Controller

Job Description

Job Description

Our client in the renewable energy space is looking for a Controller for their office based in Santa Cruz. The compensation range for this role is $115-140k based on  experience.

Responsibilities: 

Financial Close & Reporting

• Own the full month-end close cycle, including journal entries, accruals, and balance sheet reconciliations
• Produce monthly financial statements and management reports on a defined close calendar
• Maintain dual reporting methodology: earned revenue basis for internal management reporting; billed basis for lender and bonding reporting
• Prepare and maintain WIP schedules, over/under billing analysis, and job cost reports by project
• Support year-end close and coordinate with external CPA firm for tax preparation and audit
• Develop management reporting that goes beyond accuracy into actionable insight, including margin analysis by project, business unit performance, and trend identification
• Develop and maintain financial KPIs for project performance, operational efficiency, and business unit profitability
• Produce monthly Backlog Analysis and Progress Billing Summary reports, flagging variances and anomalies to CFO/COO
• Maintain over/under billing analysis as a standalone deliverable
• Own the monthly Earned Revenue Workbook, including pulling Job Summary Reports from Jonas, reconciling milestone vs. earned revenue basis, and ensuring monthly financial statements reflect ASC 606 revenue recognition

Job Cost & Construction Accounting

• Maintain job cost accounting across all active projects using Jonas Premier (ERP)
• Validate earned revenue monthly using Job Summary Reports (JSR) in accordance with ASC 606 percent-complete methodology
• Partner with Project Management and field operations to ensure cost coding accuracy, change order tracking, time card accuracy, and budget vs. actual visibility
• Identify and escalate job cost variances and margin erosion in a timely manner
• Manage grant revenue recognition for clean energy incentives (CALeVIP, CEC, ITC) including supporting documentation and AJEs
• Establish and maintain warranty reserve accounting policies, including determination of reserve amounts, timing of accrual, and release methodology; ensure reserves are properly reflected in job cost, WIP, and earned revenue calculations

Accounts Payable, Receivable & Payroll

• Oversee AP, AR, and subcontractor payment processes; ensure compliance with conditional and unconditional lien waiver requirements
• Oversee field payroll processing, prevailing wage compliance, and certified payroll submission in coordination with payroll provider (Bizhaven/Paylocity) and external compliance firm (PWC); review prevailing wage payroll batches before release and certified payroll submissions before DIR filing
• Oversee payroll provider (Bizhaven) for payroll processing function, including bi-weekly payroll batches, time card approval workflow, prevailing wage payroll, and certified payroll
• Review and approve payroll batches before release; serve as primary point of accountability for payroll accuracy
• Oversee fringe benefit accounting and remittance tied to IBEW signatory obligations, including reconciliation against Jonas burden rates
• Support ITC/PWA documentation package for placed-in-service projects, including running ratio reconciliation and records retention
• Manage owner draws, intercompany transactions, and related-entity accounting across the company's entities, AMPS-EV I LLC, and real estate holding entity

Internal Controls & Compliance

• Design, document, and enforce accounting policies and internal controls
• Maintain fixed asset register and depreciation schedules (book depreciation managed in-house)
• Support banking, bonding, lender, and insurance broker relationships, including preparation of financial packages and WIP certifications
• Ensure compliance with California sales and use tax, contractor license requirements, and relevant employment tax obligations
• Own records retention policy enforcement, including ITC/PWA-specific documentation requirements
• Review vendor and subcontractor contracts for financial terms (payment, indemnity caps, LDs, retention) and coordinate subcontractor financial vetting
• Develop and maintain written accounting policies and memos for non-routine matters (CIP, warranty accounting, cost capitalization, inter-company transfers)

Financial Systems Architecture & Process Design

• Own the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of financial processes and reporting infrastructure. This includes maintaining existing systems (labor reclassification, earned revenue reconciliation, cash flow dashboards) and building new processes to support evolving business needs
• Identify reporting and accounting gaps; translate business questions into financial analyses and systems that provide decision-useful information to leadership
• Build scalable accounting infrastructure that supports growth without proportional increases in manual effort or complexity
• Evaluate accounting systems, tools, and workflows on a recurring basis—not just for accuracy, but for fitness as the company scales
• Identify when processes need to be replaced rather than improved; develop and execute transition plans
• Partner with COO/CFO on system selection, ERP configuration, and financial process design

Vendor & External Partner Oversight

• Serve as primary point of accountability for finance-adjacent external vendors, including Biz Ops (Higherring), Prevailing Wage/Compliance firm (PWC), and payroll processing function at HR vendor (Bizhaven)
• Review vendor deliverables for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with company standards before any external submission or executive distribution
• Manage recurring vendor scope, performance, and SLA compliance; surface scope or performance issues to CFO/COO
• Oversee fleet cost management, including registration, insurance certificates, and personal-use imputation (in partnership with Construction Manager for operational day-to-day)
• Oversee insurance policy management and annual renewal coordination across all non-HR policies
• Oversee vendor and software license management, including procurement and renewal decisions within approved budget
• Note: HR-side vendor relationship with Bizhaven (handbook, OSHA, workplace investigations, benefits compliance, AB 1825, onboarding/offboarding) remains with COO/CFO; Controller oversight is scoped to the payroll processing function only

Leadership & Team Development

• Manage and develop accounting staff (currently 1-2 direct reports)
• Build team capacity through documentation, cross-training, and clear process ownership
• Serve as a resource to operations, project management, and HR on finance-related questions
• Partner with department leaders (PM, Sales, Field Operations) on financial visibility, project profitability, and operational decision-making
• Operate as accountable owner (A) for accounting deliverables produced by the Finance Manager (R), including review, approval, and quality control before any external distribution or executive reporting
• Hold recurring weekly meetings with the Finance Manager for accounting review, guidance, and ongoing development

Qualifications: 

Required

• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience, including at least 2 years in a controller or senior accounting leadership role
• Construction industry accounting experience, including job costing, WIP reporting, and percent-complete revenue recognition (ASC 606)
• Strong knowledge of GAAP and construction accounting principles
• Experience with a construction ERP (Jonas Premier, Sage 300 CRE, Foundation, Viewpoint, or equivalent)
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate and improve—or replace—accounting systems and processes
• Proficiency in Excel, including reconciliation and reporting model development
• Familiarity with California prevailing wage and certified payroll requirements
• Experience managing or overseeing external service providers, including accountability for vendor deliverable quality and scope
• Experience overseeing payroll processing in a multi-jurisdiction or prevailing wage environment

Preferred

• Experience with IBEW or other union payroll and benefit fund reporting
• Experience with multi-entity accounting and intercompany eliminations
• Familiarity with solar, electrical contracting, or renewable energy EPC contractors
• Experience supporting bonding and lender financial reporting

What they are looking for:

• Systems thinker. You see friction as signal.
• Improvement vs. replacement instinct. You know when to fix a process and when to replace it.
• Discipline. You close on time, every time, and you make it better each cycle.
• Range. You can explain a WIP schedule to a project manager and a covenant calculation to a lender.
• Curiosity. You want to understand the business, not just the books.
• Ownership. You are direct, accountable, and don't need hand-holding.