About Us

Helaina is a cutting-edge nutrition biotech company creating nutrients of the future. Helaina leverages a world-class team in food science, nutrition, and engineering to develop breakthrough food ingredients designed to improve health for everyone.

The company's vision is to build a nutrient platform that powers the future of consumer health by introducing bioactive proteins to the market for the very first time. Our journey was inspired by breast milk—a unique substance that is both food and medicine. Helaina’s Founder, Laura Katz, saw parents, cancer patients, and athletes seeking out these proteins for their proven ability to boost immunity, gut health, and brain development. Helaina was founded on the belief that we could replicate this profound function to create ingredients with real impact, moving beyond alternatives that only replicate taste.

Helaina's First Product Is Effera™, a "holy Grail" Molecule That Is An Identical Replica Of Human Lactoferrin, One Of Breast Milk’s Most Powerful Proteins. As a Dynamic Bioactive Protein (unlike Static Supplements), Effera™ Can Adapt To The Body’s Specific Needs, Offering Multiple Benefits:

• supports iron absorption and women's health
• boosts immunity by fighting infections
• crosses the blood-brain barrier for cognitive benefits
• reduces inflammation for sports recovery and longevity
  
  

Learn more about Helaina here: https://www.myhelaina.com/news

About The Role

As Helaina’s Finance and Accounting Manager, you will report directly to the CFO owning our monthly close, leading FP&A cycles, and serving as a strategic thought partner to leaders across the company. This is a high-ownership role for someone who moves fast, builds with intention, and uses AI as a native part of how they work.

What You’ll Do:

• Own the end-to-end monthly close process, ensuring accuracy and timeliness across all accounts
• Lead financial planning, forecasting, and annual budgeting in partnership with the CFO
• Build and maintain multi-year financial models that incorporate business and economic drivers
• Develop company-wide KPIs and financial reporting for leadership and the board
• Partner with the People Team to operationalize headcount plans and hiring forecasts
• Support board meeting preparation and external stakeholder reporting
• Identify and implement automation and AI-powered improvements to financial workflows
• Collaborate cross-functionally to surface financial insights and drive alignment on strategic priorities
  
  

About You:

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or relevant graduate degree a plus
• You have 5+ years of finance experience; background in investment banking is strongly preferred
• Familiarity with financial systems such as QuickBooks, NetSuite, Mosaic, or similar
• You've owned a monthly close process and are familiar with GAAP
• You build sophisticated financial models from scratch and can defend every assumption
• You use AI tools natively — not occasionally — and have concrete examples of how you've used them to work smarter
• You don't need a lot of direction; you identify what needs to be done and do it
• You're comfortable working cross-functionally and can influence without authority
• You have a sharp eye for detail and a natural feel for numbers
• You have a "get-it-done" mindset, regardless of what gets in the way
• Strong communication skills — you can translate complex analysis into a clear narrative for any audience
• Experience in a high-growth startup or early-stage company a plus
• All candidates must be available to work at least 3 days a week at Helaina's office in NYC.
  
  

Benefits:

Helaina was founded on the belief that families should have freedom of choice. We are committed to providing an inclusive workplace that does just that, supporting our team's health, wellbeing and professional development at every stage and milestone. We are proud to offer comprehensive health care, generous parental leave and childcare reimbursement, equity packages and more. A few highlights include:

• Full medical, vision and dental coverage
• Short and long term disability insurance coverage
• 401k match (up to 3%)
• Unlimited vacation days, including an all-company holiday between Christmas and New Year
• Paid Parental Leave for both parents + flexible return to work program
• Commuter Benefits
  
  

Helaina is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Helaina we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may just be the strongest candidate for this or other roles. For more information, please contact careers@myhelaina.com.

Compensation is market-competitive with a yearly cash base of $110k - $150k plus equity.

We Use a Disciplined Approach To Compensation. We Believe This Is The Only Way To Create a Consistent, Strategic, And Equitable Compensation Structure That In Turn Unlocks Healthy Growth For Our Organization. We Decide Any Given Hire's Offer Based On Three Factors:

• first among them, expected performance in the role (based on performance in the interview process and proximity of experience);
• as well as seniority (amount of relevant experience);
• and location (different cost of living).