Senior Manager, Operational Finance & Strategy

Applied Materials, Inc.; Santa Clara (CA); On-site; USD 154,000 - 212,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Materials, Inc. is seeking a Senior Manager of Operational Finance to serve as the primary finance business partner for a newly established organization, overseeing broad operational and strategic responsibilities.

The role delivers financial leadership across operating expenses, capital investments, and resource planning, driving accountability and informed leadership decisions in a complex cross-functional environment.

Qualifications

• 10-15 years of progressive experience in operational finance or senior finance business partnership roles.
• MBA or advanced degree preferred.
• Strong understanding of Opex, Capex, forecasting, financial controls, investment analysis, and management reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to support complex organizations and initiatives that span multiple business units or functions.
• Experience working with senior business and finance leaders in a fast-paced and evolving environment.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary finance partner to the leadership team, providing timely, practical, and objective financial guidance.
• Develop a strong understanding of business priorities, operating requirements, and investment needs.
• Translate organizational strategies into clear financial plans, funding requirements, and decision frameworks.
• Support leadership reviews with concise financial narratives, scenarios, risks, and recommendations.
• Provide independent financial perspective and constructively challenge assumptions to improve business outcomes.
• Lead planning, forecasting, and financial review processes, focusing on Opex and Capex.
• Establish clear ownership and accountability for budgets, spending decisions, and financial commitments.
• Provide visibility into actual and forecasted performance, including variances, risks, and corrective actions.
• Drive bottoms-up planning with clear business rationale for resource and investment requests.
• Partner with leadership to balance operational priorities with affordability and enterprise objectives.
• Evaluate investment proposals through financial analysis, scenario modeling, and risk assessment.
• Ensure significant spending decisions have appropriate diligence, approvals, and performance tracking.
• Identify opportunities to improve cost, scope, timing, and resource allocation.
• Help leadership prioritize investments across competing requirements and budgets.
• Strengthen financial discipline by ensuring commitments align with plans and expected outcomes.
• Coordinate with finance and business teams to clarify funding responsibilities and ownership.
• Build relationships across Finance, Operations, Engineering, and other functions.

Skills

Financial planning

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Financial modeling

Cost control

Cross-functional

Executive communication

Education

MBA or advanced degree

Tools

ERP systems

Financial reporting systems

Job description

Applied Materials, Inc. is seeking a Senior Manager of Operational Finance to serve as the primary finance business partner for a newly established organization, overseeing broad operational and strategic responsibilities.

The role delivers financial leadership across operating expenses, capital investments, and resource planning, driving accountability and informed leadership decisions in a complex cross-functional environment.