Manager Of Financial Operations Jobs in Madison, WI

The Head of Finance owns Realta Fusion's financial function, building the systems, processes, and team that will carry the company from venture-backed startup to commercial fusion energy deployment. This senior leadership role demands deep fluency across financial planning and analysis, financial operations, and strategic finance - paired with the judgment and independence to operate as Realta's primary day-to-day finance leader. The ideal candidate combines hands-on execution capability with strategic credibility, partnering directly with the CEO, fractional CFO, and board while directing our external accounting firm and embedding financial rigor into every corner of the organization. The Head of Finance thrives in a fast-paced, build-it-from-scratch environment where financial decisions directly shape our path to commercial fusion. energy.

Realta Fusion is a rapidly growing start-up developing compact magnetic mirror fusion energy systems to address the biggest challenge of our time -tackling global climate change while ensuring a sufficient energy supply for at least ten billion people on (and off) earth. We are building a team with diverse talents dedicated to making fusion energy a real solution to humanity's most pressing problem.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Planning & Analysis

• Own the company-wide budgeting and forecasting process, partnering with department heads and project leads to build bottoms-up budgets that reflect program scope, staffing plans, and capital requirements.
• Develop and maintain financial models supporting strategic decisions including fundraising rounds, site selection, capital deployment, and workforce planning.
• Produce monthly and quarterly variance analysis, surfacing actionable insights to leadership on budget performance, capital efficiency, and financial risk.
• Serve as a primary financial partner to the fractional CFO in developing board-level reporting, investor materials, and long-range financial planning.
• Own capital runway management, scenario modeling, and fundraising timing analysis in close coordination with the CEO and CFO.

Financial Operations

• Direct Realta's external accounting firm, coordinating month-end close, reconciliations, audit readiness, and financial statement preparation.
• Own accounts payable, expense management, and spending policy compliance - ensuring financial controls scale with the company.
• Design and maintain project-level cost tracking structures, ensuring expenses are captured at the program level to support accurate budget management across WHAM, Hammir, and The Forge.
• Lead financial compliance for government and partner agreements, including cost-sharing requirements, allowable cost categories, and milestone-based billing for DOE and other funded programs.
• Partner with legal and operations on vendor contract financial terms, purchase orders, and payment milestone structures.

Strategic Leadership

• Serve as a senior voice on financial strategy, organizational scaling, and capital allocation - contributing directly to executive decision-making.
• Lead implementation of financial systems and controls appropriate for a venture-backed company scaling toward commercialization (ERP, financial reporting infrastructure, approval authority frameworks).
• Support fundraising and strategic partnership due diligence, including data room preparation and investor financial Q&A.
• Support economic development and incentive agreement processes, including financial reporting obligations tied to TIF, state, or federal incentive programs.
• Build and develop the finance team over time, hiring and mentoring as organizational needs grow.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, or a related field; advanced degree or CPA preferred.
• 8+ years finance experience with demonstrated ownership of both FP&A and financial operations functions.
• Strong financial modeling skills; advance proficiency in Excel and experience with accounting or ERP platforms (QuickBooks, NetSuite, or similar).
• Experience building and managing teams.
• Experience at a deep-tech venture-backed startup preferred.
• Experience presenting financial information to senior leadership, boards, or investors

Leadership & Execution

• Proven ability to recruit, manage, lead, mentor, and develop high-performing teams.
• Comfortable in fast-paced startup environments with incomplete information and schedule pressure.

Compensation & Benefits

What we are working on is hard... and hugely important. Realta Fusion is assembling a talented team bound together by a passion to solve humanity's biggest challenge with first-of-a-kind technology. Additionally, Realta offers:

• Competitive compensation package, including equity stock options
• Comprehensive benefits including health, dental, and vision insurance, plus a 401(k)
• Flexible paid time off (PTO) to support work-life balance
• Work and live in Madison, Wisconsin - one of America's most livable and vibrant cities

We value diversity as a critical factor in innovation and believe a diverse team is necessary to solve the toughest problems. We aim to create an inclusive environment that unleashes the full creativity of our team members from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We provide equal employment opportunities to all individuals based on merit and without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other protected status under applicable laws.