R&D Finance Manager

This is an incredible opportunity to be part of a company that has been at the forefront of AI and high-performance data storage innovation for over two decades. DataDirect Networks (DDN) is a global market leader renowned for powering many of the world's most demanding AI data centers, in industries ranging from life sciences and healthcare to financial services, autonomous cars, Government, academia, research and manufacturing.

"DDN's A3I solutions are transforming the landscape of AI infrastructure." - IDC

"The real differentiator is DDN. I never hesitate to recommend DDN. DDN is the de facto name for AI Storage in high performance environments" - Marc Hamilton, VP, Solutions Architecture & Engineering | NVIDIA

DDN is the global leader in AI and multi-cloud data management at scale. Our cutting-edge data intelligence platform is designed to accelerate AI workloads, enabling organizations to extract maximum value from their data. With a proven track record of performance, reliability, and scalability, DDN empowers businesses to tackle the most challenging AI and data-intensive workloads with confidence.

Our success is driven by our unwavering commitment to innovation, customer-centricity, and a team of passionate professionals who bring their expertise and dedication to every project. This is a chance to make a significant impact at a company that is shaping the future of AI and data management.

Our commitment to innovation, customer success, and market leadership makes this an exciting and rewarding role for a driven professional looking to make a lasting impact in the world of AI and data storage.

The R&D Finance Manager is a strategic partner to DDN's Engineering and Product organizations. You'll translate investment and roadmap decisions into measurable business outcomes, and partner with technical leadership on headcount planning, program investments, and operations. The ideal candidate combines strategic finance expertise with a genuine curiosity for how and why technology companies build products. Location for this role is New York, NY (SoHo Office)

Key Responsibilities:

Embedded finance partner to Engineering and Product leadership. Build trusted relationships to influence resource allocation and roadmap decisions.
• Own end-to-end R&D financial planning: budgeting, forecasting, LRP, and variance analysis with clear narratives for headcount, non-payroll, and infrastructure spend.

• Partner with R&D to define efficiency metrics, identify cost optimization opportunities, and manage cloud and on-prem infrastructure costs.
• Develop and manage KPI reporting that ladder up to business unit and overall company objectives. Model build-vs-buy-vs-partner, investment, and other ad-hoc business decisions.
• Support and understand DDN's pricing, packaging, and deal structure redesign as the business and product evolve. Provide input to ensure product roadmap decisions enable desired revenue recognition.

Qualifications:

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or related quantitative field; MBA preferred.
• 5-8+ years in FP&A, strategic finance, investment banking, or management consulting. Experience at a high-growth or pre-IPO company a plus.

Skills & Competencies

• Proficient in financial modeling, executive-ready presentations, and business partnership with technical stakeholders. SQL & BI tools, planning tools (Pigment, Adaptive), and ERP (Workday) experience a plus.
• Strong executive presence with the ability to partner across all levels of stakeholders. Intellectually curious, self-directed, and comfortable with ambiguity.

Salary Pay Range for this role: $160,000 - $180,000

DDN has a very strong orientation towards these 4 characteristics and any successful employee will demonstrate these capabilities:

Self-Starter - Takes independent action to identify and solve problems. Seeks out relevant information needed to make decisions. Gets involved with new initiatives.

Success/Achievement Orientation - Delivers quality results consistently. Targets, achieves (or exceeds) measurable results. Sets challenging goals, focuses on critical priorities, and is accountable.

Problem Solving - Recognizes problems and responds with a systematic assessment that identifies and addresses cause of issue. Practical, realistic, and resourceful.

Innovative - Builds and improves key business processes that enhance the effectiveness of DDN. Generates new ideas, challenges the status quo, and solves problems creatively.

DataDirect Networks, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, transgender, sex stereotyping, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, protected Veteran Status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.