young company, Kaylus offers leadership opportunities to shape both the products and the organizational growth.

Role Overview

This role is designed for a forward-thinking finance leader to collaborate closely with the CEO as one of the earliest strategic leaders of the company. Instead of focusing on routine financial tasks, this position demands shaping the company’s financial and strategic future. Responsibilities include financial modeling, analyzing product economics, developing pricing strategies for enterprise partnerships, and working alongside engineering to build scalable financial systems. Finance is integral to product development and company strategy, not just a support function.

Key Responsibilities

• Construct and maintain long-term financial models to guide company strategy.
• Lead budgeting, forecasting, and operational planning processes.
• Develop scenarios for hiring and organizational growth.
• Create executive dashboards and track key performance indicators.
• Analyze unit economics and contribution margins to aid decision-making.
• Collaborate with product and engineering to design economic foundations for loyalty rewards, campaign funding, digital wallets, financial ledgers, redemption liabilities, and future financial offerings.
• Formulate pricing frameworks, profitability models, and decision tools to support enterprise partnerships and sustained growth.
• Challenge assumptions, identify hidden risks, clarify ambiguous areas, and help turn ambitious ideas into viable business ventures.
• Build and maintain executive partnerships and contribute to long-term company plans.

Candidate Profile

Ideal candidates view finance as a strategic asset, not merely accounting. They enjoy building novel systems, debating ideas across technical and commercial teams, and making informed decisions amid uncertainty. Intellectual curiosity, humility, ownership mentality, and enthusiasm for complex problem-solving are valued traits.

Qualifications

• 7 to 12 years of progressive finance experience.
• Exceptional skills in financial modeling, forecasting, and business planning.
• Strong strategic thinking and sound business judgment.
• Excellent communication abilities and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• CPA license preferred.
• Experience in fintech, financial services, SaaS, payments, loyalty programs, marketplaces, or consumer technology preferred.
• Previous involvement with executive leadership and designing pricing or incentive programs is a plus.
• Advanced credentials (MBA, CFA) are a plus.
• Willingness to pursue necessary regulatory qualifications as Kaylus expands its regulated financial services.

Success Indicators in First Year

• Establish a finance organization from scratch.
• Develop financial frameworks underpinning the loyalty platform.
• Implement competitive pricing strategies.
• Define meaningful KPIs to drive company decisions.
• Guide investment decisions to optimize capital usage.
• Serve as a primary strategic partner to the CEO.

Career Growth

This position is designed for growth, expanding into senior executive finance leadership with the company’s development. Kaylus aims to align leadership with long-term ownership through an executive equity program currently being developed.

Compensation and Benefits

• Base salary between $150,000 and $170,000 per year.
• Hybrid remote work arrangement within California.
• Opportunity to participate in an upcoming executive ownership program.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance coverage.
• Unlimited paid time off.
• Direct collaboration with CEO and executive leadership.
• Influence over both strategic direction and financial management of a growing fintech company.
• Clear progression path toward executive leadership and equity participation.