Finance Manager

SAEKI - Manufacturing at software speed

Europe's defense industrial base cannot respond at the speed modern conflict requires. Legacy suppliers operate on month-long timelines. Tribal knowledge is retiring. Supply chains are fragile. SAEKI is building the operating system for autonomous factories — the infrastructure that lets Europe manufacture mission-critical components at software speed.

You'll be the person who builds the financial backbone underneath all of it. As we scale across two countries, raise capital, and stand up production, you are the one who makes sure we always know where we stand, where the money goes, and how far the runway reaches.

The Role

As Finance Manager, you own operating finance across both of SAEKI's entities — our HQ in Zurich (Switzerland) and Factory ONE in Munich (Germany). You run FP&A and strategic planning, build the models leadership steers by, and work hand-in-hand with the Chief of Staff on our upcoming debt raise.

This is not a close-the-books-and-report-up role. You are building the function: the planning process, the cash and liquidity discipline, the reporting that turns raw numbers into decisions. One week you're modeling scenarios for the financing round, the next you're setting up intercompany flows between CH and DE, the next you're sitting with production to understand unit economics on the factory floor.

You work closely with the Chief of Staff, and partner with everyone — external accountants and auditors, banks and investors, and the operations team in Munich. You bring rigor and pace in equal measure, and you grow into broader ownership of the finance organization as the company scales.

Based at our HQ in Zurich.

What We're Looking For

• 2–8 years in finance — this can be a Big 4 audit or transaction services background, with or without a first in-house move. If you're coming straight from Big 4 and ready to build, we want to hear from you; if you've already done a stint in-house at a growth-stage company, even better. We'll scope the role to your experience.
• FP&A Horsepower: You build models that hold up. You can take a messy, fast-changing business and turn it into a clear plan — budgets, forecasts, scenarios, cash flow — and explain the story behind the numbers to people who aren't in finance.
• Multi-Entity and Cross-Border Fluency: Swiss GAAP FER / IFRS and German HGB, intercompany flows, and VAT across CH and DE. You don't need to have mastered all of it — but you pick up new frameworks fast and aren't fazed by operating across jurisdictions.
• Capital and Liquidity Instinct: You understand financing and capital structure. Exposure to a debt raise, venture debt, or fundraising is a plus — and if you haven't done one yet, you'll be hands-on with ours.
• Ownership Mentality: You don't wait for process — you build it. When you spot a gap, you fill it. You're as happy in the spreadsheet as you are setting up the system that replaces it.
• Language: Fluent in German and English. German is essential for dealing with Swiss and German authorities, contracts, banks, and administrative processes.

What we're not looking for

• Pure reporting controllers who want a stable monthly cycle and a fixed scope. This role is about building and steering, not maintaining what already exists.
• Big-company specialists who've only ever owned one slice of finance with a large team around them. Here you own the whole picture, often as a team of one to start.
• People who need heavy management. You report to the Chief of Staff and work closely with the CEO — both move fast and expect you to drive your domain with minimal hand-holding.
• Candidates optimizing for title over impact. The scope and the ownership are real and growing. The org chart will catch up to what you build.

What we offer

• Mission: Rebuild the industrial sovereignty of the West. Your work directly enables the production of mission-critical hardware for defense and space.
• Total Ownership: You own SAEKI's finance function end to end — the problems, the solutions, and the authority to execute. This is the seat to grow into Head of Finance.
• Strategic Seat: You work alongside the Chief of Staff and CEO on financing, planning, and the decisions that shape the company. Finance here is a business partner, not a back office.
• The Team: "Special Forces" model. Everyone senior, everyone ships. No politics, no bureaucracy. Direct feedback, high standards.
• Compensation: Competitive salary + meaningful equity.
• Location: Zurich HQ.

Apply

• Resume: Focus on what you've built and owned — models, processes, raises — not just where you've worked.
• Cover letter: Why this mission? Why now? Tell us about a time you brought financial clarity to a messy, fast-moving situation.