We’re looking for a Finance Lead with sharp analytical instincts and a passion for driving business performance to join our high-performing finance team. Supporting our fastest-growing Hivemind business unit, this is a high-visibility, high-impact role where your insights will directly shape strategy and fuel innovation.
In this fast-paced, constantly evolving environment, you won’t just crunch numbers—you’ll influence decisions, uncover opportunities, and partner with leaders across engineering, operations, and product to deliver actionable financial intelligence. Your work will help optimize performance and steer one of our most critical business areas toward sustained growth.
The ideal candidate brings deep experience in financial modeling, operational finance, and data analysis, as well as a solid grasp of IFRS/GAAP, government contracting, and both hardware and software businesses. If you're energized by complexity, motivated by results, and ready to make a real impact, we want to hear from you.
What you'll do:
- Build, maintain, and enhance financial models to support budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning
- Analyse financial and operational data to generate insights and provide clear, actionable recommendations to senior leadership
- Partner closely with Program Management and Engineering teams to support program financial health, cost tracking, and workforce planning
- Support the development and execution of Earned Value Management (EVM) or equivalent program performance frameworks
- Collaborate with program managers to monitor actuals vs. plan, flag risks/opportunities, and support EAC (Estimate at Completion) updates
- Participate in the month-end and quarter-end close process, including variance analysis and executive reporting
- Assist with financial operational planning cycles, business reviews, and investment decision-making processes
- Support data transformation initiatives and basic modeling efforts in collaboration with analytics or data engineering teams
- Drive continuous process improvement by identifying automation and efficiency opportunities within financial reporting and analysis
- Ensure financial alignment of day-to-day operations with long-term strategic goals through regular operational reviews and ad hoc analysis
Required qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or a related field
- 8+ years of progressive experience in financial analysis, corporate finance, or FP&A
- Experience working in the Aerospace & Defence industry, ideally supporting government or defence programs
- Advanced proficiency in Excel, financial modeling, and data analysis
- Strong understanding of IFRS/AASB/GAAP, with practical experience applying accounting principles in a government contracting
- Familiarity with cost accounting concepts and government contract structures (e.g., T&M, CPFF, FFP)
- Solid understanding of financial statements and business metrics
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaborate cross-functionally in a fast-moving environment
- Excellent communication skills with the ability to present complex financial data to non-financial stakeholders
Preferred qualifications:
- MBA or Master’s degree in a related discipline
- Experience supporting operations or customer-facing teams in a manufacturing, aerospace, or tech environment
- Experience with ERP and planning systems (e.g. SAP, Oracle, Costpoint, or comparable tools)
- Track record of being a high performer with a bias for action, intellectual curiosity, and attention to detail
- Passion for using data to tell a story and drive strategic decisions
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business, Economics, or related field
- 8+ years progressive experience in financial analysis, corporate finance, or FP&A
- Experience working in the Aerospace & Defence industry, ideally supporting government or defence programs
- Advanced proficiency in Excel, financial modeling, and data analysis
- Strong understanding of IFRS/AASB/GAAP and practical experience applying accounting principles in government contracting
- Familiarity with cost accounting concepts and government contract structures (T&M, CPFF, FFP)
- Solid understanding of financial statements and business metrics
- Ability to work independently and collaborate cross-functionally in a fast-moving environment
- Excellent communication skills with ability to present complex financial data to non-financial stakeholders
- MBA or Master's degree in a related discipline
- Experience supporting operations or customer-facing teams in manufacturing, aerospace, or tech environments
- Experience with ERP and planning systems (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Costpoint)
- Track record of high performance with bias for action, intellectual curiosity, and attention to detail
- Passion for using data to tell a story and drive strategic decisions
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Company materials describe excellent medical, dental, and vision coverage alongside a mental‑health EAP. Site perks such as an onsite gym in DC and a gym discount in San Diego support a health‑focused offering.
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Retirement Support — Careers materials highlight a 401(k) with company match as part of the standard package. A Total Rewards overview emphasizes retirement features within a broader, transparent compensation view.
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Career-Linked Recognition & Rewards — Compensation for in‑demand technical and senior go‑to‑market roles is described as competitive, with visible engineering ranges and top‑end packages. This points to meaningful upside tied to role, level, and scarce skills.
Shield AI Insights
What We Do
At Shield AI, you won't wait years to see your work reach the field. You'll build hardware and software that operates in the real world right now, in the hands of the people who depend on it. Hivemind, our AI pilot, has been flying since 2018. It has flown more than 30 platforms, including an F-16, and it now sits under a U.S. Air Force production contract for Collaborative Combat Aircraft. When you write code or shape a system here, you contribute to technology with a proven flight record and a clear production future. V-BAT flies intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions with an operational record that stretches from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific. It delivers eyes where they matter most, in the most demanding conditions on earth. The teams behind it watch their work get tested where the stakes are real. X-BAT takes its first flight this year. It's an AI-piloted fighter that needs no runway, built to operate where traditional aircraft can't. Join now and you help shape a program at its earliest, most formative stage. That's the kind of ground-floor work that defines a career. Do the most impactful work of your life, on problems that matter. Autonomy at this level asks a lot of you. You'll take on problems in perception, planning, and control that few teams anywhere are equipped to solve. You'll work across disciplines, from aerospace and robotics to machine learning and systems engineering, alongside people who hold themselves to an exacting standard and expect the same from you. Our mission is clear: protect service members and civilians with intelligent systems. That purpose runs through every decision, every design review, and every deployment. It's why the work here carries a weight you can feel. Ready to join our mission? Explore our open roles and find where you fit.
Why Work With Us
Founded in 2015 by a former Navy SEAL, Shield AI builds AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft. Veterans aren't an afterthought here, they're at every level. It's why the work carries weight: AI pilots and uncrewed aircraft flying real missions, from Ukraine to the Indo-Pacific, protecting service members and civilians.
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Shield AI Offices
Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
