Defense Finance Lead, Strategic Finance

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Work alongside the Head of Defense and the product, engineering, and go-to-market leaders on the questions that shape the business, from where to invest to which opportunities are worth chasing.
• Develop how we price our platform in defense markets and structure agreements as our offering and customer base evolve.
• Partner with go-to-market, Legal, and Contracts on pursue/pass decisions, proposal economics, and negotiation strategy for major opportunities. Own the financial case for what we go after and what we decline.
• Develop a defensible view of where defense budgets are heading, which funding sources our platform can reach, and how long it takes money to move from customer interest to signed contract.
• Advise on where to invest R&D dollars and how to resource the business. Translate product roadmaps and customer requirements into cost, margin, and headcount implications, and bring rigor to how we choose between…
• Build the forecasting cadence, business reviews, and reporting the Defense organization needs to operate with accountability, and deliver the narrative behind the numbers.

Job requirements

• 8+ years of finance, corporate development, or strategy experience within defense tech, defense primes, aerospace, investment banking/PE, or related sectors.
• Deep understanding of government budgeting and procurement, including funding sources, acquisition processes, and the difference between customer interest and funded requirements.
• Experience owning business outcomes, including P&Ls, pricing decisions, strategic deals, margin improvement, and spend management.
• Hands-on experience building with AI, using tools such as Cursor or Claude Code to automate workflows, build applications, and develop AI agents.
• Exceptional financial modeling and problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn ambiguous problems into clear, actionable recommendations.
• Experience thriving in ambiguity, building from scratch in high-growth environments where priorities and processes evolve rapidly.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must hold or be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance