Project Coordinator III | Financial Operations, Budgeting & AI Automation

Linda Werner & Associates•Sunnyvale, CA

20d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Project Coordinator III supports financial operations, spend governance, budgeting, forecasting, and process optimization within a hardware engineering organization at a technology company. The role partners with engineering leaders, finance stakeholders, procurement teams, and senior management to manage budgets, analyze spending trends, develop financial insights, and improve operational efficiency. It combines hands-on financial analysis and reporting with process improvement, change management, and AI-driven workflow optimization. The position offers exposure to engineering directors and senior leadership, with opportunities to influence financial decisions, optimize spending across hardware development initiatives, and support the integration of AI and automation into business operations. It is a two-month contract with a strong possibility of extension, based in a hybrid setting in Sunnyvale, California, and is expected to require 40 hours per week.

Requirements

At least 5 years of professional experience in financial operations, spend tracking, budgeting, forecasting, or resource and capacity analysis.
Hands-on experience analyzing financial data and developing financial reports for business stakeholders.
Advanced Excel or Google Sheets skills, including complex formulas, pivot tables, lookups, and financial modeling.
Experience developing dashboards and visualizations using Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or similar business intelligence tools.
Practical experience with prompt engineering, AI agents, or workflow automation tools to improve business processes.
Ability to prepare and present financial analysis, findings, and recommendations to directors or senior leadership.
Strong analytical skills, including the ability to identify trends, investigate financial discrepancies, and recommend improvements.
Excellent written and verbal communication, organizational skills, and attention to detail.
Ability to work independently, manage ambiguity, and proactively drive deliverables to completion.
Experience handling confidential financial, vendor, and resource information.
English language proficiency is required.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Engineering, Business Analytics, Data Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
Financial operations or spend governance experience supporting engineering, hardware, research and development, or manufacturing organizations.
Exposure to consumer electronics development and New Product Introduction (NPI) processes.
Experience working within large technology or consumer hardware organizations.
Experience implementing new operational processes, workflow improvements, or change management initiatives.
Professional certifications in data analytics, business intelligence, SQL, or related disciplines.

Responsibilities

Support annual and quarterly budgeting and forecasting cycles for engineering and hardware development teams.
Track operating expenditures (OpEx), capital expenditures (CapEx), budget commitments, and actual spending against forecasts.
Analyze financial data, identify spending variances, and provide actionable insights and recommendations to leadership.
Audit budget submissions, validate data accuracy, and identify financial risks and opportunities.
Coordinate monthly accrual processes, including validating purchase orders, outstanding commitments, and received goods or services.
Develop and maintain weekly and monthly financial reports, dashboards, and spending summaries.
Build financial models and reporting tools using advanced Excel or Google Sheets functionality.
Create data visualizations and executive dashboards using Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or comparable BI platforms.
Translate complex financial data into clear recommendations for directors and senior stakeholders.
Collaborate with budget owners to identify spending challenges, resolve discrepancies, and improve resource allocation.
Identify opportunities to streamline budgeting, reporting, and financial operations through AI and automation.
Develop reusable AI agents, assistants, prompts, and automated workflows to improve efficiency and reporting accuracy.
Support the implementation of new processes, tools, and operational improvements.
Partner with cross-functional teams to drive adoption of new workflows and scalable solutions.
Apply analytical thinking to improve existing business processes and reduce manual effort.
Serve as a trusted resource for engineering leaders and budget owners regarding spending, forecasts, and financial processes.
Partner with Procurement, Sourcing, Accounts Payable, and Program Management teams.
Track action items, coordinate follow-ups, and ensure timely resolution of outstanding issues.
Support stakeholders through complex planning cycles while maintaining accuracy and meeting critical deadlines.