Director, Strategic Finance

Merlin Labs

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Boston hybrid Until 9/22/2026 12+ years exp First posted July 24, 2026 Last posted July 24, 2026
Job description
About Merlin:
Merlin is a venture backed aerospace startup building a non-human pilot to enable both reduced crew and uncrewed flight. Backed by some of the world’s leading investors, Merlin is scaling alongside our customers to begin leveraging autonomy today to solve some of aviation’s biggest challenges.

About You:

You are a finance leader with 12+ years of progressive senior FP&A or strategic finance experience, ideally with real exposure to program-based finance (Estimate At Completion, cost-type contracts, and rate structures). You've spent your career as a builder, not just a maintainer: you've personally designed cost-tracking frameworks, financial models, and process workflows.

You are equally comfortable in a spreadsheet and in a room full of engineers or program managers and are able to translate an ambiguous technical roadmap into a hiring plan, a budget, and a forecast leadership can act on and track against. You don't need a fully-formed process handed to you; you build it, test it, and iterate.

What should excite you about this role: it is a rare two-phase opportunity. Near-term, you build the financial infrastructure for Merlin's Programs and Engineering organizations from the ground up. Long-term, that build converts into full P&L ownership of a product line: a genuine path from builder to business owner.

Responsibilities:

  • Design and implement FP&A processes for engineering headcount, program costs, R&D spend, and capital allocation

  • Build financial models that translate engineering roadmaps into resource plans, hiring forecasts, budget commitments, and strategic scenarios

  • Partner with Engineering and Program Management to enhance our program cost accounting framework: cost tracking and reporting, cost-to-complete reporting, etc.

  • Define chart-of-accounts conventions, cost center structures, and reporting hierarchies that support program-level visibility

  • Create the monthly/quarterly operating cadence: actuals reviews, variance analysis, and re-forecast processes for the Programs and Engineering organizations

  • Deliver reporting and analytics that give leadership real-time insight into burn, capacity, and program financial health

  • Support the implementation of financial planning tools and systems in partnership with Finance and IT

  • Support the build and delivery of the annual operating plan and budget

  • Assume full P&L ownership for an assigned product line, including revenue, gross margin, and operating expense (long-term)

  • Drive pricing strategy, make-vs.-buy decisions, and resource allocation in partnership with the product line GM (long-term)

Qualifications:

  • 12+ years of progressive finance experience in FP&A, Strategic Finance, or finance business partner roles

  • Fluent in program finance concepts: EAC, cost-type contracts, and rate structures

  • Track record of influencing technical leaders through clear financial storytelling

  • Hands-on builder: has designed and implemented processes and models from scratch

  • BA/BS in Accounting, Finance, or related field required

Nice to Haves:

  • Background at a defense, aerospace, SaaS, or hardware-intensive technology company

  • Costpoint experience

  • MBA or CPA

This position is based on-site at Merlin HQ in Boston, MA.

Once you’re here, you’ll enjoy a variety of on-site perks designed to make your workday enjoyable and convenient. These include catered lunches featuring a rotating menu of delicious options, an assortment of snacks to keep you fueled throughout the day, and a selection of beverages, including coffee, tea, and other drinks, to keep you refreshed.

Our goal is to create an environment where you can thrive both professionally and personally

Merlin Labs offers an innovative, entrepreneurial, and team-focused startup environment. We also offer a top-notch benefits package (health, dental, life, unlimited vacation, and 401k with match) and work/life integration. Being part of the Merlin team allows you to become part of a small team that supports professional development while working together to achieve our mission.

Merlin Labs is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy), gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, marital status, military service or obligation or disability status, or any other characteristic protected by law. All job offers are contingent upon the candidate passing background and reference checks.

At this time, we are unable to provide visa sponsorship or consider candidates who require visa transfers. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or in the future. 

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification form upon hire.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to: [email protected]

Merlin Labs does not accept unsolicited resumes from any source other than directly from candidates.

Compensation (from employer):
220000–290000 USD per year

About this role

Summary

Build financial infrastructure, models, and P&L ownership for aerospace startup.

Job title

Director, Strategic Finance

Experience level

12+ years

Minimum experience

12+ years exp

Industry

aerospace

Location requirements

On-site in Boston, no remote work allowed.

Salary

$220k–$290k

Management role

No

Skills & keywords

Required skills

financial modelingFP&Aprogram financecost-type contractsrate structures

Preferred skills

defenseaerospaceSaaSHardwareMBA

Specializations

FP&Aprogram financecost trackingfinancial modelingbudgeting
Locations

Structured locations inferred from the posting.

Boston, MA, USA

On-site City