Senior Manager, Corporate Finance (R5631)

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai https://shield.ai/. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/shield-ai, X https://x.com/shieldaitech, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shield_ai, and YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@Shield_AI. JOB DESCRIPTION: 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: - Own and Build the Financial Model & Consolidated Plan - 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. Lead the Annual Operating Plan (AOP) & Forecasting - 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. Own the Company Cash Model - 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. Drive Board & Executive Reporting - 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. Digitize & Scale Planning Infrastructure - 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. Partner Across the Company - 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