Role: Chief Financial Officer (m/f/d)
Location: Munich (on-site culture; occasional business travel required)
About Buoyancy Technologies
Enabling Europe's leading aerospace, space, and defence institutions. Buoyancy Technologies was founded to meet the rising demand for European solutions in aerospace, space, and defence - markets underserved by a dysfunctional supply chain. We attract the most capable talent with integrity and build and leverage generative AI for digital and physical solutions. We are proud to contribute significantly to the most prestigious and complex platforms, most of them under confidential mandates.
We are not a company of promises. With active production facilities in the UK and Germany and a growing workforce of currently >120 employees, we are scaling rapidly, but already delivering to our customers. We operate in both worlds: established aerospace and defence platforms with long service lives, and modern digital technologies that materially improve how those platforms are designed, built, and supported. We do not chase hype; we separate signal from noise.
Our culture is purpose-driven and focused on innovation, high standards, and execution. This is a high-performance environment. If you seek meaningful work at the intersection of technology and defence, this is the place for you. This role is suited to candidates who thrive in ambiguity and take ownership for their responsibilities; it may not suit those who prefer highly structured and comfortable corporate roles.
The Role: Chief Financial Officer (m/f/d)
You will build and lead the finance function of a cross-border aerospace, space, and defence group in a decisive growth phase. This is not a maintenance CFO role. It is a build-and-run mandate: establishing financial truth, cash discipline, profitability visibility, financing readiness, and the governance backbone required for disciplined growth, selective acquisitions, and long-term scale.
Reporting directly to the CEO, you will act as the financial architect of the group. The role is based at group headquarters in Munich with a strong on-site presence as well as occasional travel to the production sites and stakeholders. You need to be comfortable working at the intersection of strategy and execution.
Immediate priorities (first 90 days):
- Build consolidated monthly reporting across all group entities from scratch: P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, and management reporting segmented by site, customer, and product line
- Establish a 13-week rolling cash forecast and a disciplined working capital routine covering receivables, payables, inventory, and WIP
- Create a clear, data-backed view of the group’s true profitability: where margin is earned, where it leaks, and what must change
- Assess the current finance operating model, identify control gaps, and define the target structure for a lean, scalable finance function
- Review the group’s financing capacity and capital structure, including lender positioning and acquisition readiness
Reporting, controls, and finance operations:
- Own the monthly close, group reporting, treasury, budgeting, and forecasting across all entities
- Build a lean, automation-first finance operating model with documented processes, clear responsibilities, and minimal person-dependency
- Lead the finance architecture within the group’s ERP environment: scalable workflows, sound controls, and high-quality financial data
Commercial finance and margin management:
- Drive pricing discipline and commercial finance together with operating companies, estimators, and customer-facing teams
- Support major customer quotations and contract negotiations where margin, cash profile, risk allocation, or commercial terms are material
- Drive EBITDA margin expansion through cost control, procurement consolidation, and operational performance visibility
Corporate finance and M&A:
- Lead relationships with banks, lenders, auditors, tax advisors, and other external financial stakeholders
- Manage cross-border tax, transfer pricing, intercompany flows, and legal entity structuring in coordination with external advisors
- Lead the financial workstream for acquisitions: due diligence, valuation, deal structuring, financing coordination, and post-merger integration
Team and function build:
- Build and lead a small, high-quality finance team over time, setting standards and driving outcomes without creating bureaucracy
You will be expected to think like an owner, but operate with the discipline of a first-class finance professional. You will be a key counterweight to unmanaged spending, weak pricing, and manual processes — while building the financial infrastructure required for a much larger company than the one that exists today.
Requirements
First and foremost, you must bring outstanding problem-solving skills, strong work ethics, sound judgement, and uncompromising integrity to the table. You must have a genuine interest in building Buoyancy Technologies into a substantial long-term aerospace, space, and defence group. In addition, we consider the following formal requirements mandatory:
Finance leadership and function build:
- 7+ years of progressive finance leadership experience in industrial, manufacturing, aerospace, defence, or similarly execution-heavy environments
- Proven track record of building or substantially rebuilding a finance function — including reporting, monthly close, treasury, controlling, and governance — in a scaling or transformation setting
Technical finance and manufacturing economics:
- Strong command of manufacturing cost accounting: inventory, WIP, margin drivers, pricing logic, and the financial levers of operational performance
- Proven ability to establish reliable forecasting, cash control, working capital management, and management reporting
- Strong systems mindset: ability to shape ERP and finance process architecture, drive automation, and eliminate manual, person-dependent work
Corporate finance and capital markets:
- Direct experience with banks and lenders: debt facilities, working capital financing, covenant discussions, and external financial communication
- Demonstrated ability to execute acquisitions: financial due diligence, valuation, deal structuring, financing coordination, and post-merger integration
- Cross-border finance expertise across at least two European jurisdictions; DACH and UK experience is strongly preferred
Leadership and personal qualities:
- Commercial finance capability: ability to work credibly with operations, engineering, estimators, and customer-facing teams on pricing, margin, and risk
- High discretion and trustworthiness, given the sensitivity of the role in an owner-led cross-border group
- Ability to set standards, build a lean team, and drive outcomes through others without creating bureaucracy or politics
Language and qualifications:
- Fluent English and strong German
- Qualifications such as ACCA, CIMA, WP, StB, CPA, or comparable credentials are advantageous but not required
Despite operating in a highly regulated sector, we value entrepreneurial thinking.
Buoyancy is best suited to people with a track record of exceptional achievement, those who have consistently aimed high and delivered outstanding results in demanding environments.
What We Offer
We believe to offer something different.
- Strategic Impact: You actively shape critical operational processes and establish a legacy of excellence in a rapidly scaling organisation
- Prestige and Innovation: You work on high-stakes projects that define the future of European aerospace, space, and defence and therefore ensure our safety, protect our European democracies
- Meritocratic Culture: You join an organisation where excellence, integrity, and results are the foundation of everything we do. We are proud of our unique team ethos, direct communication, enabling and supporting each other, going the extra mile together
Compensation for this high-impact role is market‑competitive for a scale-up and aligned with responsibility and performance; those who thrive at Buoyancy are motivated at least as much by the mission and the team as by the pay.
The application process includes multiple interviews, a version of our written problem-solving test, and several practical exercises.
To be considered, please submit a complete application (motivational letter, CV, and all references) to ceo-office@buoyancy.com
Please note that only complete applications by email will be considered. Incomplete submissions, including those missing motivational letter, CV, and all references will not be reviewed and automatically rejected.
Buoyancy Technologies SE is an equal opportunity employer. We make hiring decisions based on qualifications, merit, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion or belief, ethnic origin, or any other status protected by applicable law (including the German General Equal Treatment Act – AGG). Applicants who require adjustments during the recruitment process are encouraged to contact us.
