Strategic Finance Manager (San Diego / Hybrid)

Illumina • San Diego, CA

13h • Hybrid

About The Position

The Manager, Strategic Finance delivers financial analysis to support Illumina’s corporate and business development transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, joint ventures, divestitures, licensing agreements, and structured investments. The role applies financial modeling and valuation expertise to assess transaction economics, compare alternatives, and identify financial risks. Accurate, well-supported analyses and clear recommendations help inform transaction decisions that advance Illumina’s strategic objectives.

Reporting to the Head of Strategic Finance, the Manager independently executes defined analytical workstreams within larger transactions, with direction and review at key points. The role partners with Corporate Development, Technical Accounting, Tax, Treasury, Legal, FP&A, and business unit finance to gather inputs, validate assumptions, and resolve analytical questions. Working with incomplete information, evolving requirements, and compressed timelines, the Manager applies judgment within the assigned scope and raises risks and questions requiring broader guidance.

The position is based in the San Diego area, with 2–3 in-office days per week and additional on-site presence as needed. The employee must reside in the greater San Diego area and be able to commute to Illumina’s corporate offices. The role has no direct reports at hire, though the successful candidate is expected to develop toward workstream and team leadership.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of 8 years of relevant experience, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Relevant experience in investment banking, private equity, transaction advisory, management consulting, corporate development, or corporate strategic finance.
• Direct transaction experience; candidates should be able to describe specific deals or transaction processes for which they personally built financial analysis.
• Strong financial modeling capability, including building complex, auditable, assumption-driven models from a blank page.
• Strong corporate finance and valuation fundamentals, including DCF, comparable company and precedent transaction analysis, accretion/dilution, returns analysis, and capital structure mechanics.
• Working knowledge of GAAP applied to commercial and transaction structuring, including revenue recognition, collaborative arrangements, consolidation, and R&D funding frameworks.
• Ability to make timely, well-supported decisions within assigned scope and recognize when additional guidance is needed.
• Strong attention to detail and analytical rigor, including auditing work and identifying errors, inconsistencies, and unsupported assumptions.
• Ability to translate quantitative analysis into clear written and verbal narratives appropriate for senior executives.
• Effective cross-functional communication and collaboration across finance, legal, accounting, tax, and commercial functions.
• Sound judgment and discretion in handling highly confidential and market-sensitive information.
• Must reside in the greater San Diego area and be able to commute to Illumina’s corporate offices.

Nice To Haves

• MBA, CPA, CFA, or an advanced scientific degree.
• Relevant knowledge of the Life Science Tools, Diagnostics, or Biopharma industries, including companies and technologies.

Responsibilities

• Build, maintain, and stress-test transaction and business-case financial models, including multi-scenario P&L architectures, probability-weighted forecasts, discounted cash flow and returns analyses, capital structure models, and revenue and cost-share constructs.
• Execute analytical workstreams supporting mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, alliances, joint ventures, divestitures, licensing agreements, and new business formation.
• Support the structuring of non-standard commercial arrangements by modeling the economic and financial statement consequences of alternative structures and surfacing trade-offs.
• Conduct financial and market diligence on potential targets and partners, including analysis of historical financials, operating metrics, cost structures, contract economics, and integration considerations.
• Prepare executive-quality written materials, memos, and presentations, ensuring analytical accuracy, internal consistency, and clarity of recommendation.
• Maintain the analytical infrastructure of the active deal pipeline, including model version control, assumption libraries, source documentation, and post-close tracking against original deal cases.
• Support routine assessment and reporting of completed transactions, including performance against underwriting assumptions and identifying lessons for live opportunities.
• Collaborate across Corporate Development, Technical Accounting, Tax, Treasury, Legal, FP&A, and business unit finance teams to gather inputs, validate assumptions, and reconcile analytical differences.
• Exercise independent judgment in selecting analytical methods, evaluating assumptions, and developing recommendations within assigned transaction workstreams, with review at key points.
• Raise risks and questions requiring broader guidance and handle highly confidential and market-sensitive information with discretion.

Benefits

• Variable cash program (bonus or commission) eligibility for all employees.
• Equity may be included in the compensation package for eligible roles.
• Access to genomics sequencing.
• Family planning benefits.
• Health, dental, and vision benefits.
• Retirement benefits.
• Paid time off.
• Employee Resource Groups that provide career development experiences, cultural awareness, and social responsibility opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager