Cost Accounting Manager

Overview

Our client is a private equity-backed advanced manufacturing company experiencing significant growth and operational expansion. The organization designs and manufactures highly engineered products used in mission-critical applications and serves a global customer base across commercial and government markets.

As the business continues to scale, leadership is investing in strengthening accounting infrastructure, enhancing operational visibility, improving internal controls, and building a finance organization capable of supporting future growth and increased reporting requirements.

This role represents an opportunity to join a high-growth environment where finance serves as a strategic partner to operations, supply chain, procurement, and executive leadership.

Position Summary

The Cost Accounting Manager will serve as the company's subject matter expert for inventory accounting, product costing, manufacturing finance, and operational reporting.

Reporting directly to senior accounting leadership, this individual will play a critical role in improving inventory visibility, strengthening internal controls, enhancing costing methodologies, and supporting operational decision-making across the organization.

The ideal candidate will bring deep manufacturing cost accounting expertise, experience managing complex inventory environments, and a passion for building scalable processes within a growing business.

Key Responsibilities

Cost Accounting & Inventory Management

• Lead inventory accounting and product costing activities across the organization.
• Manage inventory valuation processes, including raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods.
• Maintain and improve costing methodologies, inventory capitalization practices, and reserve calculations.
• Support month-end close activities related to inventory, manufacturing accounting, and cost of goods sold.

Manufacturing Finance & Business Partnership

• Partner closely with manufacturing, supply chain, procurement, and operations leadership.
• Develop analyses related to labor utilization, production costs, material consumption, and manufacturing efficiency.
• Provide financial insight supporting inventory management, capacity planning, and operational performance.
• Support expansion initiatives across internal manufacturing and third-party production partners.

Pricing, Profitability & Reporting

• Lead pricing and profitability analyses to support strategic decision-making.
• Perform margin analysis and identify opportunities to improve operational and financial performance.
• Develop budget-to-actual reporting and cost variance analyses.
• Support executive reporting and operational performance reviews.

Controls & Process Improvement

• Strengthen inventory accounting controls and support ongoing process improvement initiatives.
• Improve accounting workflows, segregation of duties, and operational discipline.
• Partner with leadership to automate manual processes and optimize ERP utilization.
• Evaluate opportunities to improve reporting accuracy, efficiency, and scalability.

Systems & Data Management

• Leverage ERP and reporting systems to improve inventory visibility and operational reporting.
• Support system enhancements, process documentation, and data integrity initiatives.
• Ensure accounting processes remain aligned with evolving operational requirements.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will possess:

• 6 years of progressive cost accounting and manufacturing accounting experience.
• Strong expertise in inventory valuation, product costing, manufacturing accounting, and margin analysis.
• Experience supporting complex inventory environments involving raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods.
• Demonstrated partnership with manufacturing, procurement, supply chain, and operations teams.
• Experience improving processes, internal controls, and ERP utilization.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to translate operational data into actionable financial insights.
• Experience within manufacturing, industrial, aerospace, electronics, hardware, or other engineered product environments preferred.

Why This Opportunity?

• High-visibility role partnering directly with executive leadership.
• Opportunity to build scalable accounting processes within a rapidly growing organization.
• Significant exposure to manufacturing operations and strategic decision-making.
• Ability to drive meaningful improvements across costing, inventory, reporting, and controls.
• Join a private equity-backed business positioned for continued growth and operational expansion.

Compensation: Competitive base salary, bonus opportunity, and comprehensive benefits package.