Director of FP&A

Job Title: Director of FP&AFull TimeLocation: El Segundo, CA (Onsite)Note: Candidate Must be from Hardware, manufacturing, or aerospace/defense industry backgroundwe are seeking a Director of FP&A to build and lead our financial planning and analysis function. We have strong finance fundamentals across reliable monthly close, clean audits, functioning AP, but we are looking for a leader to drive conversion of financial data into strategic insights and operational decisions. This role will bridge the gap between our accounting foundation and the investor-grade reporting required to support significant capital deployment, production ramp, and aggressive headcount growth.This is a build role. You won't inherit mature systems or a defined playbook - you'll help create them. You'll need to navigate ambiguity while earning credibility with senior technical and operational leaders.ResponsibilitiesFinancial ReportingDesign and deliver monthly reporting packages that answer key operational questions and drive strategic insightsBuild consistent and timely departmental P&L views with variance analysis and trend identificationCreate program-level financial views that track prototype development, production units, and overhead Develop M/M and YTD trend analysis across all business unitsTranslate complex financial results into clear narratives for leadership and the BoardSupport quarterly board materials and investor updatesSupport regular reporting across treasury yields and cash management strategy Budgeting & ForecastingDeliver monthly budget vs. actual variance reporting with actionable insights for internal and external stakeholdersLead monthly rolling forecast process to update outlook based on current business trajectorySupport annual budget process including bottoms-up planning and scenario modelingCreate self-service dashboards that enable department heads to monitor their performanceScenario Planning & Strategic AnalysisConduct sensitivity analysis on key business drivers and help leadership understand trade-offsSupport strategic decision-making around hiring pace, capital deployment, and investment prioritiesEvaluate make vs. buy decisions and provide financial perspective on build-out plansMarry schedule progress with spend on long-lead procurement to assess schedule risks Unit Economics & KPI DevelopmentDevelop unit economics models for our microreactor products, tracking cost evolution from prototype through commercial productionDefine and track key performance indicators across engineering, operations, and G&A functionsBuild KPI dashboards with weekly, monthly, and quarterly reporting cadencePartner with operations to track metrics that connect financial performance to operational executionCross-Functional PartnershipPartner with supply chain and operations on procurement planning and spend analysisWork with engineering leads to understand program timelines and resource requirementsCollaborate with accounting to ensure data quality and alignment on reportingSupport HR on headcount planning and organizational design decisionsRequired Qualifications8+ years finance experience, with 4+ years in FP&A or strategic finance rolesDemonstrated experience building FP&A infrastructure from scratch (not just inheriting mature systems)Experience at a high-growth company navigating significant scale and complexityStrong financial modeling skills; comfortable working with ambiguity and imperfect dataTrack record of cross-functional partnership, particularly with operations and technical teamsExcellent communication skills with ability to translate financial concepts for non-finance audiencesDesired QualificationsHardware, manufacturing, or aerospace/defense industry backgroundSQL or BI tool proficiency (Power BI, Tableau, Looker)Experience building or leading a team