Vice President of Finance

LEAP is seeking an experienced and highly motivated Vice President of Finance with strong Aerospace & Defense (A&D) and manufacturing experience to lead financial strategy, planning, and analysis in a fast-paced hardware manufacturing environment supporting national security and government space programs. This role is responsible for financial analysis, government contract compliance (FAR/DFARS/CAS), audit leadership (DCAA/DCMA), manufacturing cost visibility, and strategic decision support to the CFO and executive leadership team, partnering closely with the Controller and accounting team on financial reporting and internal controls.

The ideal candidate will possess strong financial analysis and modeling capabilities, extensive Aerospace & Defense and manufacturing cost accounting knowledge, direct experience navigating DCAA and DCMA audits, and the ability to operate both strategically and hands-on in a growth-oriented organization.

LEAP is transforming space logistics with rapid-response, mass producible launch solutions designed to eliminate bottlenecks in space access. Leveraging proprietary propulsion technology and modern manufacturing techniques, LEAP delivers scalable and cost-effective, launch solutions for national security, commercial payload deployment, and global point-to-point logistics applications.

• Support financial planning & analysis (FP&A), including budgeting, forecasting, long-range financial planning, and cash flow modeling.
• Provide strategic financial analysis and decision support to the CFO and executive leadership team.
• Develop and monitor financial and operational KPIs, including contract and program-level profitability analysis.
• Support pricing strategy, cost/price analysis, and proposal pricing for government bids and contract negotiations.
• Analyze indirect rate structures and rate variances and their impact on contract profitability, recommending corrective actions as needed.
• Partner with Manufacturing and Operations leadership on production cost analysis, standard costing, and manufacturing overhead allocation to support unit economics and margin visibility as LEAP scales production.

• Ensure compliance with FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulations), DFARS (Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement), and CAS (Cost Accounting Standards).
• Serve as the primary point of contact for DCAA and DCMA audits, including incurred cost submissions, forward pricing rate proposals, and business systems reviews.
• Own indirect rate structure development, provisional/final billing rates, and rate variance analysis.
• Partner with the Controller and accounting team to ensure accounting systems and cost accounting practices meet government compliance standards, including CAS and DCAA adequacy requirements.
• Review financial statements and reporting packages prepared by the Controller/accounting function for accuracy, GAAP compliance, and business insight.
• Partner with the Controller to establish and maintain strong internal controls and financial policies.
• Ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local reporting requirements.
• Present financial results, forecasts, and strategic analysis to the CFO, CEO, board, and/or ownership as needed.

• Support team members supporting FP&A and contract pricing functions.
• Partner cross-functionally with Manufacturing, Operations, Program Management, Contracts, Supply Chain, and HR.
• Support pricing proposals, bid reviews, and government contract negotiations.
• Provide financial analysis and operational insight to improve profitability and working capital management.
• Support capital planning, financing strategy, and banking relationships.
• Budgets, forecasts, long-range financial plans, and cash flow models.
• Contract and program-level profitability analyses, indirect rates, and pricing proposals.
• Incurred cost submissions, forward pricing rate proposals, and audit materials.
• Financial and operational KPIs, manufacturing cost analyses, and reporting packages.

• Provide financial insight that supports executive decisions, contract profitability, and working capital management.
• Maintain government contract compliance and audit readiness.
• Improve production cost and margin visibility as LEAP scales manufacturing.

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field; MBA preferred.
• 10+ years of progressive finance…