Strategic Finance Senior Associate

About the role

The Strategic Finance Senior Associate acts as a core finance partner embedded within the Research & Development organization at Toast. This position is responsible for providing rigorous data-driven insights that directly shape strategic, financial, and operational decisions for the teams building Toast's restaurant technology platform. The role owns the financial stewardship of the R&D function, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently to support innovation and scalable growth. You will analyze complex investment scenarios, model resource allocation, and translate financial data into clear recommendations that drive execution. Success in this role requires close collaboration with business leaders to challenge assumptions and validate the financial viability of new initiatives. You will be instrumental in developing the financial narrative behind the product and technology roadmaps. This position is critical for ensuring the R&D organization operates with financial discipline while maximizing its impact on the business.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Partner daily with leaders and teams across the R&D organization to support investment, headcount, and resourcing decisions in a fast-paced, high-growth environment.
• Design, construct, and maintain intricate financial models covering headcount planning, vendor and cloud expenditure management, capitalized software tracking, and program investment analysis.
• Own the preparation of monthly and quarterly quantitative and qualitative analysis of R&D financial results, including the explanation of variances to plan and the identification of key business drivers.
• Drive the annual planning and long-range planning processes for the R&D function, incorporating detailed knowledge of product roadmaps, team scaling requirements, and technology infrastructure needs.
• Lead cross-functional strategic initiatives by combining business partnering, deep analytical insight, and structured project management to deliver measurable outcomes.
• Proactively identify emerging trends and areas of opportunity, translating raw data into insights that influence cross-functional strategic and operational decisions.
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of Toast's business model, including unit economics, product strategies, competitive positioning, and internal processes to advise stakeholders effectively.
• Serve as the primary financial expert for the R&D organization, ensuring all stakeholders have access to accurate, timely, and actionable financial information.
• Collaborate with finance and technology partners to improve forecasting accuracy and enhance the overall financial planning cycle.
• Challenge the status quo by analyzing alternative scenarios and providing data-backed recommendations to optimize resource utilization.
• Act as a liaison between technical teams and executive leadership, ensuring financial concepts are communicated clearly to non-finance audiences.
• Support ad-hoc analyses and special projects that require deep dives into financial performance and operational efficiency.
• Monitor industry benchmarks and best practices to ensure Toast's R&D investments remain competitive and strategically sound.
• Drive process improvements that increase the efficiency and reliability of financial reporting for the R&D organization.

Requirements

• Hold a Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a closely related analytical field.
• Possess 5+ years of professional experience in Strategic Finance, FP&A, investment banking, management consulting, or a similar data-intensive analytical role.
• Demonstrate comfort working cross-functionally by communicating complex financial information to non-finance stakeholders with clarity and precision.
• Exhibit strong Excel proficiency and advanced financial modeling skills to build structured outputs used by teams across the company.
• Utilize these skills to distill complex analyses into actionable insights that help teams size opportunities and build business cases.
• Apply effective communication and project management abilities; maintain a high level of organization and self-motivation to manage multiple priorities.
• Present findings and recommendations confidently to all levels of management, from individual contributors to senior executives.
• Think creatively and critically to solve problems in a dynamic, fast-moving, and often ambiguous work environment.
• Thrive in an environment where priorities change rapidly and decisions must be made with incomplete information.
• Take ownership of your work ethic and demonstrate integrity in all interactions with colleagues and stakeholders.
• Be passionate about data accuracy and the impact of financial decisions on product development and business growth.
• Align with Toast's mission of helping local businesses succeed in a digital world through technology innovation.

Nice to have

• Bring experience supporting an R&D, Engineering, Product, or other technology-focused function within a previous role.
• Demonstrate a background working in a public company environment where financial reporting and governance are critical.
• Show familiarity with the SaaS industry and the specific metrics and challenges that define it.
• Possess a working knowledge of Adaptive Insights, NetSuite, and Zip software platforms.
• Have hands-on experience with SQL or familiarity with Business Intelligence tools to query and visualize data.

Practical notes

The work location for this role is based in San Francisco. Engagement terms are detailed in the source documentation and should be reviewed for specifics regarding schedule and availability.