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

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

Compensation: $125,000–$150,000 base (based on experience and overall fit) + annual bonus