VP of Finance (Gardena)

We are a stealth-mode Aerospace & Defense startup headquartered in Gardena, CA. Our founding team hails from SpaceX, Anduril, and Lockheed Martin, and we are backed by Joint Staff-level military leadership and several Silicon Valley firms. With a world-class business development & leadership team already in place, we are well positioned to capitalize on already overwhelming demand.

Job Overview

We’re seeking an exceptional VP of Finance to own the entire finance function and report directly to the CEO. This is the senior-most finance seat in the company today, and it is built for someone who wants to operate as a true partner to the founder — world‑class, deeply integrated across the business, and an enabler of every team rather than a gatekeeper.

The near‑term mandate is clear and consequential: carry the company through its next funding round, driving and delivering on spend plans for major government procurement contracts and fast paced R&D. That means owning budgeting end‑to‑end, structuring and closing debt financing, and running airtight due diligence that holds up under sophisticated investor scrutiny. You will be accountable for burn, runway, spend controls, and the financial discipline that lets a hardware company move fast without losing momentum.

For the person who executes, the scope of this role grows with the company.

Key Responsibilities

• Own all finance functions end‑to‑end: FP&A, accounting, treasury, controls, tax, audit, and financial reporting
• Prepare the company for venture fundraise — support the equity raise, structure and close debt financing, and own diligence from data room to close
• Own budgeting across the company; build and defend the operating plan and tie it directly to program and hiring decisions
• Be the single accountable owner of burn, runway, and cash — with the spend controls, approval frameworks, and forecasting cadence to back it up
• Build the financial infrastructure (systems, processes, team) required to scale a capital‑intensive, vertically integrated hardware business
• Serve as a genuine cross‑functional partner — give engineering, ops, and program leadership the financial clarity they need to make fast, sound decisions
• Support investor and board materials; produce the metrics, models, and financial narrative that build conviction
• Manage the cap table, equity administration, banking relationships, and debt facilities
• Build financial models and scenario plans that hold up across growth, downside, and acceleration cases
• Recruit, hire, and lead a high‑caliber finance team as the company scales

Qualifications

We’re looking for someone who brings at least two of the following three backgrounds (all three is exceptional):

• Deep tech operating pedigree — operating finance experience at a fast growing and financially successful deep tech company
• Startup fundraising experience — a track record raising for startups at growth stage and beyond; early‑stage fundraising experience is a strong bonus
• Core finance depth — intimate, hands‑on familiarity with both debt and equity financing and with the mechanics of rapidly, responsibly scaling a business

Baseline Requirements

• Demonstrated ownership of a finance function, with direct accountability for budgeting, burn, runway, and spend controls
• Experience leading or playing a central role in institutional fundraises, including diligence management
• Strong command of financial modeling, forecasting, and scenario planning in a high‑growth environment
• Excellent cross‑functional communicator with the credibility to partner with a CEO, a board, and technical leadership — and the judgment to know when to enable versus when to hold the line
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field

Preferred Skills

• Prior VP of Finance / CFO experience at a venture‑backed hardware or deep tech company
• Experience in defense, aerospace, or another capital‑intensive manufacturing environment
• Hands‑on experience structuring debt — venture debt, growth debt, or asset‑backed facilities
• Multiple Series B+ closes led or supported
• Familiarity with government contracting finance (DCAA, cost accounting standards, FAR/DFARS) and the financial implications of defense programs
• MBA and/or CPA
• An established network of growth investors, lenders, and finance talent
• Experience building a finance team and systems