Manager, Strategic Finance

Quiet Capital; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 165,000 - 220,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Catered lunches

Snacks

Beverages (coffee, tea)

Job summary

Merlin Labs, based in Boston, seeks an experienced FP&A/Strategic Finance leader to architect revenue recognition, forecasting, and P&L processes across the company. You will build end-to-end financial workflows, from pipeline to cash, and partner with Legal, Accounting, and IT to scale our commercial operations.

The role emphasizes designing scalable controls, improving procure-to-pay routines, and delivering reliable budget and quarterly forecasts.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive finance experience in FP&A, Strategic Finance, or revenue operations.
• Deep understanding of quote-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes.
• Hands-on builder capable of designing and implementing processes from scratch.
• Familiarity with ASC 606 revenue recognition in milestone-based contracts.
• BA/BS in Accounting, Finance, or related field required.

Responsibilities

• Build revenue forecasting models linking pipeline to recognized revenue.
• Establish controls and workflows to create auditable opportunity-to-cash trails.
• Design scalable procure-to-pay process including vendor onboarding and invoicing.
• Partner with Legal, Accounting, and business owners on tiered spend approvals.
• Develop operating expense forecasting and accrual processes.
• Support FP&A tools and systems in partnership with Finance and IT.
• Lead monthly/quarterly cadence: actuals, variance, re-forecast.
• Assist in annual operating plan and budget delivery.
• Drive continuous improvement by removing bottlenecks and automating where possible.
• Assume full P&L ownership for an assigned product line (long-term).

Skills

FP&A experience

Strategic Finance

Revenue operations

Quote-to-cash

Procure-to-pay

ASC 606

Process design

Education

BA/BS in Accounting, Finance, or related field

Tools

CRM (Salesforce)

ERP (QuickBooks or Costpoint)

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 bring 8+ years of progressive finance experience in FP&A, Strategic Finance, or revenue operations, with deep, hands-on knowledge of quote-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes. You've built workflows before, not just operated within them, and you have an understanding of ASC 606 revenue recognition in milestone or contract-based environments.

You move comfortably across systems CRM (Salesforce), ERP (QuickBooks, Costpoint, or similar) and you're the person who spots a manual handoff or inefficient process and can't help but fix it. You're process-oriented and detail-driven, but are able to balance bringing structure to fast-moving environments without slowing them down.

What should excite you about this role: Merlin's commercial and operational activity is scaling, and you'll be the architect of the financial infrastructure connecting customer commitments to recognized revenue and vendor relationships to recorded expenses. Near-term, you are the architect building these processes. Long-term, this converts into full P&L ownership of a product line which provides a clear path from operator to business owner.

Responsibilities:

• Build revenue forecasting models that connect pipeline to recognized revenue with appropriate consideration for contract type, milestone, and performance obligation structure

• Establish controls and system workflows that reduce manual handoffs and create an auditable trail from opportunity to cash receipt

• Design and implement (in collaboration with our Procurement team) a scalable procure-to-pay process: requisition, purchase order, vendor onboarding, invoice processing, and payment

• Partner with Legal, Accounting, and business owners to implement and ensure adherence to a tiered approval framework commensurate with spend risk

• Build the operating expense forecasting and accrual processes that give FP&A reliable visibility into committed and incurred spend

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

• Create the monthly/quarterly operating cadence: actuals reviews, variance analysis, and re-forecast processes for assigned functions within the organization

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

• Drive continuous improvement: identify bottlenecks, eliminate manual work, and automate where possible

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

Qualifications:

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

• Deep understanding of quote-to-cash and procure-to-pay processes

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

• Familiarity with ASC 606 revenue recognition, particularly in a milestone-oriented contract-based environment

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

Nice to Have:

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

• MBA or CPA

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, flexible paid time off, 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: [e-mail]

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

165000 - 220000 USD a year

The compensation range provided is reflective of base salary only, and is a good-faith estimate based on a wide range of factors. 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.