Director, Product Cost Strategy and Forecasting

Job Summary

Kairos Power is seeking a Director of Product Cost Strategy and Forecasting to lead the development and execution of the company's product cost architecture and forecasting systems. This leader will own the methodologies, tools, and processes that enable Kairos Power to estimate and forecast the cost of its reactor systems, fuel, salt, and supporting infrastructure with accuracy, transparency, and consistency. These cost insights will directly inform corporate forecasting, pricing, contracting, and investment decisions as the company transitions from demonstration to commercial deployment.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives, the Director of Product Cost Strategy and Forecasting will collaborate closely with the Director of FP&A, Cost Accounting Manager, and technical leaders across Engineering, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain. The role requires exceptional cross-functional coordination and the ability to bridge technical, financial, and operational disciplines. The successful candidate will combine strong analytical capability with a practical understanding of engineered systems and manufacturing economics to drive predictable, competitive, and continuously improving product costs across Kairos Power's programs.

Responsibilities

Forecasting and Methodology

• In close collaboration with cross-functional stakeholders, support and coach the relevant technology teams and cost owners in the development of an enterprise-wide cost forecasting framework that integrates engineering, manufacturing, and financial data to inform planning, pricing, and contracting decisions
• Develop and maintain parameterized cost models across major domains—including salt, fuel, reactor hardware, construction, and shared infrastructure—ensuring transparency, traceability, and consistency in assumptions and data sources.
• Define and document cost estimation methodologies, inputs, and governance processes to ensure alignment with corporate forecasting and investor-facing financial models.
• Establish and manage a regular forecasting cadence synchronized with company planning cycles, enabling leadership to make data-driven investment, pricing, and contracting decisions.
• Work closely with Engineering and other technical cost owners to ensure assumptions are well-documented, realistic, and consistently applied across systems, serving as both a coach and partner in developing cost maturity.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Finance, Accounting, and FP&A to ensure cost forecasts directly inform budgeting, scenario analysis, and long-range financial planning.
• Work with the Cost Accounting Manager to reconcile forecasts against actuals, perform root-cause variance analyses, and refine assumptions based on observed performance.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Supply Chain, and Manufacturing teams to identify and track cost drivers, anticipate future cost impacts, and inform design and sourcing decisions.
• Coordinate with the Strategy team and FP&A to align product cost models with corporate pro forma, techno-economic, and investor-facing analyses.
• Foster strong communication and data-sharing practices across disciplines to ensure a unified understanding of cost structure, risk, and opportunity.

Insights and Decision Support

• Develop learning-curve and scaling frameworks that quantify expected cost improvements across successive product generations and manufacturing expansions.
• Conduct sensitivity and scenario analyses to assess the impact of design changes, production scaling, introduction of new capabilities, and supply-chain dynamics on total cost.
• Analyze cost trends, anomalies, and one-time events to distinguish between structural and transient cost drivers.
• Provide data-driven recommendations to drive cost reduction, operational efficiency, and improved market competitiveness.
• Support internal pricing and contracting discussions by confirming that proposed pricing and commercial terms align with established cost targets and financial assumptions, and by quantifying impacts when they do not.

Reporting and Communication

• Develop and maintain reporting tools that clearly communicate cost forecasts, trends, and key drivers to executive leadership.
• Translate complex cost analyses into concise and actionable insights that support strategic decision-making.
• Prepare and deliver presentations, summaries, and visualizations that convey cost performance, forecast accuracy, and improvement opportunities.
• Ensure cost transparency in internal and customer-facing reporting, including support for cost-plus and open-book contracting frameworks.
• Collaborate with FP&A, Accounting, and Strategy to maintain consistent cost narratives across internal and external communications.

Team Leadership

• Build and lead a small team responsible for product cost forecasting and analysis, providing mentorship, structure, and technical direction.
• Foster a culture of rigor, transparency, and continuous improvement in cost modeling and forecast accuracy, aligned with the Kairos Power culture and mission.
• Establish clear development paths for team members as the cost forecasting function expands to support commercial deployment.
• Collaborate with leaders across Engineering, Finance, and Manufacturing to reinforce shared ownership of cost outcomes and cross-functional problem-solving.
• Encourage innovation in modeling methods, data integration, and visualization to enhance both accuracy and usability of cost information.

Other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degrees in Engineering, Corporate Finance or related discipline required; advanced degree in Engineering or Corporate Finance preferred
• 10+ years of experience in cost forecasting, cost engineering, or manufacturing finance, including a minimum of five years in a leadership role
• Experience at a manufacturer or hardware developer within the past five years
• The successful candidate will have a proven track record of developing and managing cost forecasting systems for complex engineered products or large-scale manufacturing programs.
• Strong analytical skills and proficiency in developing detailed cost and financial models are essential.
• The role requires the ability to integrate technical, operational, and financial data to support decision-making, along with exceptional communication skills and experience presenting to executive stakeholders.
• Familiarity with ERP systems such as NetSuite or Oracle and advanced Excel modeling capability are expected.
• Candidates must be comfortable operating in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment and managing multiple priorities simultaneously.
• An advanced degree in business administration, engineering, data science, economics, or a related field is preferred.
• Candidates with extensive experience leading progressively responsible roles in cost estimation, product cost management, or manufacturing economics will be strongly preferred, particularly those who have built or scaled cost forecasting functions in complex manufacturing or capital project environments.
• Experience in clean energy, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, or other capital-intensive project environments is highly valuable.
• Knowledge of cost accounting principles, variance analysis, and open-book or cost-plus contracting models is preferred.
• Familiarity with learning-curve modeling, sensitivity analysis, and cost scaling methodologies is an advantage.
• Proficiency with data analysis and visualization tools such as Python, Power BI, or Tableau is desirable.
• Candidates with demonstrated success leading cross-functional cost management initiatives and influencing decision-making in dynamic, fast-paced organizations will be especially well suited for this role.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and strong organizational skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Ability to work with highly collaborative team and proven team player working with various teams
• Ability to solve problems quickly and efficiently
• Prioritizes and ensures safety of oneself and others
• Ability to proactively collect, manage and transfer knowledge
• Ability to seek different and novel ways to create efficiencies when working on problems, challenges and issues

Physical Demands

• Remaining in a stationary position, often standing, or sitting for prolonged periods
• Moving about to accomplish tasks or moving from one worksite to another
• Communicating with others to exchange information

Environmental Conditions

• General office environment
• Assessing the accuracy, neatness and thoroughness of the work assigned
• High-concentration, demanding and fast-paced

Safety and PPE

• Reading and interpreting hazardous warning signs
• Reporting issues with equipment or unsafe conditions

Travel

• If candidate not physically located in Albuquerque, NM, travel is up to 20-30% 

Additional Requirements

• Requires occasional working weekends
• Requires occasional schedule flexibility
• Requires occasional extended hours to support launch and critical project timelines

The salary for this position is $209,400 to $261,800 for employees working onsite at our Alameda, CA headquarters. The range provided in this job posting represents the typical range or starting rate of candidates hired in California. Factors that maybe used to determine your actual salary may include your education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, the market data for your work location, and a comparison to other employees already in the role. 

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