Finance And Operations Lead

Kognitos is at the forefront of revolutionizing the trillion-dollar hyper-automation market. Our mission is to redefine how software is built and maintained by leveraging cutting-edge multi-agent automation platforms. We are pioneering advancements in agentic workflows, enabling machines to reason, plan, and execute tasks in a deterministic fashion.

Our approach elevates debugging to English, bypassing traditional programming languages that struggle to adapt to runtime surprises. Kognitos is building "HAL"-but the friendly, helpful kind-to create systems that align AI safety with business value, solving challenges in efficient fine-tuning, multimodal reasoning, and real-world adaptability.

Our team includes top engineers from Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Pure Storage, and leading tech startups. Many of our engineers have studied at IIT, Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, UIUC, Caltech, and the University of Michigan.

With offices in San Jose, CA, and Bangalore, India, we're building a global center of excellence in AI automation.

At Kognitos, you won't just build software-you'll help shape the future of AI-driven automation.

Role Overview

The Finance and Operations Lead will be a key team member, responsible for driving operational efficiency and financial discipline across the organization. This person will oversee core business operations, lead financial strategy and execution, run internal operating cadences, and serve as the connective tissue across teams.

You will be both a strategic partner and a hands-on operator-rolling up your sleeves to build systems, run process, and enable scale.

Key Responsibilities

Operational Leadership

• Lead internal business operations, including company planning, goal-setting, and execution tracking.

• Drive cross-functional alignment through structured operating cadences (e.g. ELT meetings, OKR tracking, quarterly planning).

• Build and improve internal systems (HRIS, procurement, tooling) to support a growing and distributed team.

• Partner with functional leaders to streamline workflows, improve reporting, and track key business metrics.

Finance & Accounting Oversight

• Own financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes.

• Oversee accounting operations in partnership with external or internal resources (e.g. monthly close, tax, audit, compliance).

• Deliver clear, timely financial reporting for internal and external stakeholders (including board and investors).

• Support fundraising efforts with financial models, materials, and diligence readiness.

Strategic Support to CEO & ELT

• Act as an operational right-hand to the CEO-synthesizing inputs, clarifying priorities, and accelerating execution.

• Prepare and run ELT and company-wide meetings with precision and follow-through.

• Elevate decision-making by ensuring leaders have access to the right data and insights.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• 7-12 years of experience in finance, operations, or business management-ideally with exposure to early-stage and/or growth-stage startups.

• Deep understanding of business operations and financial fundamentals; familiarity with SaaS metrics and SaaS reporting

• Systems thinker with a strong bias for action; thrives in fast-paced, evolving environments.

• Highly organized and detail-oriented - able to manage competing priorities consistently

• Track record of owning cross-functional processes and driving measurable improvement.

• Strong communicator with high EQ and executive presence.

• CPA, MBA, or similar background a plus, but not required.

Final note

You do not need to match all of the listed expectations to apply for this position. We are committed to building a team with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and skills.

Equal opportunities provider

Kognitos is committed to fostering a diverse work environment and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. As we highly value diversity in our current and future employees, we do not discriminate (including in our hiring and promotion practices) on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by law.