Director of Finance

Overview

MIT Lincoln Laboratory seeks an experienced, innovative, and strategic finance executive to serve as Director of Finance. Lincoln Laboratory is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) operated by MIT and is MIT's largest laboratory, with approximately 4,000 employees and 360 contingent workers and $1.5B annual revenue, primarily located in Lexington, MA.

The Director of Finance serves as the Laboratory's senior finance leader, responsible for enterprise-wide financial strategy, stewardship, modernization, and compliance. Reporting to the Assistant Director for Operations, with additional accountability to the MIT Vice President of Finance, the Director acts as a strategic advisor to Laboratory leadership and is accountable for the integrity, agility, and modernization of the Laboratory's financial operations.

This role is both architect and operator – leading a complex finance organization through continued transformation to align enterprise-wide finances with the Research and Development mission in an efficient and effective manner, while ensuring operational excellence and full compliance with DoD and federal regulations.

Strategic Leadership & Financial Transformation

• Establish and execute the vision and long-term strategy for financial management across the Laboratory, aligned with its research mission and operational objectives.
• Lead the continued modernization of the Laboratory's financial ecosystem, including the Accounting for Research Transformation: Chart of Accounts redesign, Accrual and cost accounting enhancements, labor distribution optimization, integration with digital enterprise systems.
• Advance modern, dynamic budgeting, forecasting, and planning capabilities to improve financial agility and decision support.
• Drive enterprise-wide financial transparency through meaningful metrics, dashboards, and predictive analytics.
• Anticipate and respond to evolving federal funding environments, regulatory changes, and DoD policy developments.

Enterprise Financial Stewardship

• Serve as steward of the Laboratory's financial resources, overseeing budgeting and multi-year financial planning, forecasting and analysis, accounting operations, financial reporting (internal and external), property management, and travel and financial operations functions.
• Lead the development of the annual operating budget and long‑range financial plans.
• Ensure accurate, transparent reporting to Laboratory leadership, MIT, government sponsors, and oversight entities.
• Maintain and strengthen internal controls, audit readiness, and compliance processes.

Regulatory Expertise & Governance

• Provide expert guidance on DoD Financial Management Regulations, FAR/DFARS, DCAA/DMAC, OMB Uniform Guidance Cost Principles, PPBE, government budgeting and funding processes, and DoD ceiling management (preferred).
• Ensure full compliance with federal acquisition regulations, audit requirements, and FFRDC governance frameworks.
• Represent the Laboratory in financial matters with government agencies, MIT leadership, consortiums, and professional organizations.

Organizational & Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the central finance organization while serving as career manager and Center of Excellence leader for finance professionals laboratory-wide.
• Exercise oversight of senior finance managers in Technical Divisions and Administrative Departments through a matrix reporting structure.
• Build, mentor, and retain a high‑performing and diverse finance team.
• Foster a collaborative, consultative leadership culture emphasizing partnership rather than command‑and‑control management.
• Provide training and best‑practice guidance in financial modeling, reporting, and compliance.

Stakeholder Partnership

• Serve as a trusted advisor to Laboratory leadership on strategic initiatives, capital investments, resource allocation, and operational priorities.
• Collaborate closely with Technical Divisions, Administrative Offices, the Contracts and Compliance Offices, and the Program Management Office.
• Interface regularly with MIT Finance and senior external stakeholders.

Qualifications

Leadership & Change Management

• Demonstrated experience leading large, complex financial organizations through strategic planning, modernization, and enterprise transformation.
• Proven success implementing financial systems and process modernization initiatives.
• Ability to balance strategic leadership with operational execution in a highly regulated environment.

Technical & Regulatory Expertise

• Extensive experience in government‑related financial management, including planning, estimating, funding, accounting, reporting, and compliance.
• Strong working knowledge of DoD Financial Management Regulations, FAR/DFARS, DCAA/DMA oversight, OMB Uniform Guidance, PPBE process.
• Experience in a DoD FFRDC, research, acquisition, or contracting environment strongly preferred.
• Experience operating within SAP or comparable enterprise systems preferred.

Executive Capabilities

• Exceptional interpersonal, communication, and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leadership and build consensus across diverse stakeholders.
• Strong analytical, decision‑making, and problem‑solving skills.
• Leadership style grounded in collaboration, coaching, and talent development.

Education & Experience

• Minimum of 15 years of progressively responsible senior financial management experience leading large, complex financial operations.
• Experience in a federally funded research, defense, government, or similarly regulated environment strongly preferred.
• Master's degree strongly preferred (MBA, Accounting, Business Management, or related field).
• Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret‑level DoD security clearance.

Hiring Range: $340,000 - $410,000

Disclaimer: MIT Lincoln Laboratory provides a typical hiring range as a good faith estimate of what we reasonably expect to offer for this position at the time of posting. The final salary offered to a selected candidate will depend on various factors, including‑but not limited to‑the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate's experience, skills and education/training, internal equity considerations and applicable legal requirements. This range reflects base salary only and does not include additional forms of compensation or benefits.

At MIT Lincoln Laboratory, our exceptional career opportunities include many outstanding benefits to help you stay healthy, feel supported, and enjoy a fulfilling work‑life balance. Benefits offered to employees include:

• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
• MIT‑funded pension
• Matching 401K
• Paid leave (including vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
• Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
• Mentorship programs
• A range of work‑life balance options
• ... and much more!

Selected candidate will be subject to a pre‑employment background investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret level DoD security clearance.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, or genetic information; U.S. citizenship is required.

Requisition ID: 42737

Nearest Major Market: Boston

Job Segment: Compliance, Security Clearance, Laboratory, Defense, DoD, Legal, Government, Science

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