Finance Lead

AeroVironment, Inc.; Virginia Colony (CA); On-site; USD 111,000 - 169,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision

401K with company matching

9/80 work schedule

Holiday shutdown

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. seeks a Finance Lead to blend strategic and operational financial planning for hardware products.

You will partner with Product Management, Engineering, Operations, and Supply Chain to evaluate profitability, budgets, and cost drivers across the product lifecycle. The role requires strong skills in cost accounting, ASC-606, Revenue Recognition, and government procurement rules, plus leadership to guide teams and ensure compliance through rigorous analysis and cross-functional

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting or Business Administration is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• Minimum of 10+ years' experience in relevant disciplines plus minimum of 2 years in a leadership role
• Experienced in and knowledgeable of costing and pricing complex manufactured products and development contracts
• Experienced in Government Cost accounting principles and FAR
• Experienced in and knowledgeable of ASC-606 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”
• Has current expertise in: 1) MS Office Suite (especially MS Excel (including v-lookups, conditional formatting, and pivot tables), 2) Hyperion, 3) ERP System such as Oracle EBS, 4) ProPricer, 5) MS Project/or Fast Track desirable
• Demonstrated awareness and interest in business operations including the ability to help create business strategies and objectives

Responsibilities

• Provides monthly forecasting and variance reporting, preparation of monthly financial information in support of reviews by Senior Management for hardware product line.
• Ensures compliance with internal procedures and government procurement regulations.
• Monitors and ensures implementation of financial policies (including but not limited to: Revenue Recognition, Timekeeping, Cost, Inventory, Estimating System compliance, etc).
• Provides day-to-day financial direction to product line management
• Supports internal and external audits.
• Continually reviews and challenges program Estimates at Complete (EAC), ensuring appropriate profit margins are recognized.
• Identifies, analyzes, and monitors issues that affect profitability, growth, and productivity
• Oversees program cost control activities; understand and participate in the control of costs and schedules on contracts requiring validated cost/schedule control system
• Oversees the preparation of budgets and schedules for specific programs and financial analyses such as funding profiles, sales outlook, and variance analysis
• Supports Indirect Department Budgeting for the assigned departments including utilization reviews and detailed variance analysis
• Supports Proposal activity for new captures including negotiations while working with home office proposal / costing team to develop compliant price / cost volumes
• Assists in the development of detailed integrated master Program Schedules for on-contract, internal research and development & new captures
• Works on issues of diverse scope where analysis of situation or data requires evaluation of variety of factors, including an understanding of current business trends.
• Acts as advisor to subordinates to meet schedules and/or resolve technical problems
• Works with Cost Accounting to develop and maintain a working knowledge of Bills of Material (BOMs), including the relationship between product configuration, material content, quantities, and associated costs, to support accurate financial analysis and product cost assessments.
• Partners with subcontractors and Supply Chain to understand and assess cost variances for key components and services, identifying the underlying drivers and potential implications for product cost and profitability
• Translates product cost variances, supplier changes, and supply chain constraints into financial and business impacts, including implications for business plans, forecasts, margins, and overall program performance
• Makes sound business impact assessments and recommendations when complete or reliable information is not available, applying financial judgment, available data, and an understanding of operational and commercial considerations to inform timely decisions
• Other duties as assigned

Skills

Forecasting

Variance reporting

Budgeting

Financial analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

MS Excel

ERP systems

Product cost analysis

Revenue recognition

MS Project

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting or Business Administration

Tools

MS Excel

Hyperion

Oracle EBS

ProPricer

MS Project

Job description

Worker Type Regular Job Description Summary

The Finance Lead brings both a strategic and operational focus to the Finance team for program planning and financial operations, with a particular emphasis on delivery of solid financial plans and improved compliance and controls. This role will partner closely with Product Management, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Sales, and Finance leadership to evaluate product profitability, manage budgets, analyze costs, and support informed business decisions throughout the product lifecycle. In this role, one provides financial guidance based on organizational goals and company policy. The ideal candidate combines strong financial and analytical skills with an understanding of hardware products, manufacturing economics, inventory, and cross-functional operations.

