Finance Manager (Financial Planning/Analysis)

At Arbor Energy & Resources Corporation ("Arbor Energy"), we’re creating technology to power our lives while protecting the planet that sustains them. Our advanced power systems deliver clean, reliable baseload electricity with zero operating emissions—modular, fuel-flexible, and engineered for the realities of today’s energy demand. At the core is a supercritical CO₂ turbine with integrated carbon capture, designed to bring carbon-neutral power online quickly at meaningful scale.
Our team includes aerospace engineers, combustion experts, and systems thinkers with a shared goal: to build technology worthy of the world we want to live in. We are seeking a Director of Finance to own FP&A and build the financial operating system that enables Arbor to scale from Series A through commercialization and manufacturing scale-up. You'll own all forward-looking financial planning, modeling, and analysis — translating complex technical programs into financial clarity and ensuring leadership has a credible, real-time view of resource needs, cash runway, and strategic trade-offs.
This role requires exceptional modeling skills, comfort with technical complexity and imperfect data, and a bias towards rigor, transparency, and speed.
The Director of Finance is forward-looking and strategic, working closely with the Controller (who owns historical accounting and systems) to ensure forecasts and models are grounded in accurate actuals.
FP&A Ownership (CORE FUNCTION)
Own all forward-looking financial planning and analysis across the company
Build and maintain three-statement corporate models (income statement, balance sheet, cash flow)
Own monthly and quarterly rolling forecasts, updating assumptions based on operational performance and strategic shifts
Build and maintain 13-week cash flow models for short-term liquidity management alongside long-range cash projections
Conduct scenario and sensitivity analyses for all major strategic decisions: capital raises, financing strategy, hiring pace, first-of-a-kind project deployment, manufacturing scale-up
Serve as the "source of truth" for financial assumptions, key drivers, risks, and trade-offs across the business
Own cash burn, runway, and liquidity analysis — always maintaining current view of months of cash remaining and bridge to next milestone
R&D Program Budgeting & Resource Planning (CRITICAL ARBOR PARTNERSHIP)
Partner deeply with Engineering leadership to translate complex technical programs into financial requirements and cash burn timelines
Build program-level budgets that connect engineering milestones and deliverables to labor, materials, testing, and equipment needs
Model R&D cash flow requirements by program, phase, and milestone — ensuring leadership understands burn rate implications of technical decisions
Model test campaign costs including failure scenarios, iteration cycles, and contingency planning
Develop resource planning models: headcount needs by function (engineers, technicians), hiring timing, and organizational scaling implications
Plan and prioritize CapEx requirements: equipment, facilities, tooling, test infrastructure
Build and own the comprehensive factory financial model that drives manufacturing scale-up decisions, including:
Production line capacity and throughput analysis
Equipment requirements and timing for each scale-up phase
Facility costs: lease, utilities, maintenance as production scales
Working capital requirements: inventory levels, receivables, payables at different production volumes
Own unit economics modeling: cost per unit at different production volumes, identifying key cost drivers
Build learning curve and cost-down analysis: project how costs decrease with volume, experience, and design improvements
Conduct make-vs-buy financial analysis for manufacturing decisions: compare in-house production vs. outsourcing economics
Model production scale-up scenarios: financial implications of ramping from pilot to commercial production, including capital requirements and cash needs
Develop capacity planning models: when additional lines, shifts, or facilities are needed based on demand forecasts
ROI analysis on competing equipment and facility investments
Partner with Engineering on bill of materials (BOM) cost modeling and cost stack analysis
Build cost reduction roadmaps: model financial impact of design changes, value engineering, and supplier negotiations
Develop supply chain financial planning: payment terms, minimum order quantities, lead time impacts on cash and inventory
Project Finance & Commercial Economics
Develop project finance models for commercial team: individual project financials including capex, opex, revenue, returns
Build project-level ROI analysis: IRR, NPV, payback period, and sensitivity analyses for customer deals
Model deployment scenarios: financial analysis of different project deployment strategies and their impact on corporate cash flow
Support commercial team on deal structuring and financial terms, ensuring project economics align with corporate objectives
Develop margin and pricing analysis for customer contracts
Build revenue forecasting models as commercial contracts scale (2027+)
Provide financial analysis to inform capital raise timing and amount
Lead fundraising diligence preparation: build models, scenarios, and data room materials for investors
Develop capital structure scenarios: evaluate equity, debt, project finance, and structured financing options
Build business cases for M&A opportunities or corporate development initiatives
Prepare financial content for board decks: forward-looking analysis, scenarios, strategic narrative
Determine appropriate budget granularity and structure to support decision-making
Work with Engineering to translate R&D programs into financial budgets
Connect budget to cash burn and runway projections
Cross-Functional Financial Partnership
Partner with Engineering, Commercial, and Operations to ensure financial plans reflect operational reality and technical constraints
Provide financial guidance and decision support on strategic initiatives
Build financial literacy across the organization, helping non-finance leaders understand financial implications of their decisions
Translate complex financial outcomes into clear, decision-ready insights for executives, board, and cross-functional stakeholders
Own the financial modeling environment: Excel-first, systems-enabled approach with rigorous standards and documentation
Partner with Controller on ERP implementation to ensure system supports FP&A needs and provides clean data flows
Implement and scale FP&A tools as needed (Adaptive, Anaplan, Mosaic, Pigment, or similar)
Build dashboards and reporting for real-time visibility into key metrics and performance drivers
Establish modeling standards, documentation, version control, and quality controls to ensure models are auditable, defensible, and scalable
Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Engineering, or related field
10+ years of progressive experience in analytical finance roles including investment banking, private equity, infrastructure or project finance, strategic finance, or FP&A
Experience working in (or with) venture-backed, growth-stage companies in capital-intensive environments such as manufacturing, hardware, energy, infrastructure, or industrial operations
Exceptional financial modeling skills including three-statement models, cash flow and liquidity analysis, scenario and sensitivity analysis, and driver-based planning
Deep experience supporting decision-making in capital-intensive businesses with long development timelines, technical complexity, uncertainty, and incomplete data
Demonstrated ability to partner with technical teams (Engineering, Operations) and translate complex technical programs into financial requirements
Expert proficiency in Excel with comfort building and maintaining complex, multi-scenario models
Strong business judgment and ability to act as "source of truth" for financial assumptions, drivers, risks, and trade-offs
MBA from top-tier program
Prior experience in manufacturing finance, including unit economics modeling, cost-down curves, and factory economics
Experience in power generation, energy technology, aerospace, or advanced manufacturing sectors
Prior exposure to fundraising processes, investor diligence, and board-level financial presentations
Experience with project finance or infrastructure development financial modeling
Engineering or technical undergraduate degree
Experience building and scaling FP&A functions in high-growth environments
Pre-IPO stock options
Medical, dental, and vision insurance (Arbor covers 90% for employees)
Basic life insurance fully covered
Health savings account (HSA) with matching
Flexible savings account (FSA)
12+ company holidays, including Earth Day!
We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law. Solving global energy challenges requires a wide range of perspectives and experiences, and we are committed to building a team that reflects the world we serve.