Deputy Finance Manager at Caltech

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Job Summary

IPAC, in the Physics, Math, and Astronomy Division at Caltech (www.caltech.edu), provides science operations, user support, data and archive services, and scientific vision to enhance discovery with observatories both in space and on the ground.  IPAC supports NASA, NSF, and privately funded projects and archives including:  the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, SPHEREx, the Near-Earth Object Surveyor, the Euclid NASA Science Center, the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, the NASA Ariel/CASE Science Center, the NASA/IPAC Infrared Science Archive, the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database, the NASA Exoplanet Archive, the Zwicky Transient Facility, the Vera Rubin Observatory, the Keck Observatory Archive, the Deep Synoptic Array (DSA-2000)

IPAC is seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Deputy Finance Manager to help lead its financial operations.  In this role, you will help supervise a small team of grant managers and financial analysts and manage a broad range of finance-related activities, including accounting, audit and compliance, budget analysis, procurement, and proposal development support. This position plays a key role in ensuring the financial integrity and operational efficiency of IPAC’s science and archive programs.

The successful candidate will report to the IPAC Finance Manager.

Essential Job Duties

• Team Leadership & Development
  • Help manage the IPAC Finance Team by leading daily team meetings, coordinating special projects, and supporting ongoing staff training and development.
  • Drive team growth through skills-building initiatives and recruitment efforts.
  • Continuously enhance financial practices through deep knowledge of technical and business principles.
• Proposal & Budget Management
  • Prepare and compile financial documentation for proposal submissions, supporting a range of funding opportunities from small science grants to $50M multi-year contracts.
  • Develop and oversee budgets for more than 100 awards and three recharge centers. These range from straightforward telescope observation grants to complex, multi-phase, 30-year projects requiring detailed monthly breakdowns.
• Financial Reporting & Analysis
  • Produce variance reports for task managers and sponsor program offices.
  • Monitor and analyze actual costs and workforce versus budgets to identify trends, flag issues, and ensure financial health.
  • Provide strategic financial insight and recommendations to IPAC leadership.
  • Generate monthly earned value reports for the Roman Space Telescope and NEO Surveyor project, including re-baselining when necessary.
  • Prepare NASA Program Planning, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) financial charts and 533M monthly cost reports for sponsors.
• Operational & Project Support
  • Collaborate with Caltech’s Procurement Department to execute contracts and subcontracts.
  • Implement and adjust labor schedules for IPAC staff. Support the IPAC Manager and Task Leads by generating staffing profiles. 
  • Track shared equipment funding availability for data center acquisitions.
  • Oversee recharge center WIC distributions and maintain audit trails.
  • Administer annual issuance of approximately 60 new observation Awards to external institutions for the Keck Telescope.
• Sponsor Liaison
  • Serve as the primary finance liaison between IPAC principal investigators and external funding agencies including JPL, NASA Headquarters, Goddard Space Flight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, the Space Telescope Science Institute, and university partners.
  • Ensure adequate funding is available for all IPAC projects by working closely with Caltech’s Office of Sponsored Research and the funding agencies.
• Compliance & Collaboration
  • Advise staff and leadership on Caltech policies and federal compliance, including guidance on allowable and unallowable expenses.
  • Coordinate with Caltech departments (OSR, Project Accounting, Travel, PCard, Procurement) to correct errors and resolve financial issues.
• Delegation & Oversight
  • Ensure the financial needs of IPAC staff and sponsors are proactively identified, addressed, and met with efficiency and accuracy.
  • Delegate tasks appropriately to the IPAC Financial Team and oversee successful completion of all responsibilities outlined above.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in a related field.
• Minimum of 8 years of experience in financial and business operations, including leading or coordinating cross-functional teams.
• At least 5 years of supervisory experience, including coaching, performance evaluation, and fostering professional growth within a high-performing team.
• Proven track record of providing strategic financial leadership to support organizational decision-making and long-term planning.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively engage with and lead conversations between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Advanced proficiency in spreadsheet applications, particularly Excel, with experience using data to influence strategic outcomes and lead process improvements, and ability to mentor others in their effective use.
• The selected candidate must pass a pre-employment background check.

Preferred Qualifications

• Leadership experience in academic financial systems, especially with Caltech and JPL systems, including guiding teams through policy, system, and process changes.
• Demonstrated leadership in the implementation and use of Earned Value Management systems and reporting.
• Strategic oversight of Federal Grants financial management, including ensuring compliance, audit readiness, and alignment with institutional policies.
• Proven ability to lead in high-paced environments with frequent interruptions, while prioritizing and delivering under multiple deadlines and mentoring others to do the same.
• Working knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), with experience applying it in leadership roles involving research or academic contracts.

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter