Kratos Defense and Security Solutions

Financial Controller

Manufacturing & Automotive
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or related discipline
  • 8+ years of progressive financial responsibility
  • Strong expertise in cost accounting and financial control
  • Experience leading financial control in a manufacturing environment
  • Ability to operate independently as enterprise financial authority

Responsibilities

  • Serve as the financial authority for the company
  • Own internal controls and financial governance
  • Oversee monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting
  • Govern Estimate-at-Completion (EAC) and margin tracking
  • Lead Annual Operating Plan (AOP) financial structure

Benefits

  • Potential for supervisory responsibilities in the future
  • Opportunity for strategic financial leadership
  • Engagement with cross-functional teams
  • Flexibility to work in a fast-paced environment
  • Minimal travel requirements depending on program needs
Full Job Description
Job Description

GENERAL JOB SUMMARY:

The Financial Controller serves as the senior financial authority and control owner for Technical Directions Inc., responsible for full-spectrum financial governance across Programs, Operations, Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing.

This role owns financial integrity, compliance, reporting accuracy, internal controls, margin protection, cash discipline, and enterprise financial risk management. The Financial Controller ensures that all financial activity within TDI is accurate, compliant, controlled, and strategically aligned to revenue, EBIT, and long-term growth objectives.

Reporting directly to the GM / SVP, the Financial Controller provides independent financial leadership and enterprise-level governance, while maintaining a strong dotted-line integration with the Lead PMO to ensure disciplined program cost control and execution visibility.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Enterprise Financial Governance & Control
  • Serve as the financial authority for TDI
  • Own internal controls, financial governance, and policy enforcement
  • Establish financial standards across all functional areas
  • Protect margin, cash flow, and capital efficiency
  • Identify enterprise-level financial risk and mitigation strategies

Financial Reporting & Close Management
  • Own monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reporting
  • Oversee revenue recognition and cost allocation accuracy
  • Validate labor rates, overhead rates, burden application, and cost pools
  • Ensure financial statements are audit-ready and GAAP compliant
  • Lead financial close cadence and reporting discipline

Program & Operational Financial Control
  • Govern Estimate-at-Completion (EAC) and margin tracking
  • Approve program cost baselines and financial assumptions
  • Validate financial impact of ECR/ECO and scope changes
  • Partner with Operations on throughput, scrap, OEE, labor efficiency
  • Validate cost rollups, BOM cost accuracy, and routing cost integrity

Budgeting, Forecasting & Capital Governance
  • Own Annual Operating Plan (AOP) financial structure
  • Lead rolling forecast discipline and variance governance
  • Approve capital expenditure requests and ROI analysis
  • Monitor working capital, cash flow, and inventory exposure

ERP & Financial Systems Ownership
  • Own financial integrity within Costpoint (ERP)
  • Ensure system controls prevent unauthorized or misaligned financial entries
  • Validate integration across ERP, PLM, MES, QMS, and dashboards
  • Maintain segregation of duties and compliance discipline

Audit, Compliance & Regulatory Controls
  • Lead internal and external financial audits
  • Ensure compliance with GAAP, corporate finance policy, ITAR, DFARS, and contract clauses
  • Oversee financial data governance and access controls
  • Serve as audit liaison for corporate and government stakeholders

Executive Advisory & Strategic Finance
  • Provide financial insight to GM / SVP on strategic decisions
  • Support pricing, make-buy analysis, supplier financial risk review
  • Provide margin improvement recommendations
  • Support enterprise growth and investment decisions

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
  • May supervise financial support staff (future state)
  • Owns financial authority across TDI
  • Exercises approval authority over financial controls, structures, and reporting


Experience and Skills

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES

Required
  • Strong expertise in cost accounting, financial control, and governance
  • Deep understanding of manufacturing and engineering cost structures
  • ERP expertise (Costpoint strongly preferred)
  • GAAP and internal controls knowledge
  • Ability to operate independently as enterprise financial authority
  • Strong executive communication capability
  • Demonstrated ability to learn new regulatory frameworks through self-directed research (regulations, agency guidance, peer benchmarking) with limited formal mentorship

Preferred
  • EVMS familiarity
  • CPA or CMA preferred

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

Required
  • Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or related discipline
  • 8+ years of progressive financial responsibility
  • Demonstrated experience leading financial control in a manufacturing environment
  • Experience with long-cycle program-based EAC/ETC forecasting
  • Experience preparing or directly supporting an Incurred Cost Submission
  • Familiarity with CAS Disclosure Statement requirements and indirect rate structures

Preferred
  • Experience in high-mix, low-volume production environments
  • Experience supporting DCMA audits and government programs
  • Aerospace / Defense experience
  • Experience operating as a divisional/subsidiary controller reporting financials to a publicly traded parent, including SOX-aligned controls and consolidated close requirements

WORK ENVIRONMENT / PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
  • Office-based with extensive cross-functional engagement across operations
  • Frequent interaction with Program, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain teams
  • Ability to work in a fast-paced, high-accountability environment
  • Ability to sit, stand, and work at a computer for extended periods
  • Occasional presence on production floor to validate financial alignment with operations

TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS
  • Minimal to moderate (0-20%) depending on program reviews, audits, or corporate engagement

#LI-Onsite

THE ABOVE STATEMENTS ARE INTENDED TO DESCRIBE THE GENERAL NATURE AND LEVEL OF WORK BEING PERFORMED BY INDIVIDUALS ASSIGNED TO THIS CLASSIFICATION. THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE CONSTRUED AS AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST OF ALL RESPONSIBILITIES, DUTIES AND SKILLS REQUIRED OF PERSONNEL SO CLASSIFIED.

A REVIEW OF THIS CLASSIFICATION HAS EXCLUDED THE MARGINAL FUNCTIONS OF THE CLASSIFICATION THAT ARE INCIDENTAL TO THE PERFORMANCE OF FUNDAMENTAL JOB JUTIES. ALL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ARE ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND REQUIREMENTS AND ARE SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE MODIFICATION TO REASONABLY ACCOMMODATE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES TO PERFORM THIS JOB PROFICIENTLY. THE REQUIREMENTS LISTED IN THIS DOCUMENT ARE THE MINIMUM LEVELS OF KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS OR ABILITIES.

#LI-Onsite

About Kratos Defense and Security Solutions

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. provides mission critical products, solutions, and services in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Kratos Government Solutions, Unmanned Systems, and Public Safety & Security. The Kratos Government Solutions segment offers microwave electronic products, satellite communications, training systems, modular systems, and defense and rocket support services. The Unmanned Systems segment provides unmanned aerial, ground, and seaborne, as well as command, control, and communications systems. The Public Safety & Security segment designs, engineers, deploys, operates, integrates, maintains, and operates security and surveillance solutions for homeland security, public safety, critical infrastructure, government, and commercial customers. The company serves national security related agencies, the department of defense, intelligence agencies, and classified agencies, as well as international government agencies and domestic and international commercial customers; and critical infrastructure, power generation, power transport, nuclear energy, financial, IT, healthcare, education, transportation, and petro-chemical industries, as well as government and military customers. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
Learn more about Kratos Defense and Security Solutions
Size
3,300 employees
Market Cap
$1.1 billion
Industry
Net Income
$79.6 million
Founded
1994
5 Year Trend
+8.4%
Revenue
$747.6 million
NASDAQ

Similar Jobs

More Jobs at Kratos Defense and Security Solutions

More Manufacturing & Automotive Jobs

Find similar Financial Controller jobs: