Controller

Job Description

Controller

Location: Trenton, NJ

Schedule: Hybrid – 3 days onsite/2 days remote

Position Summary:

The Plant Controller will serve as the hands-on finance and accounting lead for the Trenton manufacturing site, with primary responsibility for cost accounting, inventory/plant controlling, technical accounting, and operational finance. This role will partner closely with Operations while remaining directly involved in day-to-day financial processes and execution. The ideal candidate has experience both driving process improvements and personally executing the work in a growing, evolving manufacturing environment.

Responsibilities:

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• Own cost accounting and plant controlling, including labor, overhead, inventory, productivity, and manufacturing variances.
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• Manage inventory accounting and controls, including planning, tracking, physical inventory, and revaluation.
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• Perform hands-on technical accounting activities, including accruals, journal entries, ledger activity, reconciliations, and consolidation entries.
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• Partner with Operations on budgeting, forecasting, cost management, and variance analysis.
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• Analyze shop-floor costs, labor/overhead rates, productivity, profitability, and other key operational drivers.
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• Provide onsite support for localized procurement, CapEx, and inventory planning and tracking, and serve as the local point of contact for the annual physical inventory count.
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• Prepare reports for the Operations team, providing visibility into cost and productivity versus plan and insightful commentary on operational drivers of variances.
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• Drive and implement improvements to processes, reporting, and forecasting while remaining hands-on with day-to-day execution. Leveraging AI and automations where appropriate.
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Qualifications:

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• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field
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• 5+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience
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• Minimum 5 years of manufacturing or plant-based accounting/finance experience
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• Strong experience with cost accounting and inventory/plant controlling
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• Strong foundation in technical accounting, GL, month-end close, and financial reporting
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• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, operational analysis, and variance reporting
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• Demonstrated ability to drive process improvements while remaining hands-on with execution
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• Strong Excel skills and experience working with large data sets
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• Oracle, Sage, or comparable ERP experience preferred
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Compensation: $125,000–$150,000 base (based on experience and overall fit) + annual bonus