Director, Strategic Finance

Job Description

Job Description

About Merlin:

Merlin (NASDAQ: MRLN) is a publicly traded aerospace and defense company building a non-human pilot to deliver full-stack autonomy for any aircraft from takeoff to touchdown. The Merlin Pilot autonomy system powers a growing range of aircraft and mission profiles and has been proven through hundreds of autonomous flights from Merlin's global flight test facilities, including Kerikeri, New Zealand; Quonset Point, Rhode Island; and soon, Bedford, Massachusetts. Headquartered in Boston, Merlin is expanding its organization to accelerate the development and deployment of its autonomy platform, helping customers solve some of aviation's most pressing challenges, from pilot shortages to improving flight safety. Backed by some of the world's leading investors prior to its public listing, Merlin continues to advance the certification and commercialization of autonomous flight across commercial and defense aviation. 

About You:

You are a finance leader with 12+ years of progressive senior FP&A or strategic finance experience, ideally with real exposure to program-based finance (Estimate At Completion, cost-type contracts, and rate structures). You've spent your career as a builder, not just a maintainer: you've personally designed cost-tracking frameworks, financial models, and process workflows.

You are equally comfortable in a spreadsheet and in a room full of engineers or program managers and are able to translate an ambiguous technical roadmap into a hiring plan, a budget, and a forecast leadership can act on and track against. You don't need a fully-formed process handed to you; you build it, test it, and iterate.

What should excite you about this role: it is a rare two-phase opportunity. Near-term, you build the financial infrastructure for Merlin's Programs and Engineering organizations from the ground up. Long-term, that build converts into full P&L ownership of a product line: a genuine path from builder to business owner.

Responsibilities:

• Design and implement FP&A processes for engineering headcount, program costs, R&D spend, and capital allocation

• Build financial models that translate engineering roadmaps into resource plans, hiring forecasts, budget commitments, and strategic scenarios

• Partner with Engineering and Program Management to enhance our program cost accounting framework: cost tracking and reporting, cost-to-complete reporting, etc.

• Define chart-of-accounts conventions, cost center structures, and reporting hierarchies that support program-level visibility

• Create the monthly/quarterly operating cadence: actuals reviews, variance analysis, and re-forecast processes for the Programs and Engineering organizations

• Deliver reporting and analytics that give leadership real-time insight into burn, capacity, and program financial health

• Support the implementation of financial planning tools and systems in partnership with Finance and IT

• Support the build and delivery of the annual operating plan and budget

• Assume full P&L ownership for an assigned product line, including revenue, gross margin, and operating expense (long-term)

• Drive pricing strategy, make-vs.-buy decisions, and resource allocation in partnership with the product line GM (long-term)

Qualifications:

• 12+ years of progressive finance experience in FP&A, Strategic Finance, or finance business partner roles

• Fluent in program finance concepts: EAC, cost-type contracts, and rate structures

• Track record of influencing technical leaders through clear financial storytelling

• Hands-on builder: has designed and implemented processes and models from scratch

• BA/BS in Accounting, Finance, or related field required

Nice to Haves:

• Background at a defense, aerospace, SaaS, or hardware-intensive technology company

• Costpoint experience

• MBA or CPA

The compensation range provided is a good-faith estimate based on a wide range of factors, inclusive of base salary only. The actual offer will be determined by a variety of factors including the candidate's qualifications, skills, experience, education, and training. Highly competitive equity grants are considered part of Merlin's total compensation package. Additionally, Merlin offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees.

This position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA.

 

Once you’re here, you’ll enjoy a variety of on-site perks designed to make your workday enjoyable and convenient. These include catered lunches featuring a rotating menu of delicious options, an assortment of snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day, and a selection of beverages, including coffee, tea, and other drinks, to keep you refreshed.

 

Our goal is to create an environment where you can thrive both professionally and personally

 

Merlin Labs offers an innovative, entrepreneurial, and team-focused startup environment. We also offer a top-notch benefits package (health, dental, life, unlimited vacation, and 401k with match) and work/life integration. Being part of the Merlin team allows you to become part of a small team that supports professional development while working together to achieve our mission.

 

Merlin Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military service or obligation or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks.

 

At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates who require visa transfers. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future. 

 

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

 

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to: View email address on us.fitly.work

 

Merlin Labs does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates.