Project Cost Accounting Support Manager (Local Emirati Talent)

About the role

EDGE, a defence and emerging technologies group headquartered in the UAE, is hiring a Project Cost Accounting Support Manager (local Emirati talent) for its ADASI unit, which develops autonomous systems for air, land and sea. The manager owns the financial tracking, governance and reporting of Non-Recurring Engineering (NRE) and New Product Introduction (NPI) costs across the business, including drone development programmes covering tactical, MALE and large HALE UAV platforms. The role works closely with Engineering, Program Management and FP&A to capture development spend accurately, capitalize it in line with IAS 38 and control it against approved budgets at each stage-gate.

Key responsibilities

• Own end-to-end financial tracking of all NRE and NPI costs across drone development programmes, including large UAV and HALE platforms.
• Prepare cost business cases for each R&D stage-gate (concept, PDR, CDR, production release) with Engineering and Program Management.
• Set, agree and track cost targets at each stage-gate and escalate variances promptly.
• Lead month-end settlement of development and prototype production orders in EBS/SAP CO and allocate NPI actuals to the right program and cost object.
• Ensure development costs feed into entity-level cash flow, month-end close and project settlement with FP&A.
• Manage IAS 38 R&D cost capitalization, including asset schedules, capitalization triggers and amortization profiles.
• Model cost structures for new manufacturing processes, including automation and composite/additive manufacturing investments.
• Conduct make-vs-buy analysis for major sub-systems and components, and develop cost learning-curve models for large UAV scale-up.
• Lead and mentor a team of costing analysts and act as finance business partner to Engineering leadership.
• Support internal and external audits on R&D capitalization and government/customer cost audits.

Required profile

• 8-12 years of cost accounting experience with a strong track record in NPI/R&D finance.
• Qualified accountant (CIMA/ACA or equivalent); strong working knowledge of IAS 38 is essential.
• Deep understanding of stage-gate product development and design-to-cost principles.
• Demonstrated experience building cost architectures for complex, large-scale engineered systems (aerospace, defence or comparable high-tech manufacturing).
• Engineering or technical degree background strongly advantageous.

Required skills

• Hands-on SAP CO experience, including development order and WBS settlement.
• English proficiency is required.

What we offer

• Tax-free salaries and highly competitive pay.
• Benefits that may include family visas, annual flight tickets, medical insurance for you and your dependents, and education allowances for children.
• A learning academy and digital learning platforms, plus career support.