Staff Accountant

Department: Accounting & Finance
Reports to: CFO
Location: Hybrid – North Bethesda, MD
Status: Full-Time, Exempt
Salary Range: $70,000 - $85,000

Position Summary

Manufacturing Engineering Systems, LLC (MES) is seeking a Staff Accountant to support accounting and financial operations in a government contracting environment. This position combines hands-on transactional accounting and month-end close responsibilities with exposure to financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, and management analysis for company leadership.

The ideal candidate has hands-on Deltek Costpoint experience, a strong accounting foundation, and an interest in the finance side of the business. We are looking for someone who can accurately process and reconcile transactions, but also understands how those transactions ultimately impact the financial statements.

This role works directly with the CFO and provides an opportunity to gain exposure to financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, management dashboards, and other financial analysis in addition to traditional accounting responsibilities.

This is a full-time hybrid position based out of our Pike & Rose office in North Bethesda, MD. During the training period, employees are expected to work three (3) days per week in the office. Upon successful completion of training, the schedule transitions to two (2) days in-office and three (3) days remote.

Key Responsibilities

• Process accounts payable vouchers in Deltek Costpoint, including account, organization, and project coding; matching invoices to purchase orders; and researching discrepancies.
• Record accounts receivable activity, including customer invoices, cash receipts, and payment application.
• Enter and reconcile corporate credit card activity, ensuring transactions are properly coded and supported.
• Prepare and post journal entries, including accruals, recurring entries, corrections, and allocations.
• Support payroll processing, including reviewing payroll reports, reconciling payroll activity, and researching discrepancies.
• Perform monthly bank, balance sheet, Health & Welfare (H&W), and other account reconciliations.
• Assist with the month-end close process, including account analysis, supporting schedules, journal entries, and review of financial results.
• Maintain accurate accounting and project records within Deltek Costpoint.
• Assist with preparation and review of monthly financial statements.
• Prepare budget-to-actual, month-over-month, and other variance analyses and research significant fluctuations.
• Pull and analyze accounting and operational data to assist with management dashboards, KPIs, cash flow reporting, and recurring financial reports.
• Assist the CFO with budgeting, forecasting, and ad hoc financial analysis.
• Support annual financial statement audits, tax requests, and other compliance-related reporting by preparing schedules and supporting documentation.
• Work with employees and department managers to research and resolve accounting questions.
• Maintain appropriate documentation and audit trails in accordance with internal controls.
• Identify opportunities to improve accounting processes, reporting, and efficiency.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience will be considered.
• 3 years of accounting or finance experience preferred.
• Hands-on Deltek Costpoint experience required.
• Experience with Costpoint accounting functions such as AP, AR, cash receipts, journal entries, project accounting, and/or financial reporting.
• Experience working in a government contracting environment strongly preferred.
• Solid understanding of accounting principles, including debits and credits, accrual accounting, journal entries, reconciliations, and financial statements.
• Experience with AP, AR, payroll, account reconciliations, and month-end close.
• Strong Excel skills, including XLOOKUP/VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, PivotTables, data organization, and financial report preparation.
• Experience with or an interest in financial analysis, management reporting, dashboards, KPIs, and variance analysis.
• ADP or similar payroll system experience preferred.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who is:

• Detail-oriented: You care about getting the numbers right and maintaining clean supporting documentation.
• Analytical: You don't just identify that something doesn't balance—you want to understand why.
• Independent: You can research an issue, work through the details, and know when something needs to be escalated.
• Curious: You're interested in understanding the business behind the transactions and what the financial results are telling us.
• Dependable: You understand the importance of deadlines, particularly around payroll and month-end close.
• Comfortable with technology: You are willing to use Excel, reporting tools, and AI tools such as ChatGPT or Copilot to work more efficiently.
• A clear communicator: You're comfortable working with both finance and non-finance employees to resolve questions and obtain the information you need.

Compensation & Benefits

• $70,000-$85,000/year salary
• 80 hours of vacation leave
• Up to 56 hours of sick leave
• 11 paid holidays (including 5 days during the week between Christmas and New Year’s)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 100% employer-paid life insurance, short-term disability (STD), and long-term disability (LTD)
• Voluntary life insurance options
• 401(k) plan with employer match after one year of service
• Immediate vesting on employer contributions

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, or protected veteran status. MES, LLC takes affirmative action in support of its policy to recruit, hire, and advance in employment individuals who are minorities, women, protected veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Please click on the link below to view a federal government poster that explains your Equal Employment Opportunity Rights. http://www1.eeoc.gov/employers/poster.cfm.

MES, LLC is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor.

This job is a civilian position and does not require military service (including commission and enlistment).