--- title: 'Controller at DEFCON AI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/controller-defcon-ai-mclean-3f2y567mv0qb' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-11-06' --- # Controller at DEFCON AI - **Company:** DEFCON AI - **Location:** Mclean, VA - **Work type:** hybrid - **Posted:** 2026-11-03 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-06 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/defcon/jobs/5281779007 ## Job description ## ABOUT DEFCON AI RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF DISRUPTION. DEFCON AI is an insights company that leverages artificial intelligence, mathematical optimization, data analytics, and software engineering for resilient optimization of complex systems. In today’s dynamically changing world, DEFCON AI’s technology aligns outcomes with operational goals, better decision making, and empowers customers to anticipate assess, and mitigate the impacts of disruptions. ## About the Role We are seeking a Controller to own accounting, financial close, compliance, and reporting for a fast-growing defense technology company supporting Department of War and commercial customers. This role will operate in a hybrid capacity from our McLean, Virginia office, with at least one day per week in the office, or more as business needs require. Some work may need to be performed in a cleared facility. You will serve as the CFO's right hand on the books, ensuring an accurate monthly close, audit-ready financials, and a government contract accounting environment that stands up to DCAA and DCMA review. This is a hands-on leadership role. You will build scalable accounting processes, strengthen internal controls, and lead a small accounting team as DEFCON AI grows across defense and commercial markets. ## Key Responsibilities Own Accounting and Financial Close - Own the monthly, quarterly, and year-end close under U.S. GAAP. - Prepare financial statements, account reconciliations, and management reporting for the CFO, CEO, and Board of Directors. - Manage revenue recognition under ASC 606 across firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials, cost-reimbursable, and commercial contracts. - Oversee accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll accounting, fixed assets, and equity and stock compensation accounting. Lead Government Contract Accounting and Compliance - Maintain a DCAA-compliant accounting system, timekeeping process, and job-cost structure. - Develop and manage indirect rate structures, including fringe, overhead, and general and administrative rates, as well as provisional billing rates. - Prepare incurred cost submissions, forward pricing support, and pricing inputs for proposals. - Ensure compliance with FAR Part 31 cost principles, Cost Accounting Standards where applicable, and DFARS business system requirements. - Serve as the primary contact for DCAA and DCMA audits and reviews. - Support SBIR Phase III and other contract vehicles, including appropriate segregation of unallowable costs. Manage Audit, Tax, and Internal Controls - Lead the annual external financial statement audit from planning through final sign-off, including PBC requests and supporting schedules. - Serve as the primary day-to-day contact for external auditors throughout the year. - Act as the company’s technical accounting lead by researching complex transactions and preparing position memos related to ASC 606, ASC 718, ASC 842, debt, and equity financings. - Coordinate with external tax advisors on federal and state filings. - Design and maintain internal controls, accounting policies, and procedures appropriate for a growing company. Support Planning, Systems, and Business Operations - Partner with FP&A on budgets, forecasts, cash flow planning, and contract profitability analysis. - Own the accounting and ERP systems and drive process automation as the company scales. - Work closely with Contracts, Program Management, Human Resources, and Security teams to support business operations and compliance. Build and Lead the Accounting Team - Hire, develop, and manage the accounting team. - Establish clear ownership, operating rhythms, and quality standards across the accounting function. Required Qualifications - Active CPA license. - 10+ years of progressive accounting experience, including ownership of the financial close and management of an accounting team. - Experience with or strong knowledge of U.S. government contracting requirements, including FAR, DFARS, DCAA audits, indirect rates, and incurred cost submissions. - Strong technical accounting skills and command of U.S. GAAP, including ASC 606. - Experience leading annual audits and working directly with external auditors. - Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or a closely related field. - Active U.S. security clearance, or the ability to obtain and maintain one - U.S. citizenship is required. ## Preferred Qualifications - Master’s degree in Accounting, including an MAcc or MSA. - Public accounting experience, ideally with audit or government contracting advisory exposure. - Experience in a venture-backed or high-growth defense technology company. - Hands-on experience with government contracting ERP systems such as Deltek Costpoint, Unanet, or Procas. - Experience supporting both government and commercial revenue streams. What Success Looks Like - The monthly close is accurate, timely, and increasingly scalable. - Financial reporting is audit-ready and provides clear, reliable information to company leadership and the Board. - Government contract accounting practices are well-documented and prepared for DCAA and DCMA review. - Accounting systems, controls, and team capabilities mature in step with company growth. - The CFO has a trusted partner who can independently lead the accounting function and surface risks early. ## What We Offer - A flexible, results-based work environment. - Competitive salary, bonus, and equity package. - 100% employer-paid comprehensive health insurance, including medical, dental, and vision coverage for you and your family. - Unlimited PTO, with your manager’s approval. - Flexibility to manage your workday while meeting business and team needs. - 14 weeks of fully paid parental leave. Salary Range $170,000-$220,000. This represents the typical base salary range for this position based on experience, skills, and other factors. We’re an Equal Opportunity Employer: You’ll receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, or on the basis of disability. Applicant Data Disclosure By submitting an application, you acknowledge that Defcon AI uses third-party service providers to facilitate its recruitment and hiring processes. These providers include applicant tracking systems, candidate verification platforms, and fraud detection tools (collectively, "Hiring Platforms"). Your application materials, including your résumé, cover letter, work samples, responses to application questions, and any other information you submit, may be transmitted to and processed by these Hiring Platforms for the following purposes: - Managing and administering your application throughout the hiring process; - Verifying the accuracy and authenticity of application materials, including