Manager, Payables & Spend Operations

About This Role

The Manager, Payables & Spend Operations owns how Varda pays for things. You will run and rebuild accounts payable, own the corporate card program, and stand up expense and travel operations—then lead the small team that operates them.

This role is deeply hands-on. You will sit at the intersection of Finance, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Pharma Operations, and you will be the person people call when a vendor needs to get paid, or a card needs to get coded. You will partner closely with Supply Chain on procure-to-pay, understand direct hardware and lab spend well enough to code it correctly, and help evolve the processes behind a spend footprint that is growing fast.

This is a full-time, exempt position in El Segundo, CA.

Responsibilities

Accounts Payable

• Own end-to-end AP: invoice intake, coding, PO matching, approval routing, and posting in Business Central.
• Run the payment cycle (ACH, wire, check) with dual-approval controls and own month-end close, accruals, and subledger reconciliation.
• Manage CIP tracking, balance sheet coding, and fixed asset handoffs for capital and engineering spend.
• Maintain vendor master data, 1099 readiness, and the open invoice and receiver queues.

Supply Chain Partnership

• Serve as Finance's counterpart to Supply Chain on the procure-to-pay flow: PO structure, receiving, inspection holds, and three-way match.
• Understand hardware and pharma R&D spend well enough to code it correctly—spacecraft components, machined parts, lab reagents, blanket POs—without asking.
• Bring aging and exception data to Supply Chain so fixes are driven by evidence.

Corporate Card, T&E & Travel

• Own the corporate card program: provisioning, limits, policy, compliance, and month-end GL coding.
• Operate employee expense reimbursement and lead the future stand-up of a formal travel program.

Controls, Systems & Team

• Write and maintain AP, card, and T&E policies; own audit support and cost pool accuracy across pharma and defense.
• Build spend visibility and automate coding, matching, and exception handling to reduce manual work.
• Lead and develop a small AP team with clear ownership, cross-training, and documented workflows.

Basic Qualifications

• 7+ years in accounts payable or procure-to-pay; 2+ years managing people.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field, or equivalent experience.
• At least one full-cycle implementation of an AP, spend, or expense platform (Ramp, Coupa, Concur, Navan, or similar).
• Hands-on experience with CIP, capital projects, and fixed asset handoffs in a manufacturing or hardware environment.
• Working knowledge of PO-based purchasing, three-way match, and an ERP (Business Central, NetSuite, SAP, or similar).
• Solid understanding of AP-adjacent accounting: accruals, prepaids, inventory receipts, and project cost tracking.
• Proven ability to run a high-volume operation accurately while rebuilding it.
• Strong cross-functional communicator comfortable in a lean, fast-moving environment.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Aerospace, defense, hardware, or pharmaceutical/life sciences background—experience across both is especially valued.
• Familiarity with U.S. Government contracting requirements (FAR/DFARS, DCAA cost pools).
• Ramp administration and ERP integration experience.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.
• Experience standing up a corporate travel program.
• Startup or high-growth environment experience.

Compensation

• Manager, Payables & Spend Operations: $130,000 – $170,000
• Base salary is determined by skills, experience, and performance. Eligible for stock options, long-term cash awards, and the Employee Stock Purchase Plan.