Director of Finance

Eras of humanity can often be defined by a dominant transportation mode - horse drawn chariots, ocean going boats, or aircraft. These were spurred by a small group of people rigorously focused on building technology to achieve faster access to more of the world.  We seek to usher in a new era of humanity defined by universal access to the whole globe free of borders and the presence of a routine way from space to Earth. To do this, we are building highly maneuverable re-entry vehicles that can loiter in orbit before precision landing back on Earth. 

We’re looking for a bold, hands-on financial leader to join our fast-growing space technology startup as Director of Finance. This isn’t a “keep the lights on” role — you’ll be building the financial foundation for a company that’s redefining access to space. You’ll be the strategic partner to our leadership team, shaping financial strategy, enabling mission success, and driving investor confidence. You bring proven expertise in navigating government and defense contracting environments (FAR/DFARS), and you understand the unique challenges of working with venture capital investors in a high-growth, technically ambitious business. You thrive in environments where speed, precision, and adaptability are essential — balancing compliance and rigor with the agility a startup demands. In this role, you will own financial strategy, planning, and performance for the company, building out the processes, tools, and insights that empower our teams to make fast, informed decisions. You will lead annual and multi-year budgeting, forecasting, and scenario modeling that align government contract deliverables with our commercial and R&D ambitions. You’ll work directly with both executive leadership and our investors to communicate performance, manage risk, and chart the path for sustainable growth.

Key Responsibility:

• Lead the financial strategy for the company, integrating government contract compliance, venture-backed growth objectives, and long-term mission planning.
• Manage budgeting, forecasting, and scenario planning, ensuring alignment between investor expectations, defense contract obligations, and internal priorities.
• Partner with engineering, operations, and program management to translate technical milestones into actionable financial plans.
• Oversee capital allocation decisions, including R&D investments, infrastructure scaling, and major contract bids.
• Drive adoption of digital finance tools, ERP enhancements, and analytics platforms to enable real-time, data-driven decisions.
• Lead financial governance & compliance with FAR/DFARS and other regulatory requirements while keeping startup operations lean and flexible.
• Serve as the primary finance liaison for our Board, investors, and government program officers, presenting clear, compelling financial narratives.
• Build and develop a high-performance finance team that thrives in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment.

Required Qualification:

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business, or related field.
• Start-up experience in a Hardware Technology company.
• 10+ years of experience in financial strategy, planning, and performance management, ideally in aerospace, defense, or advanced technology sectors.
• 5+ years in a senior leadership role, managing finance teams and company-level budgets.
• Experience with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR/DFARS) and the financial management of defense contracts.
• Track record of direct interaction with venture capital investors, including fundraising support, board reporting, and KPI tracking.
• Proficiency in financial systems, ERP platforms and implementation (e.g., SAP, Deltek Costpoint), and business analytics tools.)

Desired Qualifications: 

• MBA, CPA, or advanced degree in Finance, Accounting, or Business.
• Experience scaling finance operations from early-stage through Series B or later.
• Hands-on leadership in preparing financial models and forecasts for both government proposals and VC pitch decks.
• Strong cross-functional leadership and the ability to thrive in high-velocity, high-stakes environments.

Our office headquarters is located in Playa Vista, CA. This position requires in office presence.

The California annual base salary for this role is currently $160,000 - $190,000.  Pay Grades are determined by role, level, location, and alignment with market data.  Individual pay will be determined on a case-by-case basis and may vary based on the following considerations: interviews and an assessment of several factors that are unique to each candidate, job-related skills, relevant education and experience, certifications, abilities of the candidate and internal equity.