Roles / Program Cost & Budget Controller

Program Cost & Budget Controller

PGM-021v1

Program Management & Engineering OperationsProgramIC3–IC6Individual contributor

Also known as: R&D Finance Controller (Programs); Program Cost Analyst; NRE Controller

See this role on the Startup lifecycle or on the Fab build lifecycle or on the Equipment lifecycle or on the Product lifecycle or on the SoC lifecycle or on the Soft IP lifecycle

Summary

Owns the financial truth of silicon programs — NRE, mask, IP, tooling and labour cost — so program decisions are made with an accurate view of spend, commitment and return.

A day in the life

Work in progressNo day-in-the-life description has been written for this role yet. If you do this work, we would welcome yours. Suggest a source or a correction

Responsibilities

Lines tagged General are the Hub's general description of this kind of role, used where the role register has no entry yet. They are kept under review and will be refined.

Project

Work done for a product or program.

Build and maintain the program cost model covering mask sets, wafers, prototypes, IP licences, EDA, packaging NRE, test development and labour.
Track actual spend against approved budget by cost category and phase, and produce monthly variance analysis with commentary.
Manage purchase requisition, commitment and accrual tracking for mask orders, shuttle bookings and OSAT NRE.
Forecast remaining program spend at each gate and flag overrun risk with quantified exposure.
Support business case financials for new programs including NRE payback, unit cost projection and gross margin modelling.
Model the financial impact of respin scenarios, derivative additions and schedule extensions.
Partner with finance on R&D capitalisation, project accounting and government grant or subsidy claim substantiation.
Maintain the mask and wafer cost database by node, reticle count and foundry commercial terms.
Produce program cost reporting for executive and business unit reviews and reconcile to the corporate ledger.
Drive cost reduction actions such as shuttle sharing, reticle optimisation and IP re-use to lower NRE per program.

Function

Work that keeps the discipline running: methods, tools, suppliers and people.

Maintain program management processes, templates and tools.General
Report program status across the portfolio to management.General
Improve planning and estimates using data from past programs.General

Major tasks

Project

Produce and hand over the role's key deliverables
- Program cost model and phased budget
- Monthly actuals-versus-budget variance report with commentary
- Commitment and accrual tracking records
- Spend-at-completion forecast per gate
- Respin and scenario financial impact models
- Mask and wafer cost database by node
Plan the programGeneral
- Agree scope and milestones
- Build the integrated schedule
- Secure resources
Run the programGeneral
- Track progress and risks
- Manage changes
- Run milestone reviews

Function

Maintain the processGeneral
- Keep templates and tools current
- Train teams on the process
Report and improveGeneral
- Report portfolio status
- Review completed programs

Works with

Silicon Program Managers
Finance Controllers
Procurement
Foundry Sourcing
Engineering Operations Manager
Business Unit GM
PMO Lead

Typical backgrounds

BS/MS in Finance, Accounting, Economics or Engineering with finance training; 5–14 years in R&D finance, cost control or engineering program finance.

Demand signal

0 open listings right now
0 Talent Wafer employer inquiries

Counts live listings tagged to this role, and employer interest in candidates from Talent Wafer runs for this role (all runs to date). Hub activity only, not the wider market.

Comp tier (within semis)

2 / 5

Remote feasibility

High

Semis core vs. portable

Highly portable

Geographic hotspots

Santa Clara, Austin, Bangalore, Penang, Munich, Hsinchu, Singapore, Manila, Dublin

Certifications / standards training

CIMA / ACCA / CPA; CMA; PMI-SP or EVM training; AACE Certified Cost Professional

Transfers to (industries)

Aerospace and defence program finance, pharmaceutical R&D finance, automotive program controlling, large capital project finance

Risk if vacant

Mask and NRE commitments are made without visibility of budget headroom, overruns surface at quarter close, and program business cases rest on unverified cost assumptions.

Program Cost & Budget Controller

Summary

A day in the life

Responsibilities

Project

Function

Major tasks

Project

Function

Works with

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