Plant Controller

Conexus; Garden Grove (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

High-visibility role

Exposure to private equity

Casual work environment

Hands-on team culture

Job summary

Conexus, a private aerospace manufacturing client, seeks a Plant Controller to lead the accounting function at one of its California facilities. Reporting to the VP of Finance, this role oversees a small accounting team and ensures cost accuracy, inventory integrity, and disciplined financial reporting for plant operations.

The ideal candidate has manufacturing experience with strong cost accounting expertise; CPA is highly desired.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field.
• Manufacturing sector experience required.
• Standard costing experience desired.
• Plant-level accounting experience desired.
• CPA license highly desired.
• Ability to work cross-functionally in a lean team environment.

Responsibilities

• Direct all plant-level accounting activities, including close processes, reconciliations, and reporting.
• Lead standard costing development and maintenance, including cost roll-ups and variance analysis.
• Oversee inventory accounting, cycle counts, physical inventories, and reserve analysis.
• Provide actionable insights to plant leadership from financial results.
• Coordinate with internal and external auditors on facility-specific requests and schedules.
• Support budgeting and forecasting for the facility and capital requests.
• Evaluate plant KPIs and cost drivers to guide decision-making.
• Coach and develop plant accounting staff and ensure policy compliance.

Skills

Cost accounting

Manufacturing costing

Financial analysis

Leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance

CPA (preferred)

Job description

Compensation: $150,000 - $170,000 + Bonus

Company Description:

Our privately held aerospace manufacturing client is seeking a Plant Controller to lead the accounting function at one of their facilities. Reporting to the VP of Finance, this role will oversee a small accounting team and serve as the primary financial partner to plant operations leadership. This position plays a key role in ensuring cost accuracy, inventory integrity, and financial discipline across the facility, and offers strong visibility with senior finance and operations leadership. The ideal candidate must have experience in a manufacturing environment and strong cost accounting expertise.

• High-visibility role
• Exposure to private equity investors
• Casual work environment
• Hands-on team culture

Responsibilities:

• Direct all plant-level accounting activities, including the monthly, quarterly, and annual close process, reconciliations, and reporting deliverables.
• Serve as the finance lead for the facility, translating operational and financial results into actionable insights for plant leadership.
• Maintain a strong internal control environment at the site level, supporting audit readiness and timely resolution of control gaps.
• Coordinate with internal and external auditors on facility-specific requests, schedules, and audit deliverables.
• Own standard cost development and maintenance, including annual cost roll-ups, cost build accuracy, and ongoing standard-to-actual analysis.
• Lead cost accounting activities related to labor, material, and overhead absorption, identifying variances and driving corrective action with operations.
• Oversee inventory accounting, including valuation methodology, cycle count programs, physical inventory events, and reserve analysis.
• Analyze production, scrap, yield, and manufacturing variances, partnering with plant operations to improve cost performance.
• Support budgeting and forecasting for the facility, providing financial input into annual operating plans and capital requests.
• Evaluate and report on plant-level KPIs and cost drivers to support operational decision‑making.
• Partner with plant management on capital project evaluation, cost‑benefit analysis, and post‑implementation review.
• Drive continuous improvement in cost accounting processes, systems, and reporting tools used at the facility.
• Supervise, coach, and develop plant accounting staff, building bench strength and functional expertise.
• Ensure compliance with corporate accounting policies, GAAP, and applicable government contracting or industry‑specific requirements.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field
• Manufacturing industry experience is required
• Standard costing experience is highly desired
• Plant‑level accounting experience is highly desired
• CPA license is highly desired
• Ability to work cross‑functionally and manage competing priorities in a lean team environment