Senior Manager of Program Finance & Pricing
Department: Finance
Employment Type: Full Time
Location: Hawthorne, California
Reporting To: Maria Ross
Compensation: $170,000 - $190,000 / year
Description
Astrolab is The Lunar Operations Company. We design and build the systems and hardware the lunar economy will come to depend on — rovers, power, and data networks for sustained operations on the Moon. We are focused on the problems that must be solved before the next chapter of human exploration can scale. The Moon does not forgive untested assumptions. The people who work here know that, and they wouldn't have it any other way.
We are seeking a Senior Manager, Program Finance & Pricing to lead the Finance partnership for major programs and new business opportunities. This role will own program financial performance and proposal pricing, working closely with Program Management, Business Development, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, Contracts, Accounting, and Finance.
The role will also support selected FP&A activities, but its primary focus will be program finance, pricing, and financial performance.
What you'll do:
Program Finance
- Serve as the primary Finance partner for assigned customer programs
- Own Estimate at Completion, Estimate to Complete, cost-to-complete, margin, cash-flow, and other program forecasts
- Maintain program financial baselines and track performance against estimates, commitments, forecasts, and actual results
- Monitor key cost drivers, including labor, materials, subcontractors, and schedule changes
- Identify emerging cost, margin, schedule, and cash risks and communicate their financial impact to Program Management and leadership
- Provide program-finance inputs supporting revenue recognition and financial reporting in partnership with accounting
- Analyze changes in scope, schedule, and cost assumptions and reflect them in current forecasts
Pricing and New Business
- Lead Finance pricing for NASA, U.S. Government, commercial, and other customer opportunities
- Own the Finance pricing recommendation to leadership, including expected cost, contingency, margin, cash requirements, and financial risk
- Build detailed cost and pricing models incorporating labor, materials, subcontractors, indirect costs, schedule, risk, and margin
- Partner with cross-functional teams to develop pricing assumptions and Bases of Estimate
- Lead financial analysis for Rough Order of Magnitude estimates, proposals, contract modifications, and other pricing requests
- Evaluate pricing structures, payment milestones, contract terms, scope changes, and schedule scenarios
- Partner with Accounting to develop and apply appropriate indirect-rate assumptions
- Develop scalable pricing models, templates, and processes
FP&A Support
- Support the annual operating plan, rolling forecast, and periodic company forecasting
- Connect program forecasts and new-business assumptions to the broader company forecast
- Support budget-versus-actual analysis, department forecasting, and scenario modeling
- Provide financial analysis related to headcount, program timing, operating expenses, capital needs, and new opportunities
Working Across the Business
- Lead recurring program financial reviews with Program Management and functional leaders
- Translate technical and operational assumptions into clear financial impacts
- Constructively challenge cost, schedule, sta[ing, and procurement assumptions
- Work with Accounting to align program forecasts with monthly close results and the general ledger
What you'll bring:
Basic Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field
- 8+ years of experience in program finance, pricing, cost estimating, FP&A, or related finance roles
- Experience in aerospace, defense, space, government contracting, advanced manufacturing, or another complex engineering environment
- Experience in U.S. Government proposal-pricing, including detailed cost models and Bases of estimate
- Experience with Estimate at Completion, Estimate to Complete, cost-to-complete, program margin, forecasting, and financial risk management.
- Financial modeling and advanced Excel skills
- Experience partnering with Program Management, Engineering, Operations, Supply Chain, and/or Business Development
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience pricing NASA, Department of Defense, or other federal programs
- Ability to work hands-on with incomplete information and evolving assumptions
- Strong communication and business-partnering skills.
- Working knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, Defense Federal Acquisition
- Regulation Supplement, government cost principles, Cost Accounting Standards, Defense
- Contract Audit Agency readiness, and certified cost or pricing data
- Experience with firm-fixed-price, cost-type, and milestone-based contracts
- Familiarity with Earned Value Management, Work Breakdown Structures, and program cost controls
- Experience supporting hardware development, prototype, manufacturing, or production programs
- Experience with NetSuite, Deltek, ProPricer, or comparable systems
- Master's degree in Business Administration, Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, Project Management Professional, or other relevant professional certification
Benefits and Perks
- Join a team of best-in-class engineers building the foundation of planetary surface exploration
- Equity ownership in the company
- Comprehensive health benefits, including medical, dental, vision, and mental health support
- 401(k) plan with company match
- Flexible PTO and parental leave
- Weekly lunch stipend, plus complimentary snacks and beverages on-site
- Once a month social hour on-site with food and drinks
