Controller - Clean Energy & Renewable Energy

AlphaGov; Santa Cruz (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Retirement plan

Paid time off

Growth opportunities

Job summary

AlphaGov is seeking a hands-on Controller to lead accounting for a growing project-based contractor in clean energy and infrastructure markets. You will own job costing, WIP, and percent-of-completion revenue, while guiding ERP implementations and strengthening internal controls.

The role partners with operations, project management, and executive leadership to scale the finance function. The ideal candidate has 5+ years in accounting/finance with contractor experience and a track record of

Qualifications

• 5+ years in accounting/finance with controller-level scope.
• Construction or contractor accounting experience required.
• Strong job costing, WIP, and percent-of-completion skills.
• Experience with union and prevailing-wage payroll compliance.
• ERP implementation or consolidation experience.
• Ability to build and improve processes and internal controls.
• Experience with intercompany accounting and eliminations.
• Strong financial statement analysis and reporting.
• Independent, hands-on leader in a lean finance team.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily accounting operations and general ledger activities with close coordination to operations.
• Lead construction job costing and WIP tracking, including margin analysis.
• Manage union payroll compliance, certified payroll, and fringe reporting.
• Prepare and analyze financial statements, investigate discrepancies and risks.
• Oversee intercompany transactions, reconciliations, and eliminations.
• Lead ERP implementations, migrations, and major system changes.
• Improve accounting processes, controls, and reporting structures.
• Develop budgets, forecasts, cash flows, and financial models.
• Monitor job costs, billing, margins, and project profitability with operations.
• Deliver timely, actionable financial reports to executive leadership.

Skills

Job costing

WIP accounting

Percent-of-completion

Union payroll compliance

Intercompany accounting

ERP implementation

Financial analysis

Internal controls

Budgeting & forecasting

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

We are seeking a hands-on Controller to lead accounting and financial operations for a growing project-based contractor serving the clean energy, renewable energy, and infrastructure markets. The ideal candidate has strong construction accounting expertise, including job costing, work-in-progress (WIP) accounting, percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, union and prevailing-wage payroll compliance, intercompany accounting, financial analysis, and ERP implementation. This is a build-and-improve role for a finance professional who can establish processes, strengthen internal controls, improve reporting, and scale the accounting function while partnering closely with operations, project management, and executive leadership. Experience in solar, EV, microgrid, renewable energy, or related infrastructure is a plus but not required.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee daily accounting operations, including general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, reconciliations, month-end close, and financial reporting
• Lead construction job costing and WIP accounting, including percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, cost-to-complete analysis, project margins, and variance reporting
• Manage union and prevailing-wage payroll compliance, including certified payroll, fringe benefit reporting, and multi-local wage and rate requirements
• Prepare, review, and analyze financial statements, investigating discrepancies, unusual transactions, trends, and potential financial risks
• Manage intercompany transactions, reconciliations, and eliminations across related entities
• Lead ERP implementations, migrations, system conversions, consolidations, and major accounting-system changes
• Oversee ERP data migration, testing, implementation, workflow development, and process improvements
• Build and improve accounting processes, internal controls, reporting structures, and financial workflows to support business growth
• Develop budgets, forecasts, cash-flow projections, and financial models to support strategic decisions
• Partner with project managers and operations leadership to monitor job costs, billing, margins, cash flow, and project profitability
• Deliver timely financial reports, analysis, and actionable recommendations to executive leadership
• Identify opportunities to improve accounting accuracy, operational efficiency, financial controls, and scalability
• Take ownership of critical finance functions in a lean, hands-on environment without relying on a large accounting team

Requirements

• 5+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including Controller, Assistant Controller, or comparable senior-level responsibility
• Required: Construction or contractor accounting experience
• Strong hands-on experience with job costing, WIP schedules, and percentage-of-completion accounting
• Proven experience with union and prevailing-wage payroll compliance, including certified payroll, fringe benefits, and multi-local wage requirements
• Demonstrated experience leading an ERP implementation, migration, system conversion, or accounting-system consolidation
• Proven track record of building, redesigning, or substantially improving accounting and finance processes
• Experience with intercompany accounting, reconciliations, and eliminations
• Strong financial statement analysis skills, including the ability to identify anomalies, discrepancies, trends, and financial risks
• Experience in a small-to-mid-sized organization, with the ability to work independently and take ownership of critical responsibilities
• Strong analytical, organizational, communication, and problem-solving skills
• Ability to collaborate effectively with operations, project management, and executive leadership
• Preferred: Experience in solar, EV, microgrid, renewable energy, clean energy, or related infrastructure

Benefits

• Competitive salary based on experience
• Health insurance and retirement plan options
• Paid time off and company-sponsored benefits
• Opportunity to build and lead a growing finance function
• Direct involvement in strategic financial and operational decision-making
• Exposure to complex construction, infrastructure, and clean-energy projects
• Professional development and long-term career growth opportunities
• Collaborative environment within a growing clean-energy and infrastructure business