Head of Corporate Finance at Zipline in South San Francisco, CA

About Zipline

Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products.

Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations.

Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe.

We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds.

About You and The Role

The Head of Corporate Finance is a critical leadership role on Zipline’s Strategic Finance team and sits at the center of how the company plans, measures, and communicates financial performance.

This leader will own Zipline’s company-wide financial planning, forecasting, and reporting infrastructure, building the financial backbone that powers decision-making across the business. You will lead the company’s planning cadence, maintain the consolidated global business model, and ensure leadership has a clear, consistent understanding of company performance and long-term strategy.

You will partner closely with Strategic Finance, Accounting, G&A teams, and Executive Leadership to ensure Zipline’s financial processes and reporting are rigorous, scalable, and aligned with published standards.

Just as importantly, you will help elevate the entire Strategic Finance organization, building the systems, tools, and processes that allow the company to move quickly while maintaining financial discipline as Zipline scales globally and prepares for the public markets.

This role will be an in-person role based at our HQ in South San Francisco.

What You'll Do

Own Zipline’s Global Financial Planning & Forecasting

• Build and maintain Zipline’s consolidated global financial model, integrating actuals and forecasts across all departments and business lines.
• Lead the company’s annual planning and quarterly forecast processes across Strategic Finance and the broader organization.
• Define planning workstreams, ownership, timelines, and outputs to ensure a tight, efficient process with clear leadership decision points.
• Partner with business leaders to evaluate investment tradeoffs and align financial plans with Zipline’s strategic priorities.

Lead the Company’s Financial Operating Cadence

• Lead monthly forecast-to-actual reviews with finance leadership and executives, ensuring clear visibility into performance drivers and emerging risks.
• Establish Zipline’s management reporting framework and financial metrics that serve as the company’s source of truth.
• Lead the creation of executive reporting materials and board decks that communicate company performance and strategic progress.

Drive Long-Range Planning and Strategic Financial Modeling

• Manage Zipline’s long-range financial plan, including maintenance of the company’s five-year plan which is used for investor communication, fundraising, and long-term capital planning.
• Build scenario models that evaluate strategic investments, capital requirements, and growth pathways.

Strengthen Financial Infrastructure and Reporting

• Build the systems, tools, and processes that power Strategic Finance
• Continuously elevate Zipline’s financial systems, data infrastructure, and planning tools to improve speed, accuracy, and insight generation.
• Partner closely with Accounting to improve financial reporting structures, account coding, and reporting systems.
• Ensure financial reporting accurately reflects business performance while aligning with external reporting standards and IPO readiness requirements.

Lead G&A Business Partnership

• Serve as the primary financial partner to G&A functions including People, Legal, Facilities, and Finance.
• Own company-wide headcount forecasting and workforce planning in partnership with the People Team, Strategic Finance and Executive Leadership.
• Build operating cost plans that support company goals while maintaining financial discipline.

Support Investor Communication and IPO Readiness

• Support investor updates and reporting by ensuring consistent, high-quality financial materials and narratives.
• Help prepare Zipline for the operational and reporting requirements of public markets.
• Partner with Accounting, Legal, and leadership to build the financial discipline and reporting infrastructure required for IPO readiness.

What You'll Bring

• 10+ years of experience in strategic finance, corporate finance, investment banking, consulting, or financial strategy within high-growth organizations.
• Proven experience owning company-wide planning, forecasting, and financial modeling.
• Experience building and improving financial reporting systems and planning infrastructure.
• Strong track record partnering with senior executives to drive company-level decisions.
• Deep expertise in financial modeling, forecasting, and scenario analysis.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to translate complex financial data into clear insights for executives, boards, and investors.
• Strong leadership instincts with the ability to build systems, develop teams, and drive operational rigor across the organization.
• Passion for mission-driven work and for building the financial infrastructure that enables breakthrough technology to scale globally.

Nice to Have

• Experience preparing companies for IPO or operating in public-company environments
• Experience scaling financial planning systems or ERP/FP&A tools
• Background in logistics, marketplaces, robotics, or operations & hardware-heavy businesses
• Prior experience working with Boards or investors in high-growth companies

What Else You Need to Know

The starting cash range for this role is $200,000-$240,000, plus equity. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more.

Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies.

We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!