by cross-referencing information you provide against publicly available sources and proprietary databases; - Identifying indicators of potentially fraudulent, fabricated, or materially misleading application content, including but not limited to discrepancies between submitted materials and publicly available professional profiles, geographic anomalies, and fabricated work histories. Applications that are flagged through this process as containing indicators of fraud or material misrepresentation may be declined from further consideration. If you have questions about the status of your application or the evaluation process, please contact recruiting@defconai.com. Defcon AI requires its Hiring Platform providers to process your information solely for the purposes described above and in accordance with applicable law. Your information will be retained only for as long as necessary to fulfill these purposes and any applicable legal obligations, after which it will be deleted in accordance with Defcon AI's data retention policies. For more information about how your data is used, please refer to our Privacy Policy and [Applicant Privacy Notice](https://nam09.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redcellpartners.com%2Fapplicant-privacy-policy%2F&data=05%7C02%7Ckat.creamer%40redcellpartners.com%7Cc0f94f3daed94dc7503108de8b61955e%7Cf861de501a2a42359dbf28afd57d1d97%7C0%7C0%7C639101448841578570%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=WoPiBMZqQyPPK5N4E1sCagkbMY2S8P3aSRSoy7T4los%3D&reserved=0). ## About DEFCON AI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: DEFCON AI builds AI-powered decision-augmentation platforms that optimize complex operations under uncertainty for national security, manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare organizations. - **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage; raised $44M total funding) - **Headquarters**: McLean, Virginia, United States - **Founded**: 2022 - **Founders**: Yisroel Brumer (Co-Founder & CEO) and Grant Verstandig (Co-Founder & Executive Chairman) ## Core Business - **Primary industries**: National Security/Defense, Manufacturing, Logistics & Transportation, Healthcare - **Target customers**: B2B — primarily U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies, as well as large commercial enterprises in manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare. - **Mission or purpose**: To deliver decision-augmentation capabilities that help organizations anticipate disruption, evaluate alternatives in real time, and make confident decisions before disruptions cascade. ## Products & Services - **ARTIV Air**: Cloud-native optimization platform for airlift planners to rapidly generate and evaluate multiple mission scenarios, balancing effectiveness, efficiency, and resiliency for routing mission-critical cargo and personnel. - **R-ALIGN**: Enables logistics planners to model and evaluate global multimodal operations (air, sea, rail, road) using time-sensitive optimization in contested and dynamic environments. - **FlightForge**: AI-driven tool that delivers mission-ready flight schedules in seconds, balancing key factors for accuracy and efficiency with real-time crew-to-sortie visibility. - **DockForge**: Optimizes ship maintenance scheduling by assigning jobs across dry docks and shipyards, maximizing throughput and allowing planners to explore trade-offs. - **R-IMS (Resilient Infrastructure Management System)**: Provides real-time view of capacity, dependencies, and schedule risk through simulation and scenario analysis for infrastructure and program teams. - **HelioNet**: Helps enterprises design resilient, cost-efficient global logistics networks through advanced modeling and long-horizon optimization (warehouse/hub location, tariff/disruption scenarios). - **SimSource**: Advanced optimization, simulation, and forecasting platform for managing complex, nested scheduling demands under uncertainty in manufacturing. - **Synapse Scheduler**: Uses optimization, ML, and LLMs to generate workforce schedules that meet staffing needs and individual preferences (targeting healthcare). ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed. - **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$44.0M** (Seed round led by Bessemer Venture Partners in August 2024; earlier venture round in October 2022). - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Bessemer Venture Partners (lead), Red Cell Partners, and other undisclosed investors. The company was founded in response to a direct request from the U.S. Department of War. - **Growth Signals**: Rapid transition from concept to mission-ready platform since founding in 2022; growing network of partners; expansion into commercial sectors (manufacturing, healthcare, logistics) beyond initial defense focus. LinkedIn shows 3,361 followers (+33.4% yearly). ## Competitive Advantages - **Deep domain expertise**: The team combines senior defense leaders, algorithm developers, and operators, bridging theory and real-world execution. - **Proven government pedigree**: Founded to meet a direct need from the Department of War, giving it strong credibility and an existing customer base in national security. - **Cross-industry applicability**: Core optimization technology is platform-agnostic and has been adapted to manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics — not just defense. - **Focus on uncertainty**: Unlike traditional static planning tools, the entire product suite is built to handle contested, dynamic, and uncertain environments. ## Strategic Focus - **Current priorities**: Scaling the platform across multiple industries (defense, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare) and deepening capabilities in resilient optimization. - **Direction for growth**: Expanding the partner network, continuing to win government contracts, and building out commercial applications for complex scheduling and supply chain resilience. ## Why Work Here - **Culture highlights**: Mission-focused team of world-class AI engineers, data scientists, and mathematics experts working on pressing national challenges. Emphasis on collaboration, transparent communication, and operational impact. - **Remote/hybrid/office policy**: **Remote-first** — ability to work fully remote within the United States. Certain roles may have in-office requirements. - **Notable perks**: 100% employer-paid health insurance (medical, dental, vision) for employee and family; Unlimited PTO with management approval (all federal holidays observed); 14 weeks paid parental leave (maternity and paternity) at normal pay; 401K and FSA available; professional development and continued learning opportunities. - **Engineering culture**: Building with bleeding-edge AI, mathematical optimization, and mission-grade software engineering. The team values rapid iteration and real-world deployment over theoretical work. ## Sources 1. [defconai.com](https://www.defconai.com/) 2. [defconai.com/careers](https://www.defconai.com/careers) 3. [defconai.com/about](https://www.defconai.com/about) 4. [boards.greenhouse.io/defcon](https://boards.greenhouse.io/defcon) 5. 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