Director of Strategy, Business Development and Strategic Finance (Contract, Palo Alto)

We are seeking a Contract Director of Strategy, Business Development and Strategic Finance to partner closely with the management team as we prepare for fundraising and our next phase of growth.

This is a hands-on, part-time contract role for a strategically minded operator who is comfortable working directly within the business plan and financial model (building, restructuring, and pressure-testing assumptions) while also thinking at a high level about company direction, capital strategy, and long-term growth. The ideal candidate is equally comfortable operating at both the macro (strategic) and micro (executional and financial detail) levels.

This role is particularly well-suited to someone who understands the dynamics of deep tech and next-generation materials ventures, including longer development cycles, capital-intensive scaling, manufacturing buildout, and the nuances of commercializing technical innovation.

This role will help prepare and position the company for fundraising, equipping the management team with the strategy, materials, structure, and financial rigor needed to engage investors confidently. The management team will lead all investor outreach and capital raising activities directly.

This role will also help bridge the gap between a corporate venture environment and an independent startup structure as we transition into a more investor-facing phase.

Strategic & Business Planning

• Work directly within the company’s business plan to refine structure, assumptions, and growth strategy.
• Build, own, and iterate detailed financial models (revenue, cost structure, runway, capital requirements).
• Pressure-test assumptions and develop scenario models across multiple fundraising and growth paths.
• Translate product vision and strategic direction into rigorous, investor-ready financial frameworks.
• Translate technical development milestones into commercial and capital planning frameworks.
• Align R&D roadmap, manufacturing scale-up strategy, and capital requirements into a cohesive growth plan.
• Help define capital-efficient pathways to validation, pilot production, and market entry.
• Develop milestone-based fundraising strategies aligned with technical and commercial inflection points.
• Support the transition from a corporate venture model into a standalone startup structure, aligning strategy, capital planning, and governance accordingly.
• Collaborate closely with the management team and incorporate input from venture studio advisors where appropriate.

Fundraising Readiness, Governance & Structure

• Synthesize business fundamentals into a clear, compelling pitch narrative tailored to a U.S. VC audience.
• Develop and refine investor-facing materials (deck, financial model outputs, supporting documentation).
• Ensure consistency between strategy, financial projections, ownership structure, and storytelling.
• Ensure alignment between technical feasibility, production scalability, and financial projections.
• Anticipate and structure responses to technical and operational diligence questions from investors.
• Prepare leadership for investor conversations by identifying likely questions, risks, and areas of scrutiny.
• Help structure and prepare for financing processes, including support in setting up and reviewing Shareholders’ Agreements (SHA) and related governance documentation in coordination with legal counsel.
• Support leadership in preparing for pitch meetings and investor discussions.

Investor Strategy & Planning (Preparation-Focused)

• Build and prioritize a targeted investor list aligned with stage, sector, and positioning.
• Develop sequencing and outreach strategy to guide the management team’s fundraising efforts.
• Design and organize a clear investor engagement roadmap to guide the management team’s fundraising efforts.

• Experience in venture capital, growth equity, investment banking, strategy consulting, or early-stage startup finance/operations.
• Demonstrated experience supporting companies through early fundraising rounds and governance structuring.
• Strong financial modeling and analytical capabilities.
• Familiarity with U.S. VC expectations, cap tables, SHA structures, and fundraising dynamics.
• You are comfortable building and restructuring financial models from scratch (not just reviewing them).
• You understand how strategy translates into numbers, and how numbers shape fundraising outcomes.
• You understand how ownership structure, governance, and capital strategy interact.
• You can zoom out to shape long-term strategy and zoom in to refine the numbers that support it.
• You can move fluidly between spreadsheet modeling and narrative development.
• You think in scenarios, trade-offs, and capital efficiency.
• You’ve worked closely with founders or management teams in early-stage environments.
• You are comfortable working at the intersection of technical innovation and commercial strategy.
• You have experience evaluating or modeling manufacturing scale-up and capital-intensive business models.
• You can engage thoughtfully with technical teams while translating their work into investor-ready frameworks.
• Comfortable operating in ambiguity and building structure where it does not yet exist.
• You prefer high-impact, execution-oriented engagements in early-stage environments.

• You have experience operating within or transitioning from corporate venture environments into independent startup structures.
• You understand how to structure capital raises around technical and operational milestones, not just revenue growth.
• Direct experience in advanced materials, additive manufacturing, hardware-enabled platforms, or other R&D-intensive sectors is highly valued.
• Understanding of commercialization pathways for next-generation materials and capital planning for technically complex, manufacturing-oriented businesses.

Engagement: Ongoing, evolving scope aligned with company needs during the fundraising preparation and strategic build-out phase; this is not a project-based freelance engagement. Execution-oriented engagement focused on strategic planning, financial modeling, and fundraising readiness. Potential for scope to evolve over time based on company needs and mutual fit.

Hours: Approximately 20-28 hours per week

Pay range: $125–$175 per hour (Dependent on experience and level of ownership)

Working condition: In-office (2–3 days per week) at our Palo Alto Studio

If you identify with Moon's values and would like to contribute to our work, please submit your resume and cover letter (optional)

Moon Creative Lab is an equal opportunity employer; applicants are considered for all roles without regard to race, color, religious creed, sex, national origin, citizenship status, age, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, marital, parental, veteran or military status, unfavorable military discharge, or any other status protected by applicable federal, state or local law.