Finance Operations Analyst

Valinor is a new type of defense and government tech company focused on solving the problems others don’t. Our unique model of centralized go-to-market and decentralized engineering allows us to move with unparalleled efficiency to identify unmet needs, build right-sized solutions, and get products where they matter most - in the hands of users. Unlike others in the space, who focus on the flashy problems, Valinor exists to solve the quiet, unaddressed problems–the small but significant ones that lead to cracks in the country’s strength, stability, and security.

Backed by General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and Friends & Family Capital, Valinor was founded in 2024 and has established strategic partnerships with Palantir, Anduril, and Helsing. We are building the dream team, and we want you on it.

About The Role

We are seeking a highly organized Finance Operations Analyst to join our Finance team and provide crisp execution of the day-to-day financial operations that keep Valinor’s Hub and Product Companies running full-speed ahead with their missions.

Given Valinor’s multi-entity ecosystem structure, the work spans numerous entities, bank accounts, software instances, and spend programs. Our Finance roadmap prioritizes building scalable systems that automate as much recurring work as possible, so while this position’s top priority is execution, this is not a pure processing role: you will execute the workflows reliably today while redesigning them so that they need less manual effort tomorrow. We are a lean team, and success in this role means owning problems and delivering reliable outcomes with a self-starting spirit.

What You'll Do

• Own the Finance front door. Triage the shared Finance mailboxes and ticket queue daily, resolve routine questions, document requests, and approvals directly, and route only true exceptions and judgment calls for escalation. You will serve as the key point of contact for Financial Operations, collaborating with functions including Growth, Procurement, Accounting, Product, and Engineering and ensuring that our financial processes effectively deliver on their operational needs.

• Run order-to-cash. Own and support billing and invoicing processes, including partnering with our Growth team at deal signing and at delivery milestones, generating and sending customer invoices, maintaining the ecosystem-wide receivables tracker, and driving dunning and collections so cash arrives on time.

• Manage payables. Ensure the smooth functioning of our Accounts Payable queue with the support of our outsourced Accounting team, including validating bills against purchase orders and completed work, scheduling payments, and enforcing expense and reimbursement policies.

• Monitor cash daily. Confirm balances and activity across all entity bank accounts, ensure sufficient funds ahead of payroll and bill runs, and flag unusual activity immediately.

• Keep the monthly close on rails. Deliver the inputs our accounting partners need on time, including bank statements, receivables and payables detail, and payroll alignment in conjunction with our People team.

• Support accurate reporting. Drive improvements in cost tracking and financial reporting. Conduct regular data-health checks to confirm that our reporting tools match the general ledger.

• Execute quarterly entity workflows. Prepare intra-company funding disbursements and maintain associated schedules, run internal expense allocations, and manage internal invoicing workflows.

• Manage tax registrations and filings. Prepare state tax registrations, maintain registration tracker and required filing schedule, and support Product Companies and Procurement with necessary documentation for tax-exempt purchases.

• Administer and enhance our finance systems. Serve as the power user of our spend management platform, including user setup and support, configuration, deployment of new features, and execution of fixes when needed.

• Automate and document relentlessly. Write playbooks for every recurring workflow, maintain the activity checklist, and look for opportunities to deploy new product features and automations to reduce manual effort and error.

• Evolve with our organization as this function, our infrastructure, and the company continue to scale.

What We're Looking For

• Experience: 3–5 years in finance operations, accounting operations, accounts payable, or accounts receivable, ideally at a high-growth startup, a multi-entity company, or an accounting firm serving venture-backed clients. Experience in aerospace, defense, hardware, or government contracting is a strong plus.

• Accounting Foundation: Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field (or equivalent experience). Working knowledge of accrual accounting, the chart of accounts, account reconciliations, and month-end close mechanics.

• Systems Fluency: Hands-on experience with critical finance systems like a modern spend management platform (e.g., Ramp), a cloud general ledger (e.g., QuickBooks Online, NetSuite), and no-code databases (e.g., Airtable), as well as strong spreadsheet skills (lookups, pivot tables, SUMIFS).

• Controls Mindset: Instinctive vigilance around payment risk: verifying bank details, preventing duplicate payments, respecting approval policies, and recognizing phishing and fraud attempts.

• Meticulous Detail: Extraordinary attention to detail, with a deep affinity for crisp organization and robust data. You close the loop on every item and believe that accuracy = beauty.

• Service Orientation: Clear, prompt, and friendly communication with vendors, customers, and teammates. You treat a well-run Finance inbox as a badge of honor.

• Whatever-It-Takes Mentality: Track record of delivering accurately under tight deadlines, competing priorities, and changing requirements.

• Builder Orientation: Proactively identify gaps, inefficiencies, or failure points in financial workflows and take ownership of designing and implementing solutions.

• Ironclad Discretion: Sound judgment handling sensitive financial, payroll, and equity information.

What Valinor Offers

• Competitive salary, equity packages, and benefits, including health, dental, and vision insurance - fully covered for employees, 401K, development stipends, among others.

• Unlimited PTO and two-week company holiday at the end of every calendar year.

• We are a pro-mental health and pro-family company - we actually encourage employees to spend time with themselves and their families. Valinor also provides fertility benefits to those just beginning that journey.

• Fun work environment - we like to laugh and take care of each other, but we also deeply respect the mission in front of us.

• Headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional coworking spaces throughout the country. We also host team offsites and colocations around the U.S.

Employees will have access to information, materials, and technologies subject to U.S. export controls, i.e., EAR and/or ITAR, and must be U.S. Persons, as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62, based in the United States.

Valinor is an equal-opportunity employer committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. The Valinor team is made up of incredibly talented and unique individuals, who together are disrupting industry norms by creating new paths towards the future of defense and government technology. All qualified applicants will be treated with respect and receive equal consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, uniform service, Veteran status, age, or any other protected characteristic per federal, state, or local law, including those with a criminal history, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the CA Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. We actively encourage members of recognized minorities, women, Veterans, and those with disabilities to apply, and we work to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all applicants throughout the interview process. If you are someone passionate about working on problems that have a real-world impact, we'd love to hear from you!