Deeptech CFO Job Description: Capital Architect, Milestone-Based Runway and Grants Expert

A Guide to the Deeptech CFO Job Description

For a deeptech founder, the financial journey is unlike any other. You are not building an app with a clear path to monthly recurring revenue; you are funding a decade of research and development before a single product might be sold. The central tension is immense: how do you manage years of significant cash burn while preserving equity and convincing investors that scientific progress equals financial value?

This challenge demands more than a traditional bookkeeper or a SaaS-focused finance chief. It requires a different breed of financial leader. See our hub on building your finance team.

This CFO job description is not about finding a scorekeeper. It is about defining the strategic partner who will help you navigate the long, pre-revenue chasm. The right person answers the critical questions: How do we fund this without giving away the company? How do we manage our cash when our biggest milestones are scientific, not commercial? And how do we translate lab victories into compelling financial narratives that secure the next round of funding?

The Core Responsibilities of a Deeptech Startup CFO

A great deeptech CFO operates across three distinct but interconnected domains. They are not just managing the books; they are actively shaping the company's long-term viability. This leader must excel as a Capital Architect, a Runway Manager, and a company-wide Translator.

The Capital Architect: Mastering Non-Dilutive Funding Strategies

For a deeptech startup, relying solely on venture capital is a recipe for excessive dilution. The Capital Architect’s primary role is to build a sophisticated capital stack that strategically blends dilutive equity funding with non-dilutive sources. This means aggressively pursuing government grants and R&D tax credits, which provide crucial cash infusions without costing founders their ownership.

The CFO’s role in this process is not to write the scientific proposals. Instead, they build the robust financial infrastructure needed to win and manage these funds compliantly. In practice, we see that this operational discipline is what separates successful applications from failed audits.

For US companies, this involves tapping into programs like the US Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, which awards billions annually. The CFO ensures the company’s QuickBooks and expense systems are configured to meticulously track project-specific costs. Adherence to US GAAP and the R&D capitalization rules under Section 174 creates an unimpeachable financial record for grant reporting and due diligence.

In the UK, the landscape is similar but with different mechanisms. Innovate UK also awards billions annually, providing a vital source of capital. Furthermore, the UK R&D Intensive scheme for loss-making SMEs can provide up to 27% back on R&D spend (as of 2023/24). A UK-focused CFO establishes processes within Xero to tag every qualifying expenditure as it happens, governed by FRS 102 and HMRC's R&D scheme. Treating this as an ongoing operational process, not a year-end accounting task, is a critical distinction that maximizes the claim and ensures it withstands scrutiny.

The Runway Manager: Navigating the Pre-Revenue Chasm

A traditional startup budget often operates on a monthly or quarterly basis, forecasting a set cash burn over a period. This model breaks down in deeptech, where progress is not linear and scientific hurdles can emerge unexpectedly. The deeptech CFO manages runway not against the calendar, but against a series of technical achievements. This practice is known as milestone-based budgeting.

Instead of allocating a lump sum for a quarter, spending is directly tied to the completion of specific R&D objectives. For example, a traditional budget might show: 'Q3 Lab Supplies: $50,000'. A milestone-based budget would reframe this as: 'Milestone 2.1: Achieve 95% Compound Purity - Budget: $50,000'. The spending is authorized by the scientific achievement, not the calendar date. This approach provides a far more accurate picture of financial health and progress.

This methodology fundamentally changes financial modeling for startups. The CFO must build sophisticated scenario plans. What is the impact on cash burn if Milestone 2.1 is delayed by six months? What if it requires twice the anticipated resources? These models allow the leadership team to make informed decisions about pivoting research, conserving cash, or accelerating fundraising.

To support this, the CFO tracks deeptech-specific KPIs that are more insightful than standard SaaS metrics:

• Milestone-Adjusted Runway: Measures how many future R&D milestones can be achieved with the current cash on hand, providing a truer sense of progress than time-based runway.
• Burn per R&D Employee: Helps understand the fully-loaded cost of the core scientific team, a key driver of expenses.
• Grant Funding as a % of R&D Spend: Directly measures the success of the non-dilutive funding strategy.

The Translator: Turning Lab Victories into Investor Value

Perhaps the most crucial function of a deeptech CFO is to act as the translator who bridges the gap between the laboratory and the boardroom. Investors fund de-risking events that justify valuation step-ups. A scientific breakthrough has no inherent financial value until it is framed as a reduction of commercial or technical risk. The CFO is responsible for creating and communicating this narrative.

