Senior Financial Analyst - Manufacturing Operations

Trystar; Faribault (MN); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Trystar, a leader in power distribution equipment, is seeking a Senior Financial Analyst – Manufacturing Operations at our Faribault, MN manufacturing facility. This role partners with Operations, Engineering, and Supply Chain to drive profitability and operational performance through on‑site financial leadership and data‑driven insights.

The position blends manufacturing finance, cost accounting, and FP&A with forecasting, cost optimization, and continuous improvement initiatives, including ERP

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or related field.
• 5–8+ years in manufacturing finance, cost accounting, FP&A, or operations finance.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing cost accounting, standard costing, and inventory accounting.
• On-site work at Faribault, MN facility with periodic travel.
• Proficient with financial systems and Excel.
• Excellent collaboration and communication skills.
• Advanced analytical skills to translate data into insights.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a financial business partner to manufacturing and operations leadership, providing insights that support profitability, efficiency, and growth.
• Provide actionable analysis to support pricing, make/buy decisions, capital investments, and operational trade‑offs.
• Prepare and present financial results, variance explanations, and recommendations to finance and operations leadership.
• Act as the primary finance partner for assigned manufacturing operations, helping leaders understand financial performance and execute improvement opportunities.

Skills

Manufacturing finance

Cost accounting

FP&A

Inventory accounting

ERP systems

Excel

Communication

Analytical thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Finance/Accounting

Tools

Epicor ERP

Job description

Senior Financial Analyst – Manufacturing Operations

Trystar is a leader in power distribution equipment and related services, supporting critical electrical infrastructure across North America. Our team members are our most important asset, and we expect this position to play a critical role in achieving our strategic objectives. We are seeking a Senior Financial Analyst – Manufacturing Operations to serve as a key business partner to Operations, Engineering, and Supply Chain leadership. This position is based at our Faribault, MN manufacturing facility and requires a regular on‑site presence to partner directly with plant leadership, support manufacturing operations, and drive business performance.

This role blends manufacturing finance and cost accounting expertise with forward‑looking financial analysis to drive data‑driven decision making, improve profitability, and enhance operational performance. As a member of Trystar's finance team, this position goes beyond traditional accounting responsibilities to deliver financial insights, performance analytics, forecasting support, and strategic recommendations that help leadership optimize cost structure, improve working capital, and achieve business objectives. The successful candidate will have significant visibility across Operations and Finance leadership and will play an important role in enterprise initiatives, manufacturing strategy, costing transformation, and continuous improvement efforts. This position offers strong opportunities for professional growth and career advancement within a rapidly growing organization.

Guiding Principles

• Safety – We believe everyone should leave Trystar facilities in the same or better condition than they arrived.
• Integrity – We’re honest, transparent, and committed to doing what’s right.
• Customer focus – We have relentless focus on our customers and their success.
• Right with speed – We use good judgement, make thoughtful decisions quickly, and execute them with purpose and intensity.
• Play for each other – We’re a team. We show up for each other and we know that through teamwork we achieve greatness.
• Champion change – We know adaptation and improvement are requirements to survive and to thrive.
• Enjoy the journey – We create an environment where our team feels appreciated and has fun along the way.

In This Role You Will Get To:

Financial Analysis & Decision Support

• Serve as a financial business partner to manufacturing and operations leadership, providing insights that support profitability, efficiency, and growth.
• Provide actionable analysis to support pricing, make/buy decisions, capital investments, and operational trade‑offs.
• Prepare and present financial results, variance explanations, and recommendations to finance and operations leadership.
• Act as the primary finance partner for assigned manufacturing operations, helping leaders understand financial performance and execute improvement opportunities.

Manufacturing Finance & Cost Accounting

• Support manufacturing accounting activities, ensuring accurate costs, inventory valuation, internal controls, and financial integrity.
• Analyze material, labor, and overhead variances, identify root causes, and partner with operations to drive corrective actions.
• Establish, maintain, and analyze labor and overhead rates aligned with budgets, standard costs, and production assumptions.
• Review job costing activity daily to ensure accuracy, completeness, and timely transaction processing.

Inventory & Working Capital Management

• Partner with Inventory Control to support inventory analysis, reporting, cycle counts, and adjustments, ensuring strong inventory accuracy.
• Perform monthly inventory reconciliations and support inventory reserve analysis and assist with annual physical inventory observations across the enterprise.
• Provide insight into working capital drivers, including inventory turns and excess/obsolete inventory exposure.

Systems, Processes & Continuous Improvement

• Partner with Engineering to validate and improve Bills of Materials and Bills of Operations, ensuring ERP accuracy and financial reliability.
• Prepare and maintain standard adjusting journal entries related to manufacturing and inventory close processes.
• Support ERP implementation and optimization efforts (Epicor), with a focus on reporting, costing accuracy, and data integrity.
• Identify and lead process improvement and analytics initiatives that enhance financial visibility and operational performance including developing and automating dashboards.

Job Requirements

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, or a related field.
• 5‑8+ years in manufacturing finance, cost accounting, FP&A, or operations finance.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing cost accounting, standard costing, and inventory accounting.
• Ability and willingness to work on‑site at our Faribault, MN manufacturing facility and travel periodically to support other manufacturing locations as needed.
• Proficient use of financial systems and Microsoft Office tools, including proficiency in Excel.
• Excellent communication skills, with a bias towards collaboration and teamwork.
• Advanced analytical skills with the ability to translate data into meaningful financial insights.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with ERP systems, Epicor experience, a plus.
• Positive attitude, adept at problem solving.
• Demonstrated success influencing cross‑functional stakeholders through financial insight.
• Continuous improvement mindset with strong problem‑solving skills.