Finance Operations Lead — AP, Procure & Controls

Avalanche Energy is a Washington-based startup building compact, deployable fusion systems through rapid hardware iteration. Rather than pursuing fusion as a single grid-scale outcome, Avalanche develops transportable fusion machines designed to be built, tested, and operated on short cycles, turning real hardware into steady progress. This approach enables near‑term applications that demand extreme energy density and endurance, starting with fusion neutron production for radioisotope power and other defense and space uses, while advancing the underlying fusion platform.

Backed by U.S. government programs and a team experienced in delivering complex systems, Avalanche is focused on building fusion that runs in the real world, not just on paper.

You bring structure to fast‑moving environments and take ownership of the financial operations that keep a company running. You have built and improved procurement, AP, and spend management processes - not just followed them. You are comfortable standing up internal controls, driving cross‑functional accountability, and making systems work  want to lead finance operations at a company where your decisions directly shape how the business grows.

Avalanche Energy is hiring a Financial Operations Manager to lead the company’s end‑to‑end finance operations function, spanning procurement, accounts payable and receivable, cash management, corporate card and expense programs, and financial systems administration. This is a leadership role with direct accountability for building scalable processes, enforcing internal controls, and delivering reliable financial reporting as the company prepares for its next stage of growth.

You will own the operational finance infrastructure: designing workflows, managing vendor and payment operations, overseeing spend compliance, and partnering with the Executive and Finance Team, Contracts Management Team, and cross‑functional stakeholders to ensure financial discipline across the organization. This is a high‑visibility position on a small finance team where operational leadership, judgment, and initiative matter more than hierarchy.

• Own and continuously improve the company’s financial operations framework, including procurement, payables, receivables, cash management, and spend compliance.
• Develop, document, and enforce standard operating procedures and policies across all finance operations workflows to ensure consistency, accuracy, and audit readiness.
• Serve as the operational finance lead in cross‑functional initiatives, partnering with Engineering, Supply Chain, Contracts, and Program Management to align spend activity with company priorities.
• Identify process gaps, recommend improvements, and drive automation opportunities to increase efficiency and reduce manual risk as the company scales.

• Manage the end‑to‑end accounts payable and receivable cycle: invoice receipt, three‑way match, coding, approval routing, and payment execution (ACH, check, wire).
• Oversee purchase order workflows initiated by employees in the spend management platform, ensuring proper coding, budget alignment, approvals, and policy compliance.
• Own vendor onboarding and lifecycle management: W‑9/W‑8 collection, banking verification, payment terms setup, record maintenance, and annual 1099 filing.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for vendor inquiries, payment status, and dispute resolution; elevate contract or deliverable disputes to the Contracts Manager.
• Manage the cash application of AP and AR settlements within the ERP system and support balance sheet reconciliations, investigating and resolving variances.

• Administer the company’s corporate card program end‑to‑end: card issuance, spend limit configuration, cardholder policy enforcement, and program‑level reporting.
• Review card transactions for proper coding, receipt compliance, and adherence to spend policies; manage exception workflows and elevate violations to Finance leadership.

• Own the configuration and day‑to‑day…