Senior & Expense Compliance Analyst

Position: Senior Travel & Expense Compliance Analyst
Austin, TXFinance & Accounting – Finance /Full-time /On-site

Please Note:

To conform with the United States Government Space Technology Export Regulations, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., conditional resident, asylee or refugee (protected individuals as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

At Cesium Astro, we are developers and pioneers of out-of-the-box communication systems for satellites, UAVs, launch vehicles, and other space and airborne platforms. We take pride in our dynamic and cross-functional work environment, which allows us to learn, develop, and engage across our organization. If you are looking for hands-on, interactive, and autonomous work, Cesium Astro is the place for you.

We are actively seeking passionate, collaborative, energetic, and forward-thinking individuals to join our team.

We are looking to add a Senior Travel & Expense Compliance Analyst to our team. If you enjoy working in a startup environment and are passionate about making an impact in a growing company, we would like to hear from you. In this position, you will own travel and expense compliance for the company while supporting financial planning, forecasting, and budgeting.

This role administers the company's travel policy, including policy setup in Ramp, and ensures travel spending meets company policy and applicable government requirements, such as per diem and lodging rate limits.

It also applies FP&A knowledge to analyze financial information, identify trends and risks, and develop recommendations that inform financial and operational decisions.

Working cross-functionally with finance, accounting, operations, and program management, this role advises employees and leaders on travel policy, tracks changes to government travel regulations, and contributes to planning cycles and improvement initiatives.

JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Own compliance with government travel regulations affecting allowable rates on applicable contracts, including per diem caps and non-reimbursable categories such as alcohol.

Partner with Finance to implement and maintain Company travel and expense policy, including policy setup, system configurations, and approval workflows within Ramp.

Research and benchmark hotel, rental car, and other travel rates to confirm compliance with Company policy and government rate limits.

Review travel-related expenses for policy and regulatory compliance, pushing back on and declining non-compliant requests with clear, well-supported rationale.

Monitor changes to government travel and per diem regulations, updating internal guidance and communicating changes to employees.

Serve as a resource for employees and other departments on travel and expense policy questions.

Identify opportunities to improve financial planning processes, reporting accuracy, and analytical capabilities.

Support implementation of financial planning tools, reporting enhancements, and operational improvements.

Maintain financial planning documentation, models, and reporting templates.

Ensure financial activities comply with company policies, financial controls, and established procedures.

JOB REQUIREMENTS AND MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related field with 5–8 years of related experience, or a Master's degree with 3–6 years of related experience in financial planning and analysis, finance, accounting, corporate finance, or a related discipline.

Proficiency in travel and expense administration, expense review, policy compliance, and financial controls.

Familiarity with government travel requirements, federal per diem rates, allowable and non-reimbursable costs, and related compliance considerations.

Experience identifying financial trends, forecast variances, operational risks, policy exceptions, and performance gaps that affect business results.

Sound judgment when evaluating planning assumptions, financial scenarios, travel and expense compliance, and business impacts to support informed decisions.

Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.

Experience using Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, such as Oracle, SAP, Net Suite, Microsoft Dynamics, or equivalent financial platforms.

Working knowledge of financial planning, budgeting, and reporting tools, such as Adaptive Planning, Anaplan, Hyperion, or equivalent…