Director of Financial Operations

Company: Zipline
Location: South San Francisco
Posted on: April 2, 2026

Job Description:

About Zipline Zipline is the world’s largest and most experienced drone delivery service. We are on a mission to serve all humans equally by ensuring access to food, medicine and essential goods anytime, anywhere. We design, build, and operate the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, delivering critical supplies quickly and reliably. Today, Zipline operates on four continents, makes a delivery somewhere in the world every 30 seconds, and has completed millions of deliveries to date, including blood, vaccines, medical supplies, food, and retail products. Our customers include the world’s largest and most prominent healthcare systems, governments, retailers, restaurants and global businesses who rely on us to save lives, reduce emissions, increase economic opportunity, and provide delivery from point A to point B as fast as possible. The drone is only 15% of what we’ve built to enable seamless, reliable, global operations. Our system strengthens supply chains, reduces congestion, and gives people time back. With more than 140 million commercial autonomous miles safely flown, Zipline is redefining access to healthcare, consumer products, and food across the globe. We operate at a global scale and are looking for practical problem solvers who thrive on real-world challenges and rapid growth. Our team is motivated by building systems that have a direct, meaningful impact on people’s lives and by scaling the future of logistics. We are seeking people who sculpt from first principles, enjoy facing adversity, and can do the impossible at record breaking speeds. About The Role We are excited about bringing in an experienced and motivated Director of Financial Operations to join our fast-paced global Accounting and Finance team! This position is responsible for overseeing financial transactions and processes with an initial focus on procure to pay and customer billings. This role is responsible for leading Zipline through its growth, international expansion and product launches. What You'll Do Own and drive the implementation and improvement of financial operations systems, including purchasing, travel and expense, and billing systems and their related integration into Zipline’s ERP system (NetSuite, Coupa, Navan, Expensify, Divvy expense cards). Lead the Procure to Pay and Accounts Receivable teams while overseeing all procure to pay processes, including owning purchase order processes for both manufacturing purchases and indirect spend. Build out the global billing function of Zipline with expected substantial ramp of billing operations in 2026 and going forward. Experience with grant billing and tracking are a plus. Partner with business leaders to design and implement scalable and efficient financial processes. Drive continuous improvement initiatives to optimize financial operations that align the company’s expected growth. Oversee financial transactions and controls related to transaction processing while ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory reporting requirements. Develop financial operational metrics with meaningful data that helps manage the efficiency and growth of the business. Collaborate with internal Zipline business partners, with substantial cross-functional teamwork with Zipline’s people, accounting, strategic finance, legal, and product teams. Own business relationships with external providers, including travel and expense providers, procurement providers, and other financial shared services providers over time. Oversee finance help desk and own financial policy documents with respect to procure to pay and customer billing. Lead training efforts across the company to drive the adoption and optimal usage of Zipline’s transactional systems. In partnership with the people team, manage master data across multiple systems to ensure consistency of data and integrity of system integrations. Design internal processes and partner with Zipline’s applications team to implement system enhancements while ensuring scalability and employee experiences are optimized. This position will initially manage and mentor a small team, with the expectation that this person will build and lead a large global financial shared services team as Zipline grows. What You'll Bring You have 12 years of experience in progressive operational financial shared services and financial operations experience. You are willing and able to roll your sleeves up as well as provide strategic direction on financial operational matters. You have substantial systems experience with a proven track record in implementing and improving systems at companies with significant growth. You have significant experience working in operationally complex businesses, preferably with international experience. You are excited about working for a transformative company. Ideally, you’ve spent some time working in a public accounting firm and/or have meaningful experience at a company that has gone through significant growth. You are comfortable working in highly global and cross-functional environments, able to navigate seamlessly between different functions, cultures and perspectives. You can communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, to build strong relationships with Zipline teams. You like to get into the weeds and understand how businesses operate. You are capable of working with imperfect information and driving to effective decision making in a fast-paced environment. You have solid knowledge of financial statements, accounting principles and financial analysis. Ability to periodically travel internationally. What Else You Need to Know This role is based out of our South San Francisco HQ. Must be eligible to work in the US and travel globally as needed. The starting cash range for this role is $200,000 - $235,000. Please note that this is a target, starting cash range for a candidate who meets the minimum qualifications for this role. The final cash pay for this role will depend on a variety of factors, including a specific candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, working location, and projected impact. The total compensation package for this role may also include: equity compensation; overtime pay; discretionary annual or performance bonuses; sales incentives; benefits such as medical, dental and vision insurance; paid time off; and more. Zipline is an equal opportunity employer and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state, federal or local law or our other policies. We value diversity at Zipline and welcome applications from those who are traditionally underrepresented in tech. If you like the sound of this position but are not sure if you are the perfect fit, please apply!

Keywords: Zipline, Carmichael , Director of Financial Operations, Accounting, Auditing , South San Francisco, California