Director of Finance

Air Dominance & Strike (AD&S) is scaling from development into repeatable manufacturing across all business lines. Finance is a critical enabler of that transition—building the operating cadence, the cost visibility, and the system/process backbone required to reliably quote, build, and deliver at scale.

This role is a close partner to Production Finance and is purpose-built to stand up the “finance production system”: the cost accounting frameworks, the manufacturing execution / ERP integration patterns, and the operating policies that allow Production Finance to run fast with precision.

This is a highly visible, cross-functional leadership position focused on manufacturing finance transformation. You will partner with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Enterprise Systems to right-size and harden the systems, processes, and controls that underpin production financial performance—while ensuring the AD&S division can scale output without losing cost discipline, inventory integrity, or margin accountability.

The ideal candidate brings deep expertise in cost accounting and inventory/WIP, and has directly driven MES/ERP-enabled transformations and close/process automation in high-growth manufacturing environments.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Build the manufacturing finance operating system for AD&S
• Define standard cost / actual cost methodologies, absorption logic, variance taxonomy, and corrective-action workflows
• Establish inventory/WIP policies (valuation, reserves, rework/scrap, LCNRV, E&O, cycle count governance)
• Stand up scalable reporting and performance management:
• Production dashboards (yield, scrap, PPV, labor/machine rates, throughput, inventory turns, standard cost variance bridges)
• Forecasting inputs and unit economics tied to operational drivers (build plans, routings, yields, labor standards)
• Own finance requirements for MES + ERP integration:
• Translate shop-floor realities into clean financial data flows and scalable reporting
• Define master data standards (BOM/routings/work centers/UOM), change controls, and data quality gates
• Improve close and controls for manufacturing accounting (in partnership with Accounting/Corporate):
• Automate manual close activities; reduce cycle time while improving auditability and traceability
• Design control points for inventory movement, WIP aging, variance approvals, and reserve governance
• Enable Production Finance success:
• Create repeatable playbooks, training, and policies so Production Finance can focus on decisions—not data cleanup
• Provide the systemized foundation for pricing, proposals, and margin governance as programs shift into production
• Drive cross-functional transformation projects end-to-end:
• Scope → business case → roadmap → execution → adoption, with clear milestones and measurable outcomes

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Engineering, or equivalent experience
• 10+ years of experience spanning manufacturing finance, cost accounting, operations finance, or manufacturing accounting (with leadership responsibility)
• Demonstrated experience standing up or transforming cost accounting frameworks (standard costing, variance analysis, inventory/WIP)
• Proven track record delivering systems-enabled transformation (MES and/or ERP modernization, data automation, reporting architecture)
• Strong analytical and modeling capabilities; comfort operating with ambiguity and imperfect data
• Exceptional communication skills—able to align executives and operators on policy, process, and change management
• Must be a U.S. Person (due to required access to U.S. export-controlled information and facilities)

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• CPA and/or prior public accounting / audit experience in manufacturing environments
• Hands-on experience with SAP or other applicable ERP systems and modern data stacks (SQL/Databricks/Tableau/Alteryx or equivalent)
• Background supporting high-growth hardware programs where processes were built while scaling production
• Experience in automotive, aerospace, autonomous systems, defense, or highly regulated manufacturing