Position Responsibilities

• Provides monthly forecasting and variance reporting, preparation of monthly financial information in support of reviews by Senior Management for hardware product line.
• Ensures compliance with internal procedures and government procurement regulations.
• Monitors and ensures implementation of financial policies (including but not limited to: Revenue Recognition, Timekeeping, Cost, Inventory, Estimating System compliance, etc).
• Provides day-to-day financial direction to product line management
• Supports internal and external audits.
• Continually reviews and challenges program Estimates at Complete (EAC), ensuring appropriate profit margins are recognized.
• Identifies, analyzes, and monitors issues that affect profitability, growth, and productivity
• Oversees program cost control activities; understand and participate in the control of costs and schedules on contracts requiring validated cost/schedule control system
• Oversees the preparation of budgets and schedules for specific programs and financial analyses such as funding profiles, sales outlook, and variance analysis
• Supports Indirect Department Budgeting for the assigned departments including utilization reviews and detailed variance analysis
• Supports Proposal activity for new captures including negotiations while working with home office proposal / costing team to develop compliant price / cost volumes
• Assists in the development of detailed integrated master Program Schedules for on-contract, internal research and development & new captures
• Works on issues of diverse scope where analysis of situation or data requires evaluation of variety of factors, including an understanding of current business trends.
• Acts as advisor to subordinates to meet schedules and/or resolve technical problems
• Works with Cost Accounting to develop and maintain a working knowledge of Bills of Material (BOMs), including the relationship between product configuration, material content, quantities, and associated costs, to support accurate financial analysis and product cost assessments.
• Partners with subcontractors and Supply Chain to understand and assess cost variances for key components and services, identifying the underlying drivers and potential implications for product cost and profitability
• Translates product cost variances, supplier changes, and supply chain constraints into financial and business impacts, including implications for business plans, forecasts, margins, and overall program performance
• Makes sound business impact assessments and recommendations when complete or reliable information is not available, applying financial judgment, available data, and an understanding of operational and commercial considerations to inform timely decisions
• Other duties as assigned

Basic Qualifications (Required Skills & Experience)

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting or Business Administration is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• Minimum of 10+ years' experience in relevant disciplines plus minimum of 2 years in a leadership role
• Experienced in and knowledgeable of costing and pricing complex manufactured products and development contracts
• Experienced in Government Cost accounting principles and FAR
• Experienced in and knowledgeable of ASC-606 “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”
• Has current expertise in: 1) MS Office Suite (especially MS Excel (including v-lookups, conditional formatting, and pivot tables), 2) Hyperion, 3) ERP System such as Oracle EBS, 4) ProPricer, 5) MS Project/or Fast Track desirable
• Demonstrated awareness and interest in business operations including the ability to help create business strategies and objectives

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

Experience supporting hardware, aerospace, defense, industrial, electronics, or manufacturing product line. Advanced degree is preferred Demonstrates understanding of business activities with a view broader than just the finance function Strong analytical, presentation, business writing and problem solving skills Ability to communicate information, both orally and in writing, to customers as well as the program management team and senior management Skilled at managing multiple, critical projects simultaneously and enjoy working in a dynamic and fast-paced environment Uses vision to think beyond the immediate situation, explore multiple potential paths and adapt decision-making style based on the situational circumstances Inspires, motivates and empowers people to deliver organizational goals, while also delivering value back to employees Brings organizational values to life using personality, uniqueness and the creation of a shared vision Champions the process of change and promotes a culture of quick adaptation, while helping others deal with the effects of change Demonstrates the ability to develop and maintain internal and external trusting, professional relationships

Physical Demands

Ability to work in an office environment (Constant) Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard (Frequent)

Special Requirements

U.S. Citizenship required. Presently holds or capable of obtaining a U.S. Security Clearance Occasionally may be required to travel within the Continental U.S Clearance Level No Clearance

The salary range for this role is: $111,000 - $169,250 AeroVironment considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the location, the role and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, education/training, and key skills.

ITAR Requirement

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee. See 22 CFR § 120.15. Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits

AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown. For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits. We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

About AV:

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission-obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI-powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV. Careers at AeroVironment