They work with the technical team to map scientific progress to the company’s financial story. Consider a biotech startup developing a new drug delivery platform. The lab team achieves a technical milestone: 'Successful in-vivo test in a mouse model demonstrating 5x higher payload delivery'. A great CFO translates this for the board: 'We've successfully de-risked the core delivery mechanism, a key technical hurdle that validates our platform's primary advantage. This moves us from a high-risk platform concept to a proven pre-clinical asset, justifying the valuation increase for our upcoming Series A raise and enabling partnership conversations.'

This translation extends to the data room. A deeptech data room contains more than standard financial statements. The CFO ensures it includes the detailed milestone-based budget, evidence of grant awards, comprehensive documentation for R&D tax credit claims, and scenario models. This portfolio demonstrates not just a promising technology but also a level of financial discipline and strategic capital management that gives investors confidence to write large checks for long-term projects.

Hiring a CFO for Your Tech Startup

The ideal candidate for a deeptech finance role has a specific and uncommon background. Finding the right person and hiring them at the correct stage are key components of effective financial leadership in deeptech.

The Ideal Candidate Profile

Experience in a Big Four accounting firm or a standard SaaS company is less valuable than hands-on experience in an R&D-heavy environment like biotech, materials science, or advanced hardware. They must have a demonstrable track record with non-dilutive funding sources, complex financial modeling, and the specific accounting regulations that govern R&D, like US GAAP, Section 174 (US), FRS 102 (UK), and the HMRC R&D scheme (UK).

When to Hire Your First Finance Lead

The timing of the hire is also critical. A full-time CFO is often unnecessary and too expensive at the earliest stages. The need for financial leadership in deeptech typically evolves with funding rounds.

• Pre-seed/Seed: The founder, often with an external accounting firm specializing in startups and R&D tax credits, manages the finances. A fractional CFO may be brought in to build the first robust financial model for the seed raise. The priority at this stage is clean bookkeeping in QuickBooks or Xero.
• Series A: As the company scales to dozens of employees and manages multiple grants, the need for dedicated leadership sharpens. This is the typical trigger to hire a full-time Head of Finance or Director of Finance who can professionalize reporting and manage the increasing cash burn.
• Series B and beyond: A strategic, full-time deeptech CFO becomes essential. This leader manages a complex balance sheet, builds out a finance and operations team, and steers the company's financial strategy toward commercialization or a major exit.

Actionable Financial Strategies for Founders

For deeptech founders, defining the finance function correctly is a condition for survival. The role is not a back-office support function but a strategic pillar of the company. A great deeptech CFO is a true partner in building something revolutionary from the ground up.

To position your company for success, focus on these three actions:

1. Prioritize non-dilutive funding from day one by setting up your accounting in QuickBooks or Xero to meticulously track every dollar of R&D spend.
2. Manage your company by building financial models based on milestone-based budgeting, not the calendar. This provides the most honest assessment of your runway.
3. Hire for these specific skills at the right stage. Start with fractional expertise and scale into a full-time leader as your capital needs and operational complexity grow.

This disciplined approach is how you fund the future. Continue at the Building Your Finance Team hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the biggest mistake founders make when hiring for deeptech finance roles?
A: The most common error is hiring a traditional SaaS CFO. They may lack the specific experience needed for managing non-dilutive funding, complex R&D capitalization, and milestone-based budgeting. A background in an R&D-heavy environment like biotech or advanced hardware is generally more valuable for these startup CFO responsibilities.

Q: Can a fractional CFO handle deeptech startup CFO responsibilities?
A: Yes, especially at the pre-seed and seed stages. A fractional CFO can build the initial financial models, establish grant-compliant accounting, and manage the first fundraise. As operational complexity and grant management grow post-Series A, the need for a dedicated, full-time Head of Finance typically emerges.

Q: How do deeptech KPIs differ from traditional SaaS metrics?
A: Deeptech KPIs focus on scientific progress and capital efficiency rather than revenue. Instead of MRR or Churn, a deeptech CFO tracks metrics like Milestone-Adjusted Runway, Grant Funding as a Percentage of R&D Spend, and Burn per R&D Employee to measure the company's true financial health.