VP Finance

Canals is a fully remote, profitable startup transforming the industrial supply chain ($10T industry) with AI. Our platform seamlessly integrates with the systems distributors already use, automating tedious tasks and reducing failure points in moving physical goods across the globe.

We’re a 70-person team (~45 in engineering), located across North and South America.

Canals is scaling quickly. Revenue is growing, headcount is growing, and the financial complexity of the business is increasing with it. We’re looking for a Head of Finance who can bring clarity, discipline, and strategic thinking to everything finance-related — while staying deeply hands-on.

This is not a “manage a big team” role. It’s a build-and-own role.

You will be the keeper of the financial model, the steward of our books, and a strategic partner to the CEO. You’ll help us answer questions like:

• How fast can we hire while remaining profitable?

• What happens if we invest in X?

• What would an acquisition mean for our runway?

• Where are we structurally inefficient?

• What should we be measuring that we aren’t today?

You’ll operate at both altitudes: strategic finance and blocking-and-tackling execution. We want someone humble enough to get their hands dirty, but strong enough to influence company-level decisions.

This role reports directly to the CEO and will play a key role in board communication and company planning.

• Own the company’s financial model end-to-end.

• Build, maintain, and evolve a clear forward-looking model that enables scenario planning, hiring projections, profitability analysis, and capital allocation decisions.

• Oversee accounting, taxes, and books and records.

• Partner with external firms where appropriate, but maintain accountability for accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.

• Lead FP&A and strategic planning.

• Translate financial data into insight. Identify trends, risks, and opportunities. Bring clear recommendations — not just numbers.

• Partner closely with go-to-market leadership.

• Support sales compensation planning, revenue forecasting, invoicing processes, collections, and customer-facing financial workflows.

• Own financial reporting and board preparation.

• Prepare quarterly financials and present results clearly and confidently to leadership and the board.

• Improve operational finance systems and processes.

• Ensure we’re using the right tools and workflows for a fast-growing SaaS company. Leverage automation and AI where appropriate to operate lean without sacrificing rigor.

• Manage working capital and cash discipline.

• Monitor burn, profitability, collections, and vendor payments with precision.

• Bring sound judgment in scrappy environments.

• Know when something materially matters — and when it doesn’t.

• 8+ years of experience in early-stage startup environments (pre-Series B or into Series B strongly preferred).

• Must have worked closely with a founder CEO.

• Strong financial modeling skills. You should be able to build and defend a sophisticated operating model without relying on others.

• Experience overseeing accounting, taxes, and books — even if execution is outsourced.

• Comfort operating as a lean finance function (e.g., VP + one additional team member or external support).

• Experience partnering with revenue organizations (sales comp, forecasting, invoicing, collections).

• Ability to present financial results clearly to executive leadership and board-level audiences.

• High ownership mindset. You don’t wait to be told what to fix.

• Comfort with ambiguity, scrappiness, and imperfect information.

• Strong judgment — you know which risks require rigor and which don’t.

• Experience in SaaS is preferred. Familiarity with SaaS metrics (e.g., retention, gross margin, Rule of 40) is a plus but not mandatory if you’re sharp and adaptable.

• Experience with M&A is a nice-to-have, not required.

• Comfort exploring how AI and automation can improve finance and accounting efficiency.

• We're profitable: stability without the chaos of venture pivots.

• Real-world impact: your work improves global supply chains, saving customers time and reducing waste.

• Strong engineering culture: we invest in quality and documentation to keep moving fast sustainably.

• Culture of ownership: moving fast while putting quality first

• Remote-first, flexible work environment across North and South America.

• Stellar product-market fit with tons of customer love

• All star team with diverse backgrounds to collaborate with and learn from

Canals.ai is an equal opportunity employer. In addition to EEO being the law, it is a policy that is fully consistent with our principles. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to status as a protected veteran or a qualified individual with a disability, or other protected status such as race, religion, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, pregnancy or age.