Cost Accounting Manager

TL;DR

Cost Accounting Manager (Manufacturing): Manage manufacturing cost accounting activities including standard costing, month-end close, inventory management, and freight tracking with an accent on variance analysis, cost controls, and process scalability. Focus on executing transactional processes, troubleshooting inventory issues, partnering with operations for BOM validation, and building scalable workflows to support production ramp.

Hawthorne, California, United States (onsite)

Salary Range: $150,000 - $175,000

Company

Defense technology company founded in 2022, raised $1B in funding, building coherent distributed networks for warfighters, air operators, and border protection with 200 employees across global offices.

What you will do

• Lead manufacturing cost accounting including standard costing, costing projects, month-end close, labor/overhead absorption, and inventory/freight tracking.
• Manage high-volume cost accounting for materials, labor, overhead, WIP, and finished goods; continuously improve standard costing processes.
• Perform variance analysis (margin, purchase price, work order, material usage), identify root causes, and implement cross-functional corrective actions.
• Analyze cost trends, production volumes, material usage; recommend improvements for labor/overhead and profitability.
• Prepare inventory journal entries, reconciliations; troubleshoot transactions; ensure ERP accuracy and subledger/GL alignment.
• Partner with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Engineering, FP&A to validate BOMs, routings, cost inputs; support physical inventories and cycle counts.
• Build scalable processes, document workflows, lead change management; prepare schedules for reporting and audits.

Requirements

• 5+ years in cost accounting, preferably manufacturing/production/R&D
• Bachelor’s in Accounting, Finance, or related.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing/supply chain operations and financial processes.
• ERP transactional data analysis skills; translate to actionable insights.
• Advanced analytical/problem-solving; connect operations to financial outcomes.
• High accuracy/detail in high-volume; strong communication/project management.
• Thrive in fast-paced, high-growth with tight timelines.

Nice to have

• CPA/MBA.
• Supervisory/team leadership experience.
• Financial reporting in manufacturing/product environments.
• Government contracting, DCAA compliance/audits.

Culture & Benefits

• 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision; 401k with 50% match up to 6%, FSA, HSA, life insurance.
• Free daily lunch, no-meeting Fridays, unlimited PTO, casual dress.
• Competitive base, pre-IPO stock options, relocation assistance, annual bonuses coming soon.