Senior Cost Accountant

AeroVironment, Inc.; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 89,000 - 136,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

401K with company matching

9/80 work schedule and holiday closure

Job summary

AeroVironment, Inc. in San Diego is seeking a senior finance professional to drive cost accounting, SOX controls, and accurate financial reporting within a manufacturing environment.

You will partner with Operations to analyze variances, build cost models in Oracle Fusion, and lead perpetual inventory reviews while supporting continuous improvement across supply chain processes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance or related field or equivalent combination of education, training and experience.
• 8–12 years of experience in Finance, General Accounting and/or Cost Accounting in aerospace manufacturing.
• Working knowledge of GAAP.
• Advanced MS Excel and MS Office suite.
• Fusion ERP knowledge and related reporting tools.
• Experience supporting a high-tech internal manufacturing environment.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Ability to work in a team and handle multiple priorities.
• Adaptable to changing circumstances and able to meet deadlines.
• Produces high-quality work; open to feedback and growth.
• Professional with a broad understanding of area of specialization.

Responsibilities

• Drives accounting processes to ensure accurate books, records and SOX compliance.
• Act as an active financial advisor to Operations management.
• Support Operations staff in developing and interpreting performance measurements.
• Identify, trace, and resolve inventory and cost anomalies.
• Must have hands-on manufacturing knowledge.
• Demonstrate ownership and proactive problem solving to address issues.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to promote cost control discipline.
• Lead cross-functional meetings focusing on continuous improvement.
• Monitor inventory and cost data; investigate variances for proper reporting.
• Build dashboards, BI reports, and cost models in Oracle Fusion.
• Understand ERP settings impact on cost behavior across supply chain.
• Lead perpetual inventory reviews, E&O reserve analysis, forecasting, and ERP audits.
• Thrive in evolving processes with a continuous improvement mindset.

Skills

Finance experience

GAAP knowledge

Analytical skills

Team collaboration

Time management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance or related field

Tools

Fusion ERP

MS Excel

Reporting tools

Job description

Position Responsibilities

• Drives accounting process within the plant to ensure accurate books, records and compliance to key control requirements including Sarbanes Oxley.


• Act as an active financial advisor to the Operations management team.


• Support Operations staff in developing and interpreting financial and non-financial performance measurements.


• Collaborate across departments to identify, trace, and resolve inventory and cost anomalies.


• Must have hands-on knowledge of how manufacturing works operationally.


• Demonstrate ownership and proactive curiosity when addressing issues to identify and address problems before they escalated.


• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to promote better cost control discipline.


• Lead cross-functional meetings with Operations, SCM, and PLM, with a focus on continuous improvement.


• Monitor and collect inventory and cost data; review daily/weekly/monthly reports and investigate variances to ensure proper financial reporting.


• Build dashboards, business intelligence reports, and cost models in Oracle (Fusion preferred).


• Must understand how ERP settings impact cost behavior across supply chain transactions, labor routings, and WO closure rules.


• Lead Perpetual Inventory reviews, E&O Reserve analysis, inventory forecasting, operational data analysis, and ERP integrity audits.


• Thrive in environments where processes may be evolving, must have a continuous improvement mindset and comfort working through ambiguity.


• Other duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance or related field is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.


• Minimum of 8-12 years of experience in Finance, General Accounting and/or Cost Accounting in an aerospace manufacturing environment.


• Working knowledge of GAAP.


• Current expertise in MS Office Suite (Advanced MS Excel required).


• ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) System Working knowledge (Fusion Preferred) and associated reporting tools.


• Experience supporting a high‑tech internal manufacturing environment desired.


• Strong Analytical and problem‑solving skills.


• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.


• Able to work in a team environment, and able to effectively shift focus to multiple priorities.


• Readily adapt to changing circumstances.


• Effectively manage time, and workflow and meet deadlines.


• Produce high quality work and services.


• Open to feedback and motivated to grow outside the comfort zone.


• Is an experienced professional with a full understanding of area of specialization with ability to resolve a wide range of issues in creative and effective ways.

Other Qualifications & Desired Competencies

• Advanced degree preferred.


• Knowledge of Government Cost Accounting Principles (CAS) and FAR preferred.


• Is a team player with good oral and written communication skills, and capable of working with various functional organizations to coordinate inputs and outputs.


• Having wide-ranging experience, uses professional concepts and company objectives to resolve complex issues in creative and effective ways with little instruction.


• Able to excel in a fast‑paced, deadline‑driven environment, where small teams share a broad variety of duties.


• Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives.


• Takes ownership and responsibility for current and past work products.


• Is committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company.


• Has effective problem‑solving, analytical, interpersonal and communication skills.


• Focuses on teamwork, collaboration and puts the success of the team above one's own interests.

Physical Demands

• Ability to work in an office environment (Constant).


• Required to sit and stand for long periods; talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard (Frequent).

Hybrid Position Clearance Level

No Clearance

Salary Range

$89,000 - $135,750

ITAR Requirement

This position requires access to information that is subject to compliance with the International Traffic Arms Regulations (“ITAR”) and/or the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”). In order to comply with the requirements of the ITAR and/or the EAR, applicants must qualify as a U.S. person under the ITAR and the EAR, or a person to be approved for an export license by the governing agency whose technology comes under its jurisdiction. Please understand that any job offer that requires approval of an export license will be conditional on AeroVironment’s determination that it will be able to obtain an export license in a time frame consistent with AeroVironment’s business requirements. A “U.S. person” according to the ITAR definition is a U.S. citizen, U.S. lawful permanent resident (green card holder), or protected individual such as a refugee or asylee.

Some positions will require current U.S. Citizenship due to contract requirements.

Benefits

• AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown.


• For more information about our company benefit offerings please visit: http://www.avinc.com/myavbenefits.


• We also encourage you to review our company website at http://www.avinc.com to learn more about us.

About AV

AV isn’t for everyone. We hire the curious, the relentless, the mission‑obsessed. The best of the best. We don’t just build defense technology—we redefine what’s possible. As the premier autonomous systems company in the U.S., AV delivers breakthrough capabilities across air, land, sea, space, and cyber. From AI‑powered drones and loitering munitions to integrated autonomy and space resilience, our technologies shape the future of warfare and protect those who serve. Founded by legendary innovator Dr. Paul MacCready, AV has spent over 50 years pushing the boundaries of what unmanned systems can do. Our heritage includes seven platforms in the Smithsonian—but we’re not building history, we’re building what’s next. If you're ready to build technology that matters—with speed, scale, and purpose—there’s no better place to do it than AV.

Equal Opportunity Employer

AeroVironment, Inc. is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer and welcomes all qualified applicants. Qualified applicants will receive fair and impartial consideration without regard to race, sex, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, genetic data, sexual orientation, gender identity or other legally protected status.

We are proud to be an EEO/AA Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability/veterans.

ITAR U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident (Green Card holder), asylee/refugee status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3) or a person approved for an export license from the appropriate governing agency.

Career at AeroVironment

Career at AeroVironment