Senior Finance Analyst, R&D

Cfsenergy; Harvard (MA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is seeking a Senior Financial Analyst to partner with R&D and Technology Development, translating experimental roadmaps into budgets and tracking spend against milestones. This role demands strong financial modeling, clear communication with technical teams, and a track record in FP&A within a high-growth environment.

Responsibilities include budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and advising leadership on investments and resource allocation.

Qualifications

• Build annual budgets and forecasts for R&D cost centers with variance tracking.
• Forecast short-term cash flows by adjusting amortization and downpayments.
• Track actuals vs. budget at project level; flag risks early.
• Advise leadership on resource allocation, efficiency, and investment risk.
• Own forecasts end-to-end and provide actionable insights.
• Investigate vendor commitments and master data accuracy.
• Identify risks and opportunities across programs.
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field.
• 9+ years of FP&A, corporate, or program finance experience.
• Strong financial modeling skills; ability to model from evolving inputs.
• Translate technical projects into clear financial data.
• Detail-oriented, organized; comfortable with incomplete info.
• Experience supporting high-growth companies.
• Ability to travel; flexible with nights/weekends/on-call as needed.
• Work in a facility with industrial hazards as described.

Responsibilities

• Build annual budgets and periodic forecasts for R&D cost centers.
• Forecast cash flows; adjust amortization and downpayments.
• Monitor spend vs. budget; investigate variances and risks.
• Advise leadership on resource allocation and operating efficiency.
• Own program forecasts end-to-end and provide insights.
• Review vendor commitments and ensure master data accuracy.
• Identify risks and opportunities to inform decisions.

Skills

Financial analysis

Forecasting

Financial modeling

Stakeholder communication

Attention to detail

Excel skills

Ambiguity tolerance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related field

Tools

Excel

Job description

About Commonwealth Fusion Systems:

Commonwealth Fusion Systems is on a mission to deliver the urgent transition to fusion energy.

Combining decades of research, top talent, and new technologies, we're designing and building commercially viable fusion power plants. And we're working with policymakers, suppliers, and many others to build the energy industry of the future.

We're in the best position to make it happen. Since 2018, we've raised $4 billion of capital, making us the largest and leading fusion company in the world.

Now we're looking for more thinkers, doers, builders, and makers to join us. People who'll bring new perspectives, solve tough problems, and thrive as part of a team.

If that's you and this role fits, we want to hear from you.

Join the power movement as Senior Finance Analyst, R&D

We're looking for a Senior Financial Analyst to partner directly with our R&D and Technology Development teams, translating experimental roadmaps into budgets, tracking spend against milestones, and giving leaders the financial visibility they need to make good decisions under real technical uncertainty.

This is a business partner role supporting cutting edge science. The ideal candidate will bring the ability to track project spend with a strong understanding of financial treatment along with a passion and curiosity about the underlying technology.

• Build annual budgets and periodic forecasts for R&D cost centers, tracking actual spending against plans
• Forecast short term cash flows by adjusting amortization schedules and downpayments
• Track actuals against budget at the project and program level, investigate variances, and flag risks early
• Advise R&D leadership and budget owners on resource allocation, operating efficiencies, and investment risk to inform decision-making
• Own program and project forecasts end-to-end, providing insights that enable continuous capital re-allocation with the leadership team
• Investigate vendor commitments, payment status and ensure master data records for the team are appropriately maintained
• Identify and track risks and opportunities
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related quantitative field
• 7 years of experience in FP&A, corporate finance, or program finance.
• Strong financial modeling skills and advanced Excel; comfort building models from ambiguous or evolving inputs
• Ability to communicate clearly with technical stakeholders and translate technical projects to financial data
• Detail-oriented, organized, and comfortable working with incomplete information in a fast-moving environment
• Experience supporting a high-growth company
• Perform activities such as typing, standing, or sitting for extended periods of time
• Willingness to travel or work required nights/weekends/on-call occasionally
• Work in a facility that contains industrial hazards including heat, cold, noise, fumes, strong magnets, lead (Pb), high voltage, high current, pressure systems, and cryogenics

#LI-Hybrid

At CFS, we excel in fast-paced environments, driven by our values of integrity, execution, impact, and self-critique. As we grow, we’re eager to bring on mission-driven folks who offer diverse perspectives and fresh ways to tackle challenges.

We value diversity deeply and are proud to be an equal opportunity employer by choice. We consider all qualified applicants equally, regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, protected veteran status, religion, physical or mental disability, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, or any other basis protected by law.

This role requires compliance with U.S. laws concerning the export of controlled or protected technologies or information (collectively, "Export Control Laws"). Any offer of employment will be contingent on the need for compliance with such Export Control Laws.