WHO WE ARE
Kunin Technologies is revolutionizing the critical mineral supply chain by implementing advanced separation technologies to capture value from overlooked resources.
Metals are everywhere, in solar panels, smartphones, electric vehicles, but as ore grades plummet globally, traditional extraction methods are failing. China dominates critical minerals markets by developing superior separation technologies that extract value from materials American mines discard as waste.
Utilizing Kunin Technologies' breakthrough mass manufacturable nano-separation systems, significantly more value can be produced from each resource, reducing waste, and unlocking domestic critical mineral production.
To achieve metal abundance, humanity must bring separation science down its own Moore’s Law: fix the idiot cost index for micro and nano scale separation materials. This requires mass manufacturing novel ion-exchange media form factors which previously struggled from high costs.
MISSION FOR YEAR 1
You will be Kunin's first finance leader, hired with the explicit intent that you become Kunin's Chief Financial Officer. This is not a Controller seat with a vague promise attached. The path is defined: own the fiduciary stack in year one, take over deal structuring in year two, and step into the CFO chair at or before the Series A once the close, the controls, and the capital strategy are yours. The CEO will not hire a CFO above you if you earn it.
In year one you own the finances of a company that is closing a Seed round, executing a federal pilot award, standing up a first-of-a-kind plant with a partner, and forming a manufacturing joint venture: monthly close, cash and runway, government cost accounting, payroll and spend controls, tax, insurance, and the board pack. Every Kunin program is a streaming transaction applied to industrial waste, and every plant is a project finance problem. As the fiduciary base solidifies, you move onto the deal side beside the CEO: joint venture structures, streaming and royalty style recovery agreements, offtake agreements, debt and equipment financing, and the Series A and the capital markets work above it.
By the end of 2026, we expect:
- A reliable monthly close within ten business days, GAAP books with the outside CPA, and a monthly cash, runway, and board reporting pack.
- Government contract cost accounting, timekeeping, and invoicing on the Army OTA award that would survive a DCAA-style review.
- Seed closing financials and a Series A data room that an institutional investor can diligence without a cleanup.
- Your name on the term sheet and model for at least one joint venture, stream, royalty, offtake, or debt financing.
- A written CFO readiness plan agreed with the CEO: the controls, deal record, and capital markets exposure required for the promotion, with dates.
WHAT YOU'LL LEAD
- The close: monthly close, GAAP discipline, audit readiness, and the outside CPA relationship.
- Cash and treasury: runway management, spend controls, payroll and benefits, tax, and insurance renewals.
- Government contract finance: cost accounting, indirect rates, timekeeping, and invoicing across federal awards.
- FP&A: the operating model, unit economics per program, metal price sensitivity, and the board and investor reporting built on them.
- Deal structuring with the CEO: joint ventures, streaming and royalty style recovery agreements, offtake agreements, and debt and equipment financing, from model to redline to signature.
- Capital strategy: the Series A process and data room, and the layering of equity, debt, and project finance as the deployment portfolio scales.
- Buildout of the finance organization beneath you: controller, analysts, and the systems they run on.
WHO YOU ARE
- Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, economics, or engineering with 8+ years in finance, including at least one Controller, Head of Finance, or senior investment or banking seat; CPA, CFA, or MBA preferred.
- Operator who has run or stood up a close process inside a venture-backed industrial or hardware company and knows what institutional diligence looks for.
- Skilled in building the model and redlining the agreement for the same transaction; exposure to streams, royalties, offtake, project finance, or metals and mining a strong plus.
- Fluent in government contract cost accounting, or able to become fluent in the first quarter.
- Builder who wants the CFO seat and can show the trajectory to earn it, not someone looking for a steady-state controllership.
- Communicator who translates financial results and deal structures into clear decisions for the CEO, the board, counterparties, and investors.
COMPENSATION
This role will pay $225,000 - $350,000, benefits, and equity.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- Must be willing to relocate to Chattanooga, TN. Regular travel to counterparty sites, investors, and the partner plant.
- Must sign Kunin's standard NDA before interviewing.
- Extended hours and weekends frequently required to support critical project milestones.
Chattanooga is more beautiful than expected, and Tennessee has no income tax.
"The Whole World Is Ion-Exchange And The Rest Are Merely Details!"
Dr. Robert Kunin of Rohm and Haas, The Pioneer of the Ion-Exchange Industry, 1951