Finance Manager Supply Chain - Aerospace Manufacturing

Job Description
Job Description
Supply Chain Finance Manager
Los Angeles / South Bay, CA (Onsite) | ~10% Travel
A rapidly growing aerospace and defense manufacturer and systems integrator, supporting U.S. and allied defense programs across multiple platforms, is establishing its first-ever dedicated Supply Chain Finance function. This is a newly created role — there is no existing process to inherit, and the individuals who historically covered pieces of this work have since retired.

You will build the budgeting, forecasting, cost estimating, and performance-management infrastructure for Supply Chain from the ground up. The company is in a significant growth phase: expanding its physical footprint, carrying a strong backlog, and tracking several major new program awards — including a large-scale missile defense program with a leading prime contractor and a new directed-energy product line — that are expected to drive additional headcount and scope in this function in the near term.

Key Responsibilities
Budgeting, Forecasting & Long-Range Planning
Lead annual budgeting for the Supply Chain organization, covering both contract-side and overhead expenses. Build out Estimate-at-Completion (EAC) forecasting methodology for supply chain costs — this process does not yet exist and needs to be designed from scratch. Develop long-range headcount and workforce planning models for the organization, tied to the budget. Establish performance reporting that measures actuals against budget and forecast.

Material Cost Estimating
Serve as the Supply Chain focal point for material cost estimating, partnering with a broader cross-functional estimating group. Support modernization of a currently manual estimating process, including evaluation of dedicated cost-estimating tools. Help close the gap between proposal-stage cost and quote inputs and what buyers ultimately execute post-award, so proposed and actual costs stay connected. Buyer & Supplier Cost Performance
Analyze buyer performance against negotiated cost and quantity, by commodity.

Evaluate the cost impact of shipping terms, expedited orders, and other landed-cost drivers on total cost of goods. Partner with buyers to move beyond reliance on historical PO pricing alone, incorporating quantity-based pricing relationships (learning and improvement curves) and appropriate competitive quoting practices. Build accountability frameworks for buyer cost performance in partnership with Supply Chain leadership, without directly managing procurement staff.

ERP Transition Support
Support the organization's upcoming migration to a current, DoD-compliant ERP environment, including data validation and reporting continuity throughout the transition. Reporting, Tools & Process Improvement
Build and improve cost and performance dashboards and reporting, with an emphasis on better automation (current environment is SAP and Excel; Power BI and Power Query are available but underused). Bring advanced Excel modeling skills — this is not an entry-level formula role; macro or VBA experience is a plus.

Help identify where AI-assisted tools can reduce manual reporting effort. Apply Lean/Six Sigma methods to streamline supply chain finance processes. Compliance & Risk Awareness
Support the organization's readiness for cost and pricing compliance (TINA, CPSR, FAR, DFARS) — not mandatory, but a meaningful plus given an upcoming compliance review. Maintain awareness of evolving cost/pricing thresholds, including the current TINA certified cost and pricing data threshold ($10 million). Partner with the company's separate compliance and export-control function on ITAR and related matters as needed.

Nice to have: a broader awareness of geopolitical and macroeconomic factors affecting materials and supply availability. Qualifications and Skills
Required
5–8+ years of progressive finance experience in supply chain finance, operational finance, or cost accounting. Aerospace & Defense industry experience. Genuine, hands-on fluency with Bills of Material (BOM) — how they drive supply chain requirements, feed proposal pricing, and connect to purchase orders and buyer workflows. This is a real working knowledge, not textbook familiarity.

Strong analytical and financial modeling skills; advanced Excel required. A true business-partner mindset: proven ability to build trust and credibility within an operations organization that may initially be cautious about finance involvement. This is a partnership role, not an audit or enforcement function. Material cost estimating experience. Lean/Six Sigma experience or certification. Familiarity with TINA, CPSR, FAR, DFARS. Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or a related field.

Preferred
Experience with SAP; SAP HANA and business intelligence platforms a plus. Experience supporting a live ERP migration (e.g., SAP ECC to S/4HANA) a plus. VBA or macro development experience. MBA or relevant advanced certification. A broader, geopolitically-informed view of supply chain risk.