We build advanced autonomous systems for defense markets—complex hardware and software products that demand world-class financial modeling, rigorous planning, and the ability to turn complexity into clarity.
We seek a Senior Corporate FP&A Lead with deep 3 statement modeling experience, a strong corporate FP&A background in a publicly traded company, and a proven track record architecting and owning financial models and planning processes. You will serve as the analytical engine of Corporate FP&A: designing and owning the company’s fully integrated three statement and consolidated plan, leading the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), owning the company cash model, and producing Board- and Executive-ready outputs that shape decisions at the C-suite and Board level.
Candidates must bring elite modeling expertise, mastery of complex HW/SW planning and unit economics, end-to-end ownership of the full planning cycle (AOP, forecast, long-range plan), and comfort operating in a fast-paced, high growth environment. This role has a natural path to FP&A and finance leadership as the company scales.
What you'll do:
- Architect and maintain a fully integrated, scalable, three statement model grounded in operational drivers, unit economics, and industry benchmarks.
- Own consolidated planning and end-to-end line-item ownership across the P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow—including equity planning (stock-based comp, share count, dilution, and equity roll-forward).
- Lead the Annual Operating Plan (AOP), including scenario modeling, sensitivities, and driver-based forecasting.
- Translate production ramps, R&D investments, contract timing, government milestones, and GTM strategy directly into financial outcomes.
- Maintain a forward-looking view of risks, opportunities, capital needs, and strategic inflection points.
- Own the AOP process end to end—calendar, templates, driver frameworks, consolidation, and executive review.
- Partner with functional and business leaders to build bottoms-up budgets that reconcile to top-down targets.
- Run the recurring forecast cycle, connecting short-term forecasting with the long-range plan.
- Take full accountability for forecast accuracy, improving results with each actualized quarter.
- Build and own rolling cash flow forecasts across working capital, inventory, milestone payments, production cycles, and CapEx.
- Model government contract payment timing, production curves, and program cash profiles.
- Identify liquidity risks early and support capital allocation and financing strategies.
- Own the creation of Board of Directors and eStaff QBR materials—narratives, financial packages, and KPI dashboards.
- Translate complex financial and operational results into clear, executive-ready insights.
- Deliver Board-ready outputs including plan-vs-actual analysis, variance drivers, and strategic context.
- Partner with data engineering/systems teams to evolve planning from Excel into modern cloud-based planning tools.
- Design modular, scalable model architectures; use Excel only where it provides meaningful analytical leverage.
- Integrate automation and analytics to improve clarity, reduce manual work, and increase decision velocity.
- Work closely with senior leaders on forward-looking financial planning and strategy.
- Translate engineering, program, and operations plans into financial impacts.
- Develop a point of view on unit economics, efficiency, scale, profitability, and capital allocation.
- Present insights that accelerate execution and elevate decision quality.
Required qualifications:
- 8–10 years of experience, including significant time in corporate FP&A.
- Direct FP&A experience in a publicly traded company.
- Proven ownership of scalable three statement models, AOP and LRP development, consolidated planning, and line-item ownership (including equity planning).
- Ownership of the company cash model and liquidity forecasting.
- Exceptional Excel modeling capability; fluent in multi scenario three statement modeling, beat-and-raise frameworks, and driver-based forecasting.
- Strong GAAP proficiency and command of financial statement mechanics.
- Demonstrated ability to build Board- and executive-ready materials and distill complex financial and technical information into clear insights for executives and the Board.
- Thrives in fast-paced, high-growth environments with high accuracy and strong judgment.
- Systems-oriented mindset; comfortable partnering with data and systems teams.
Preferred qualifications:
- Familiarity with government contract economics, milestone based revenue, and program accounting.
- Experience with equity / stock-based comp planning and share count and dilution modeling.
- Exposure to manufacturing scale, supply chain dynamics, and hardware production cycles.
- Experience implementing or scaling cloud-based planning tools (e.g., Anaplan, Pigment, Adaptive).
Who you are:
- An analytical athlete with exceptional modeling intuition and attention to detail.
- A structured, clear thinker who simplifies complexity without losing nuance.
- Fast, accurate, and calm under pressure.
- Curious, forward-looking, and driven to understand what truly moves the business.
- A strong communicator who elevates decision quality across the company.
- Mission-driven and energized by solving complex, high impact problems.
Why this role matters:
You will build and own the financial model and consolidated plan that define how the business is understood—internally, at the eStaff level, and at the Board. Your work will guide the AOP, capital allocation, cash strategy, investments, and long-range ambitions. This is Corporate FP&A at its highest level: high complexity, high visibility, high impact—and a direct path to FP&A and finance leadership.
Skills Required
- 8-10 years of professional experience, including significant corporate FP&A experience
- Direct FP&A leadership experience in a publicly traded company
- Experience owning scalable three-statement financial models
- Experience developing Annual Operating Plans and Long-Range Plans
- Experience with consolidated planning and line-item ownership, including equity planning
- Experience owning company cash models and liquidity forecasting
- Exceptional Excel modeling skills, including scenario modeling, beat-and-raise frameworks, and driver-based forecasting
- Strong GAAP proficiency and understanding of financial statement mechanics
- Experience creating Board- and executive-ready financial materials and insights
- Ability to operate effectively in fast-paced, high-growth environments with strong accuracy and judgment
- Ability to partner with data and systems teams
- Familiarity with government contract economics, milestone-based revenue, and program accounting
- Experience with equity or stock-based compensation planning, share count, and dilution modeling
- Exposure to manufacturing scale, supply chain dynamics, and hardware production cycles
- Experience implementing or scaling cloud-based planning tools such as Anaplan, Pigment, or Adaptive
What the Team is Saying
Shield AI Compensation & Benefits Highlights
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as excellent, with dental/vision and mental‑health support, and ancillary protections like life and disability appearing in benefit summaries. The breadth and perceived affordability of coverage are highlighted as a standout component of the package.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is featured alongside enhanced maternity benefits, fertility and childcare support, and onsite resources such as a Mother’s Room. These elements are positioned as competitive and above the minimal baseline for the company’s stage.
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Equity Value & Accessibility — Equity is granted to all full‑time hires, with RSUs, double‑trigger tax timing, and tools to model scenarios (e.g., through Carta Tax). Communications also reference a transition from options to RSUs, reinforcing access and maturity of ownership programs.
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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Hybrid Workspace
Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.
