About the Role
<p>The Senior Director of Finance at Auterion is responsible for architecting, scaling, and leading the company’s financial planning infrastructure for the German subsidiary of Auterion and contributing significantly to company-level planning activities. In this role, you will partner closely with executive and functional leaders to translate strategic objectives into actionable financial plans, ensuring rigorous forecasting, performance visibility, and data-driven decision-making across the organization.</p>
<p>This role is as strategic as it is hands-on: you will own budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning processes while building driver-based models that capture business performance, growth dynamics, and unit economics. You will connect strategy to execution by delivering clear performance insights, supporting go-to-market capacity planning, guiding cost optimization initiatives, and strengthening alignment between Finance, Accounting, and Revenue teams.</p>
<p>You will have the opportunity to build and lead a high-performing team in Germany, implement scalable systems and controls, enhance planning and analytics tooling, and leverage AI-driven solutions to improve efficiency and insight generation as the company grows.</p>
<h3><strong>Responsibilities and Duties</strong></h3>
<p><strong>Strategic Finance & Planning</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Own financial planning, including budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, and performance reporting.</li>
<li>Partner with executive and functional leaders to translate strategy into actionable financial plans and operating targets.</li>
<li>Develop and maintain driver-based financial models to support growth planning and decision-making.</li>
<li>Lead performance reporting and variance analysis, establishing KPIs and dashboards that provide clear insight into business performance and unit economics.</li>
<li>Support go-to-market planning, deal review, and revenue forecasting in partnership with commercial leadership.</li>
<li>Partner with Accounting to ensure alignment between forecasts, actuals, and financial reporting.</li>
<li>Support internal and external reporting, including investor and board materials.</li>
<li>Drive continuous improvement of finance processes, systems, controls, and automation, including adoption of AI-enabled tools.</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong>Manufacturing & Operational Finance</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>Lead product costing, standard cost development, and manufacturing profitability analysis across production sites.</li>
<li>Drive margin improvement through cost optimization, make-vs-buy analysis, and operational efficiency initiatives.</li>
<li>Provide financial oversight of capital expenditures, asset management, and plant-level investment decisions.</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong>Supply Chain Finance</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>Own financial oversight of supply chain operations, including procurement spend, inventory optimization, logistics costs, and working capital management.</li>
<li>Partner with supply chain leadership on sourcing strategy, supplier negotiations, and total cost of ownership analysis.</li>
<li>Develop and monitor supply chain KPIs to ensure cost competitiveness and operational resilience.</li>
</ul>
<h4><strong>Joint Venture Management</strong></h4>
<ul>
<li>Serve as finance lead for joint ventures, overseeing governance, financial reporting, and board-level presentations.</li>
<li>Manage JV financial performance, including profit sharing, transfer pricing, intercompany transactions, and compliance with partnership agreements.</li>
<li>Support JV capital planning, partner relationships, and investment decision-making.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Qualifications and Skills</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>10+ years of progressive experience in FP&A, corporate finance, investment banking, consulting, or related fields, with senior leadership responsibility.</li>
<li>Proven experience building and scaling FP&A functions in high-growth, venture-backed environments.</li>
<li>Understanding of government and public-sector contracting environments and pipeline maturity.</li>
<li>Experience in the complex operational and finance aspects of setting up a joint venture and common accounting issues that surface therein.</li>
<li>Exceptional analytical and financial modeling skills, with mastery of Excel and Google Sheets.</li>
<li>Strong executive presence and the ability to communicate complex financial insights clearly to senior stakeholders.</li>
<li>A hands-on, ownership-driven mindset with the ability to thrive in ambiguity and rapid change.</li>
<li>Experience in software-enabled hardware businesses and understanding of manufacturing supply chains is a plus.</li>
<li>Knowledge of US GAAP or IFRS is required. Familiarity with German HGB standards is a plus.</li>
<li>Experience in cross-border European and US businesses is a plus.</li>
<li>Fluency in English and German is a requirement. </li>
<li>EU Citizenship required.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Benefits</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>Flexible working hours</li>
<li>Stock Options</li>
<li>Generous holiday allowance</li>
<li>Pension plan </li>
<li>Extended social security package </li>
<li>Enhanced maternity & paternity leave</li>
<li>Wellpass membership </li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>About Auterion</strong></h3>
<p>We are building the leading software platform for AI-powered autonomous systems for enterprise and government customers. Our team is supporting the most important missions and solving the most challenging problems.</p>
<p>At Auterion, we bring together the sharpest minds who love to solve the hardest problems. Join a vibrant team built on innovation, openness, and excellence, where you’ll be empowered to develop ideas, collaborate across all levels, and make an impact that matters.</p>