Associate Director, Strategic Finance (San Diego / Foster City)

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Position Title: Associate Director, Strategic Finance

Location: San Diego (Hybrid) or Foster City, CA (Hybrid)

This is a full-time role, Monday through Friday, with an expectation of 2–3 in-office days per week and additional on-site presence as needed. The individual must reside in the San Diego or Foster City area and be able to commute to our corporate offices. Relocation assistance is available and should be completed within a six (6) month period or a mutually agreed upon time.

Reports To: VP, Strategic Finance

FLSA Status: Exempt

Position Summary

The Associate Director, Strategic Finance is responsible for providing high-complexity, transaction-related finance support across Illumina’s most complex and consequential corporate and business development activities, including efforts related to the formation of new businesses, joint ventures, and new ventures. This position independently coordinates the financial analysis, modeling, and accounting support for mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, alliances, joint ventures, divestitures, and licensing agreements, as well as structured equity and debt investments, multi-party commercial arrangements with non-standard structural and accounting treatments, and financial workstreams in support of litigation and other contested matters, and provides input on deal structuring.

The role is engaged directly and routinely by the CFO and other members of the Executive Leadership and Finance Leadership Team to drive financial analysis, structuring, and negotiation on transactions that fall outside the scope of standard corporate processes and that materially shape the company’s strategic trajectory. The work is characterized by ambiguity, executive-level scrutiny, and the need to partner with the VP Strategic Finance and financial accounting and legal teams to construct first-of-their-kind deal structures rather than execute against established templates.

Essential Functions

• Partner with the Head of Strategic Finance and work directly with the CFO and other members of the Executive and Finance Leadership Teams, across all relevant financial analysis and modeling in support of assessing, recommending and structuring deals to support corporate initiatives and strategies.
• Independently lead financial workstreams on highly complex, non-standard transactions, including new business formation, joint ventures, structured equity and debt arrangements, multi-party commercial partnerships, services-for-value exchanges, and contra-R&D and unconsolidated funding structures.
• Architect and stress-test deal structures across complex GAAP accounting regimes, partnering with Technical Accounting, Tax, Treasury, and outside advisors to ensure intended revenue recognition, balance sheet, and consolidation outcomes.
• Manage the design and execution of strategic review initiatives related to capital-intensive activities.
• Demonstrate deep healthcare industry knowledge and drive insights regarding the strategic path for Illumina at the enterprise level.
• Partner with Finance Leadership to ensure line-of-sight to implications of different proposals.
• Lead and support financial diligence on potential targets, collaborating deeply with key functions and stakeholders to determine potential risks and integration issues.
• Lead financial workstreams in support of litigation, disputes, and other contested matters, including damages analyses, settlement structuring, and coordination with Illumina’s legal and product management teams and outside counsel.
• Serve as a financial partner on negotiations with sophisticated external counterparties, including pharmaceutical companies, large-cap technology partners, sovereign and government entities, and academic medical centers, translating commercial intent into defensible economic and accounting terms.
• Coordinate, prioritize and manage the active deal pipeline for the Strategic Finance team. Orchestrate analysis along prescribed timelines and socialize appropriately across Finance and Executive Leadership.
• Drive the routine assessment and reporting of previously completed mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, alliances, joint ventures, divestitures, and licensing agreements.

Listed responsibilities are an essential, but not exhaustive list, of the usual duties associated with the position. Changes to individual responsibilities may occur due to business needs.

Decision-Making and Impact

This role influences enterprise-level decisions by evaluating and recommending complex corporate transactions and capital-intensive investments that can materially impact Illumina’s strategic direction and financial outcomes. The Associate Director operates with a high degree of autonomy, applying strong judgment to assess risk and trade-offs and supporting decisions on capital deployment, investment prioritization, and transaction feasibility across an active pipeline.

Key Competencies

• Effectively plan and manage the scope and lifecycle of complex projects while balancing multiple constituencies and competing priorities.
• Align senior leaders and key stakeholders through strong interpersonal skills, high EQ, and the ability to influence outcomes.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to translate complex financial and strategic concepts into clear, actionable insights.
• Strong judgment and decision-making capability in ambiguous, high-stakes situations, with the ability to assess risk, trade-offs, and strategic implications.
• Ability to operate effectively in a highly matrixed, global environment and drive alignment across cross-functional stakeholders without direct authority.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams and deliver high-quality outcomes within defined timelines.
• Deep understanding of financial, strategic, and operational drivers, with the ability to connect analysis to enterprise-level decision-making.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This role does not have direct reports. The position provides significant leadership through influence, including advising senior leaders, partnering cross-functionally across Finance, Legal, Accounting, and business teams, and leading financial workstreams across complex, high-impact initiatives.

Minimum Qualifications

All minimum qualifications are job-related and consistent with business necessity.

• Typically requires a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 15 years of applicable experience in finance, investment banking, management consulting, business development, or a related field, with 7+ years of management experience.
• Direct experience negotiating commercial and financial terms with external counterparties, including the ability to lead opposite sophisticated outside counsel, banking, and corporate development teams.
• Demonstrated ability to complete quantitative and qualitative analysis and financial modeling; technical and corporate finance and valuation skills required.
• Demonstrated experience supporting mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, or other complex transaction-related activities.
• Demonstrated experience developing financial analyses to inform strategic or capital allocation decisions.

Preferred Credentials

• MBA or advanced scientific degree preferred.
• Relevant knowledge of the Life Science Tools and Diagnostics industry, including companies and technologies, is a plus.

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The estimated base salary range for the Associate Director, Strategic Finance (San Diego / Foster City) role based in the United States of America is: $155,600 - $233,400. Should the level or location of the role change during the hiring process, the applicable base pay range may be updated accordingly. The range reflects long‑term growth in the role; therefore, most candidates are hired between the minimum and middle of the range. Placement depends on experience, skills, location, and internal equity. Additionally, all employees are eligible for one of our variable cash programs (bonus or commission) and eligible roles may receive equity as part of the compensation package. We offer a wide range of benefits as innovative as our work, including access to genomics sequencing, family planning, health/dental/vision, retirement benefits, and paid time off.

We are a company deeply rooted in belonging, promoting an inclusive environment where employees feel valued and empowered to contribute to our mission. Built on a strong foundation, Illumina has always prioritized openness, collaboration, and seeking alternative perspectives to propel innovation in genomics. We are proud to confirm a zero-net gap in pay, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or race. We also have several Employee Resource Groups (ERG) that deliver career development experiences, increase cultural awareness, and offer opportunities to engage in social responsibility. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, creed, color, gender, religion, marital status, domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military or veteran status, citizenship status, and genetic information. Illumina conducts background checks on applicants for whom a conditional offer of employment has been made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws. Background check results may potentially result in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. The background check process and any decisions made as a result shall be made in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws. Illumina prohibits the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the application and interview process. If you require accommodation to complete the application or interview process, please contact [email protected]. To learn more, visit: https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/regs/compliance/posters/pdf/eeopost.pdf. The position will be posted until a final candidate is selected or the requisition has a sufficient number of qualified applicants.