Staff Accountant

Overview Staff Accountant-Manufacturing Direct-Hire Onsite. Our client is seeking a hands-on Staff Accountant who wants to gain manufacturing costing experience to join a growing manufacturing operation in the West Michigan area. This role is ideal for an accounting professional who thrives in a heavy manufacturing environment and enjoys partnering closely with operations, engineering, and supply chain teams to drive accurate costing, reporting, and continuous improvement initiatives. The Staff Accountant will play a critical role in maintaining standard costs, analyzing manufacturing performance, supporting month-end close activities, and improving financial visibility across plant operations. This opportunity offers strong exposure to plant leadership, operational strategy, ERP systems, and process improvement initiatives in a dynamic production environment. Candidates with a strong foundation in standard costing, manufacturing variance analysis, and ERP-driven cost accounting processes will be especially successful in this role. Responsibilities Serve as the Staff Accounting subject matter expert (SME) for the manufacturing facility Partner with Supply Chain and Engineering teams to develop, review, and maintain standard direct material costs Collaborate with Manufacturing Engineering to establish and maintain standard labor costs and routing accuracy within the ERP system Analyze and maintain overhead allocations by product line and production category Validate supplier quotes, prepare cost rollups, update cost records, and maintain costing data within the ERP system Review production output and evaluate actual versus expected product costs Support Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) and final product costing approvals Assist with month-end close activities, financial reporting, management reporting, and ad hoc analysis requests Lead or support standard cost updates and periodic cost rolls Analyze manufacturing variances, including material, labor, overhead, purchase price variance (PPV), and manufacturing absorption Communicate cost drivers, operational impacts, and corrective action recommendations to leadership and cross-functional teams Identify opportunities to improve costing processes, reporting accuracy, internal controls, and operational efficiencies Support inventory counts and production floor observations as needed Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field, or equivalent practical experience Minimum 2+ years of accounting experience within inventory or manufacturing environments Strong understanding of standard costing methodologies and manufacturing variance analysis Experience supporting month-end close and financial reporting activities ERP system experience required, including Oracle EBS, SAP, JD Edwards, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar platforms Ability to communicate financial insights effectively with both finance and operations teams Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills Comfortable working in both office and plant floor environments Ability to wear required PPE and follow all safety procedures and environmental policies Preferred Experience 2+ years of cost accounting experience within heavy manufacturing environments such as metal fabrication, machining, foundry, stamping, paper, or chemical manufacturing Oracle EBS experience Experience supporting lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, scrap reduction, or yield improvement initiatives CMA certification or active progress toward certification Experience supporting BOM maintenance, routing structures, and manufacturing process optimization Titles Encouraged to Apply Staff Accountant Manufacturing Accountant Plant Accountant Inventory Accountant Operations Accountant Cost Analyst If you’re looking for an opportunity to make a measurable impact within a manufacturing organization while partnering directly with operations leadership, we encourage you to apply. #J-18808-Ljbffr