Manufacturing Controller

Talent Edge Recruiting; Plainfield (IN); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Vision insurance

401(k)

Paid time off

Bonus opportunity

Job summary

Talent Edge Recruiting seeks a hands-on Controller for a growing manufacturing company in Indiana. You will build and lead the accounting/finance function, from daily operations to long-term strategy, including costing, pricing, banking relations, and cash flow management.

You will partner across engineering, operations, purchasing, and sales to deliver accurate financial planning and scalable processes that support growth, while retaining a hands-on leadership style in a small-team environment.

Qualifications

• Must have hands-on Controller experience in manufacturing.
• Demonstrated ability to build or scale an accounting/finance function from ground up.
• Strong skills in job costing, inventory costing, and cost analysis.
• Hands-on experience with QuickBooks.
• Experience developing budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes.
• Understanding cash flow management and working-capital needs in growing manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Own the accounting and finance function, including day-to-day tasks and long-term strategy.
• Build the accounting/finance department from the ground up.
• Handle invoicing, payroll, payables, and related processes.
• Develop and implement job costing and inventory costing.
• Improve profitability insights and pricing models.
• Partner with engineering, operations, purchasing, and sales for financial visibility and planning.
• Establish budgeting, forecasting, and forward-looking reporting.

Skills

Controller

Accounting setup

QuickBooks

Job costing

Inventory costing

Cash flow

Budgeting

Forecasting

Banking relations

Cross-functional leadership

Tools

Excel

Accounting software

Job description

Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM

The Opportunity

We are partnering with a growing, privately held manufacturing company to identify a hands‑on Controller who is excited by the opportunity to build something from the ground up. This is not a role for someone looking to step into an established accounting department with mature processes, a large team, and layers of support. The company is looking for a true builder — someone who has previously created or significantly built out an accounting and finance function and enjoys rolling up their sleeves to make things happen.

You will have the opportunity to establish processes, improve costing and financial visibility, develop the company's planning capabilities, strengthen banking relationships, and ultimately build the finance function needed to support the company's next stage of growth.

The ideal candidate thrives in a small-company manufacturing environment, wears many hats, builds strong relationships across all levels of an organization, and is equally comfortable discussing strategy with ownership as they are digging into QuickBooks, job costing, inventory, cash flow, or pricing.

What You'll Do

• Own the accounting and finance function for the business, taking responsibility for both day-to-day execution and longer-term financial strategy.
• Build and develop the company's accounting and finance department from the ground up, including identifying future staffing needs as the business grows.
• Take ownership of existing accounting responsibilities, including invoicing, payroll, payables, and related financial processes.
• Develop and implement job costing and inventory costing processes to improve visibility into true product and project profitability.
• Evaluate existing costing assumptions and identify where margins, labor, material costs, or other inputs may be negatively impacting profitability.
• Rebuild and own the company's quoting and pricing model to ensure work is being priced profitably and consistently.
• Partner closely with engineering, operations, purchasing, and sales to improve the connection between operational activity and financial performance.
• Establish formal budgeting, forecasting, financial planning, and forward-looking reporting processes.
• Develop a disciplined planning cadence that gives leadership greater visibility into cash flow, profitability, capital requirements, and future business needs.
• Manage cash flow and help transition the organization from receivables-based financing toward stronger banking relationships and an established line of credit.
• Build and maintain relationships with banking partners and support financing initiatives.
• Develop financial models and business cases for future facility expansion, equipment purchases, and other capital investments.
• Perform detailed financial analysis to identify margin, profitability, costing, and performance issues and recommend corrective actions.
• Partner directly with ownership and senior leadership on strategic initiatives and corporate development activities.
• Support relationships with outside investors, banking partners, and the company's external CPA.
• Help create scalable financial processes and infrastructure that can support continued company growth.

Must-Have Experience

• Previous experience as a Controller within a manufacturing environment.
• Demonstrated experience building an accounting or finance function from the ground up or joining an organization where significant financial infrastructure needed to be created.
• Strong manufacturing accounting experience, including job costing, inventory costing, and cost analysis.
• Hands‑on experience with QuickBooks.
• Experience developing budgeting, forecasting, and financial planning processes from scratch.
• Strong understanding of cash flow management and working-capital needs within a growing manufacturing organization.
• Experience with quoting, pricing, and profitability models.
• Experience establishing and managing banking relationships, including securing or managing a line of credit.
• Ability to operate as a hands‑on financial leader without relying on a large accounting staff.
• Strong relationship‑building and influencing skills, with the ability to work effectively with ownership, operations, engineering, sales, purchasing, outside advisors, and investors.
• A proactive, self-directed personality with the confidence to identify problems, develop solutions, and drive change.
• Comfortable wearing many hats and moving between tactical accounting responsibilities and high-level strategic conversations.

The Right Personality

You may be a great fit if you:

• Love working for small, entrepreneurial companies where everyone pitches in.
• Get energized by walking into an environment where there is a lot to build.
• Have successfully been the "one-person show" before and know how to create structure without overcomplicating the business.
• Are naturally curious and aren't afraid to dig into the numbers to understand why something doesn't make sense.
• Can develop strong relationships while still challenging assumptions and bringing a point of view to the table.
• Know how to influence owners and leaders rather than simply telling people what to do.
• Can move seamlessly between strategic planning and hands‑on execution.
• Prefer a collaborative, close-knit organization over a highly corporate environment.
• Want a seat at the table and the opportunity to make a visible impact on a growing business.

Why Join?

This is an opportunity to join a tight-knit, family-oriented manufacturing organization that has experienced significant growth and is preparing for its next stage. The culture is collaborative, fast-moving, and hands‑on. People genuinely support one another, leadership does not believe in micromanagement, and there is an expectation that everyone — regardless of title — is willing to jump in where needed.

For the right Controller, this is a chance to do much more than manage the books. You'll have the opportunity to build the financial foundation of the company, work directly alongside ownership and leadership, and have a meaningful voice in how the organization scales.

• Medical insurance
• Vision insurance
• 401(k)
• Paid time off
• Quarterly and annual bonus opportunity

If you’re a hands‑on financial leader who loves building from the ground up, thrives in a small‑company manufacturing environment, and wants the opportunity to make a real impact, we’d love to hear from you!