Chief Financial Officer
Xona Space
| Company | Xona Space |
| Category | Finance |
| Location | Burlingame |
| Remote | On-site (inferred) |
| Employment | Not stated |
| Level | Executive |
| Salary | USD 250k–350k |
| Posted | 17 Jan 2026 |
| Last verified | 11 Aug 2026 |
| Source | Employer ATS (ashby) |
Description
Xona is the navigational intelligence company bringing real-time, centimeter-level certainty to any device, anywhere on Earth.
With Pulsar – the world’s most advanced PNT satellite infrastructure in Low Earth Orbit – Xona will offer a future-proof, backwards-compatible global positioning system optimized for absolute precision, superior power, and robust protection.
The CFO will be a strategic and operational partner to the CEO and executive team, responsible for leading Xona’s financial strategy, execution, and infrastructure. This role blends high-level financial leadership with hands-on ownership across accounting, FP&A, fundraising support, compliance, and systems. You’ll play a critical role in capital strategy, operational planning, and ensuring financial rigor as Xona scales its satellite constellation, manufacturing, and commercial operations.
What You’ll Do
- Partner closely with the CEO and Board to define and execute Xona’s financial strategy
- Provide clear financial insights to support business decisions, growth initiatives, and long-term planning
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the executive team on budgeting, forecasting, and trade-off decisions
- Own company-wide budgeting, forecasting, and long-range financial planning
- Build and maintain operating models supporting R&D, manufacturing, and deployment programs
- Track KPIs and financial performance, highlighting risks, opportunities, and corrective actions
- Oversee accounting operations including monthly close, financial statements, and audits
- Ensure strong internal controls and compliance with GAAP and regulatory requirements
- Manage relationships with external auditors, tax advisors, and banking partners
- Support equity and debt fundraising, including investor materials, data rooms, and diligence
- Partner with the CEO on capital planning, runway management, and scenario modeling
- Build and scale financial systems, tools, and processes to support company growth
- Oversee ERP, accounting software, and reporting infrastructure
- Drive process improvements that balance financial rigor with startup agility
- Build and lead a high-performing finance team over time
- Work cross-functionally with Engineering, Operations, Manufacturing, Legal, and HR
- Support contract review, pricing strategy, and vendor negotiations as needed
Required Qualifications
- 10+ years of progressive finance leadership experience (CFO, VP Finance, or equivalent senior role)
- Proven experience operating in a fast-paced startup or scale-up environment
- Strong expertise across FP&A, accounting, and financial operations
- Experience supporting venture capital fundraising and Board-level financial reporting
- Hands-on, detail-oriented leader willing to dive in where needed
- Ability to communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders
- Strong judgment, analytical rigor, and ability to drive decisions under ambiguity
Desired Qualifications
- Experience in aerospace, space, defense, hardware, or other capital-intensive technical environments
- Experience supporting government customers, grants, or regulated contracts
- Familiarity with manufacturing cost models and hardware program economics
- Experience scaling finance teams and systems from early-stage to growth-stage
- Exposure to ERP implementation or financial systems build-out
- CPA, CFA, and/or MBA (preferred but not required)
For U.S. Roles: To comply with U.S. Government space technology export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the United States (i.e. Green Card holder), or other protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).
For U.K. Roles: To comply with U.K. regulations, this role requires Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks, and successful candidates must be eligible to obtain UK Security Clearance (SC).
For Canada Roles: Successful candidat