Controller

Controller

The Controller is a critical leadership hire responsible for owning the company's financial infrastructure as we scale. This role goes beyond traditional accounting — you will build and run the systems, controls, and reporting that give leadership real-time visibility into job cost, cash, working capital, and profitability across a growing portfolio of EPC projects.

You will partner directly with the Founder & CEO and project leadership to ensure accurate percentage-of-completion accounting, tight job cost control, clean financial statements, strong internal controls, and proactive cash and working capital management. This is a hands-on, builder role for someone who thrives in a high-growth construction environment and wants ownership of the entire finance function.

Key Responsibilities

Financial Accounting & Reporting

• Own the full general ledger, month-end and year-end close process, and preparation of accurate, timely GAAP financial statements.

• Lead percentage-of-completion (POC) revenue recognition, WIP schedules, over/under billing analysis, and job cost-to-complete forecasting across all active projects.

• Produce clear management reporting packages (P&L by project and company, cash flow, backlog, working capital, KPI dashboards) for the CEO and leadership team.

• Coordinate external audits, tax filings, and any surety/bank reporting requirements.

Job Costing, Project Controls & Construction Accounting

• Partner with Project Controls, Estimating, and Project Managers to maintain accurate job cost codes, committed costs, and forecast-at-completion (FAC) processes.

• Ensure seamless integration between field/project systems (e.g., Trimble HeavyJob/HeavyBid or equivalent) and the general ledger.

• Drive discipline around change order accounting, cost coding accuracy, and timely cost recognition.

• Support preconstruction and estimating with historical cost data, unit rates, and margin analysis.

Cash, Working Capital & Treasury

• Own cash forecasting, daily/weekly cash positioning, and working capital optimization (AR, AP, retainage, inventory/materials).

• Manage banking relationships, construction lines of credit, and compliance with existing debt facility covenants and reporting.

• Oversee accounts receivable (including progress billing, retainage release) and accounts payable processes to protect cash and vendor relationships.

• Support bonding/surety submissions and related financial package preparation.

Internal Controls, Compliance & Systems

• Design, implement, and continuously improve internal controls appropriate for a growing construction company (segregation of duties, approval matrices, job cost controls).

• Select, implement, and optimize accounting and ERP systems as the company scales; own data integrity and process documentation.

• Ensure compliance with tax, multi-state, prevailing wage/PWA (where applicable), and other regulatory requirements.

• Build scalable processes and eventually lead/mentor accounting staff as the team grows.

Strategic Partnership

• Serve as a trusted advisor to the CEO on financial strategy, capital structure, pricing discipline, and risk.

• Support M&A diligence, financing transactions, and long-term planning as the company pursues its growth and valuation goals.

• Foster a culture of financial accountability and transparency across project and operations teams.

The Key Job Responsibilities described are not a comprehensive list. Additional duties may be assigned as business needs evolve, and the scope of the position may change accordingly.

Requirements

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or related field; CPA strongly preferred.

• 7+ years of progressive accounting experience, with at least 3–5 years in a Controller, Assistant Controller, or senior accounting leadership role.

• Direct experience with construction or EPC accounting, including percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, WIP, job costing, and progress billing.

• Proven ability to own the full close process and produce clean, decision-useful financials in a fast-paced environment.

• Strong systems aptitude (ERP/accounting platforms; experience with construction-specific tools such as Trimble, Vista, Sage 300 CRE, or similar is a plus).

• Excellent communication skills — able to translate numbers into clear insights for non-financial leaders and field teams.

• Hands-on builder mentality: willing to roll up sleeves, create process from scratch, and scale systems as the company grows.

Preferred

• Experience in renewable energy, power infrastructure, heavy civil, or related project-based industries.

• Familiarity with surety bonding, construction lending, and working capital facilities.

• Prior experience supporting rapid growth, system implementations, or first-time Controllership in a PE-backed or founder-led company.

• Knowledge of multi-state tax, prevailing wage / IRA-PWA compliance considerations.

What Success Looks Like

• Month-end close is predictable, accurate, and completed within a tight window with minimal surprises.

• Leadership has clear, real-time visibility into project margins, cash, backlog, and working capital.

• Job cost and WIP processes are trusted by both the field and the office.

• Internal controls and audit readiness scale cleanly with company growth.