Senior Finance Manager

Saronic Technologies is a leader in revolutionizing autonomy at sea, dedicated to developing state-of-the-art solutions that enhance maritime operations through autonomous and intelligent platforms.

Job Overview

We are seeking a Senior Finance Manager to serve as the finance lead for our shipbuilding products. In this role, you will own the full product P&L and the economics of taking early-stage IRAD investments through to funded programs. You will build the financial models, operating cadence and controls that these products run on, and you will be the trusted financial advisor to leadership with a strong understanding of our product portfolio.

This is a builder's seat in a fast-growing company. You should be comfortable operating with limited structure, standing up processes from scratch and owning decisions end-to-end from business case through program execution.

Responsibilities

• P&L Ownership
• Own the full P&L for our shipbuilding defense technology product lines: revenue, cost of sales, IRAD spend, overhead allocation, contribution margin and cash.
• Own the forecast and the annual and long-range plan for the product lines, and the explanation of performance against both.
• Build and maintain the KPI set and monthly operating review that leadership runs the business on.
• IRAD-to-Program Economics
• Build the business case for each IRAD effort: investment required, path to a funded program, win probability, expected margin and payback.
• Track IRAD burn against technical milestones and bring recommendations to leadership.
• Partner with Engineering and Program Management to define the funding gates and financial milestones that move an IRAD effort into a funded program.
• Advisor to Leadership
• Serve as the senior finance partner to the leaders of the product lines and represent the product in corporate planning, capital allocation and board-level reporting.
• Bring the trade-offs on make-vs-buy, capacity and capital investment, hiring pace and bid/no-bid decisions, with the analysis to support them.
• Translate program execution and portfolio performance into clear recommendations for leadership.
• Program Financial Management
• Stand up and own estimate-at-completion (EAC) reviews, earned value and milestone and progress billing on funded programs.
• Own risk and opportunity tracking across programs and the margin story that comes out of it.
• Own program cost baselines and change control: establish the budget at award, manage re-baselines and scope changes, and ensure every program carries a current, defensible estimate to complete.
• Capital and Working Capital
• Own capital planning for the product, including tooling, facilities and test assets, and defend those requests with finance leadership.
• Manage working capital on long-cycle builds with manufacturing finance, progress-payment timing and cash forecasting.
• Partner with accounting on program setup, rate structures and cost allocation.
• Build and Lead a Finance Team
• Hire, develop and lead the finance team supporting the product, scaling it with the business.
• Set standards for analysis, forecasting and financial communication across the team and the broader product organization.
• Build the systems, processes and reporting the product needs, in partnership with Finance Operations and Accounting.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive finance experience, including 3+ years owning a full P&L for a business unit, product line or program portfolio.
• People leadership experience: has hired, developed and managed finance professionals, and can build and lead a finance team as the business scales.
• Hands-on experience taking IRAD or internally funded development through to funded contracts or programs
• Proven track record as the financial advisor to a GM, business unit leader or program executive.
• Defense or government contracting fluency: FAR/DFARS, Cost Accounting Standards, indirect rate structures, cost-plus vs fixed-price vs OTA economics, and audit readiness.
• Program finance depth: EAC, earned value, milestone and progress billing, and multi-year cash forecasting on long-cycle hardware.
• Hardware or manufacturing finance experience.
• Strong financial modeling skills; comfortable building the model yourself and presenting it to executives and customers.
• A structured thinker who can operate in ambiguity, build process from scratch and prioritize effectively in a fast-moving environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics or a related field.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience at a defense technology startup or scale-up: building finance processes from scratch and operating without a mature back office.
• Exposure to Other Transaction Authority (OTA) and rapid-prototyping contract vehicles.
• Familiarity with ERP and planning tools (e.g. NetSuite, Foundry).
• Physical Demands
• Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Occasional standing and walking within the office
• Manual dexterity to operate a computer keyboard, mouse, and other office equipment
• Visual acuity to read screens, documents, and reports
• Occasional reaching, bending, or stooping to access file drawers, cabinets, or office supplies
• Lifting and carrying items up to 20 pounds occasionally (e.g., office supplies, packages)