Cost Analyst

Cost Analyst

Location: Fontana, California Work Arrangement: Fully Onsite Salary: $90,000–$115,000 per year

Position Overview

We are seeking an analytical and business-minded Cost Analyst to join our manufacturing organization in Fontana, CA. This position will play a key role in understanding product and manufacturing costs, analyzing financial performance, identifying opportunities for improvement, and providing meaningful financial insight to operational leadership.

The ideal candidate will have 2+ years of recent manufacturing experience, strong costing and analytical capabilities, and the ability to translate financial data into actionable business recommendations. This is an opportunity for someone who wants to be more than a reporting resource and have a direct, meaningful impact on the financial and operational performance of the business.

Key Responsibilities

• Analyze manufacturing costs, product costs, labor, overhead, material usage, and production variances.
• Prepare and analyze cost reports, financial reports, budgets, forecasts, and variance analysis.
• Identify cost drivers and investigate significant variances between actual and standard costs.
• Partner closely with Operations, Production, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Finance to improve cost visibility and profitability.
• Support standard costing, cost updates, inventory analysis, and margin reporting.
• Analyze manufacturing performance and identify opportunities for cost reduction, process improvement, and increased profitability.
• Provide management with clear financial analysis and recommendations to support business decisions.
• Assist with month-end close activities and ensure accurate financial reporting related to manufacturing operations.
• Develop and maintain meaningful financial and operational metrics and reporting.
• Evaluate trends, identify potential issues, and proactively communicate findings to leadership.
• Participate in budgeting, forecasting, financial modeling, and long-term planning.
• Support special projects and strategic initiatives that require detailed financial and operational analysis.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of recent Cost Accounting, Cost Analysis, Financial Analysis, or related experience within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing costing and cost accounting principles.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work with large amounts of financial and operational data.
• Experience with financial reporting, variance analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and profitability analysis.
• Ability to understand complex manufacturing operations and translate data into actionable recommendations.
• Strong Excel skills and experience working with ERP/accounting systems.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to work effectively with both Finance and Operations.
• Highly detail-oriented, organized, and comfortable working independently.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field preferred.

What We're Looking For

The ideal candidate is curious, analytical, and commercially minded — someone who doesn't simply report the numbers but wants to understand why the numbers are changing and what can be done about it. You will have the opportunity to work directly with operational leadership, uncover opportunities, improve cost visibility, and help drive better business decisions.

If you're looking for a Cost Analyst position where your analysis can directly influence operations, profitability, and the future direction of the business, this could be an excellent opportunity.