Controller - Clean Energy & Renewable Energy

AlphaHire; Santa Cruz (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Company-sponsored benefits

Job summary

AlphaHire invites an experienced Financial Controller to lead the accounting and financial operations for project-based contractor activities in the clean-energy sector. You will own the finance function, overseeing job costing, WIP, payroll compliance, and ERP strategy as part of a hands-on leadership team.

This role emphasizes building scalable processes, strong internal controls, and collaboration with project management to optimize profitability across solar, EV, and infrastructure

Qualifications

• 5+ years progressive accounting experience in controller roles.
• Construction or contractor accounting experience required.
• Expertise in job costing, WIP schedules, and percentage-of-completion.
• Experience with union and prevailing wage payroll.
• Led ERP migrations or system consolidations.
• Proven ability to design or redesign accounting processes.
• Experience in intercompany accounting and reconciliations.
• Strong communication, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Experience in small-to-mid-sized companies with hands-on approach.
• Solar/renewable energy project experience is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead the full accounting function, including general ledger, AP, AR, billing, reconciliations, month-end close, and financial reporting.
• Manage construction job costing and WIP accounting, including percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, project profitability, cost-to-complete analysis, and variance reporting.
• Oversee union and prevailing wage payroll compliance, including certified payroll, fringe benefit reporting, and multi-local wage requirements.
• Review and analyze financial statements to identify discrepancies, trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Manage intercompany transactions, reconciliations, and eliminations across related entities.
• Lead ERP implementations, migrations, system changes, or accounting-system consolidations, including planning, data migration, testing, implementation, and process redesign.
• Build and improve accounting processes, internal controls, reporting structures, and financial workflows.
• Develop budgets, forecasts, cash-flow projections, and financial analyses to support business decisions.
• Partner with project management and operations teams to monitor project costs, profitability, billing, and overall financial performance.
• Operate as a hands-on finance leader in a lean organization, taking ownership of critical accounting functions without relying on a large finance team.

Skills

Construction accounting

Job costing

WIP accounting

Financial analysis

Intercompany accounting

Communication

Problem solving

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in accounting/finance

Tools

ERP migration

ERP implementation

Payroll systems

Accounting software

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Financial Controller to lead the accounting and financial operations of a project-based contractor supporting commercial clean-energy and infrastructure projects.

This is a hands-on leadership role with ownership of the finance function, including job costing, WIP accounting, payroll compliance, financial reporting, process development, and ERP strategy.

The ideal candidate has a strong background in construction or contractor accounting and a proven track record of building or redesigning financial processes within a small-to-mid-sized organization. Experience in solar, EV, microgrid, or other clean-energy projects is a plus but not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the full accounting function, including general ledger, AP, AR, billing, reconciliations, month-end close, and financial reporting.
• Manage construction job costing and WIP accounting, including percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, project profitability, cost-to-complete analysis, and variance reporting.
• Oversee union and prevailing wage payroll compliance, including certified payroll, fringe benefit reporting, and multi-local wage requirements.
• Review and analyze financial statements to identify discrepancies, trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Manage intercompany transactions, reconciliations, and eliminations across related entities.
• Lead ERP implementations, migrations, system changes, or accounting-system consolidations, including planning, data migration, testing, implementation, and process redesign.
• Build and improve accounting processes, internal controls, reporting structures, and financial workflows.
• Develop budgets, forecasts, cash-flow projections, and financial analyses to support business decisions.
• Partner with project management and operations teams to monitor project costs, profitability, billing, and overall financial performance.
• Operate as a hands-on finance leader in a lean organization, taking ownership of critical accounting functions without relying on a large finance team.

• 5+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including Controller, Assistant Controller, or comparable senior-level responsibility.
• Construction or contractor accounting experience is required.
• Strong experience with job costing, WIP schedules, and percentage-of-completion accounting.
• Hands-on experience with union and prevailing wage payroll, including certified payroll, fringe benefits, and multi-local rate management.
• Proven experience leading an ERP migration, implementation, or system consolidation.
• Demonstrated experience building or substantially redesigning accounting or finance processes from the ground up.
• Experience managing intercompany accounting, reconciliations, and eliminations.
• Strong financial statement analysis skills, with the ability to identify anomalies, trends, discrepancies, and potential business risks.
• Experience working in a small-to-mid-sized company where independence and a hands-on approach are essential.
• Strong communication, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
• Solar, EV, microgrid, renewable energy, or clean-energy experience is a plus, not required.

• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Health insurance and retirement plan options may be available.
• Paid time off and company-sponsored benefits.
• Opportunity to take ownership of a growing finance function and work directly with company leadership.