FP&A Manager, R&D

Upwork Inc.’s (Nasdaq: UPWK) family of companies connects businesses with global, AI-enabled talent across every contingent work type including freelance, fractional, and payrolled. This portfolio includes the Upwork Marketplace, which connects businesses with on-demand access to highly skilled talent across the globe, and Lifted, which provides a purpose-built solution for enterprise organizations to source, contract, manage, and pay talent across the full spectrum of contingent work. From Fortune 100 enterprises to entrepreneurs, businesses rely on Upwork Inc. to find and hire expert talent, leverage AI-powered work solutions, and drive business transformation. With access to professionals spanning more than 10,000 skills across AI & machine learning, software development, sales & marketing, customer support, finance & accounting, and more, the Upwork family of companies enables businesses of all sizes to scale, innovate, and transform their workforces for the age of AI and beyond. Join us in revolutionizing work and building agile teams.

Since its founding, Upwork Inc. has facilitated more than $30 billion in total transactions and services as it fulfills its purpose to create opportunity in every era of work. Learn more about the Upwork Marketplace at Upwork.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X; and learn more about Lifted at Go-Lifted and follow on LinkedIn.

About the Role

We are looking for an FP&A Manager to serve as a strategic finance business partner for our AI/ML and Platform Infrastructure organizations within Central Engineering. This is a high-impact individual contributor role where you will operate with meaningful autonomy, applying deep financial expertise to complex, high-visibility areas of spend and investment. You will partner closely with Engineering, Product, and Finance leaders to drive disciplined forecasting, improve cost transparency, and support data-informed decisions that shape the future of Upwork’s technology platform.

Responsibilities

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Serve as the primary finance partner to AI/ML, Platform Infrastructure, DPS, and IT leaders by providing proactive guidance on budgets, investments, and trade-offs tied to business priorities and Focals.

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Lead monthly variance analysis, rolling re-forecasting, and management reporting, synthesizing key drivers, risks, and opportunities into clear, executive-ready narratives.

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Own end-to-end forecasting for cloud and hosting expenses, partnering with Infrastructure and FinOps teams to identify efficiency opportunities and deliver measurable savings.

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Partner with Product and Engineering leaders to align GenAI program needs, including model training and inference usage, with financial plans and enforce budgeting guardrails.

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Lead forecasting and close activities for internally developed software capitalization, aligning with Accounting on capitalization criteria and with BizOps on initiative tracking.

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Develop business cases for new initiatives, providing ROI, payback, and unit economics analysis to support prioritization and leadership decision-making.

What it takes to catch our eye

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Demonstrated experience in FP&A or strategic finance, with a track record of supporting Product, Engineering, or infrastructure-focused teams in a SaaS or AI-enabled environment.

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Strong functional understanding of cloud economics, infrastructure cost drivers, and vendor spend management.

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Advanced analytical skills with the ability to work confidently with large, complex datasets and translate insights into clear recommendations.

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Comfort using AI tools to support analysis, forecasting, summarization, or scenario modeling, with the judgment to validate outputs and refine results as needed.

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A growth-oriented, ownership mindset, with the ability to operate independently, prioritize effectively, and communicate clearly with both technical and non-technical partners.

Upwork is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, status as a protected veteran, status as an individual with a disability, genetic information, or other legally protected characteristics under federal, state, or local law.

Please note that a criminal background check may be required once a conditional job offer is made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered in accordance with applicable law, including the California Fair Chance Act and local Fair Chance ordinances. The Company is committed to conducting an individualized assessment and giving all individuals a fair opportunity to provide relevant information or context before making any final employment decision.

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