Plant Controller​/Senior Cost Controller

Join Our Team at voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak

Embark on a rewarding career journey with voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak, North America's premier designer and manufacturer of special trackwork. With a legacy spanning 160 years, we lead the industry in shaping the future of rail solutions. We are committed to delivering quality products and services, including rails, turnouts, fastening systems, signaling technologies, and monitoring solutions. Operating across Canada, the US, and Mexico, we prioritize the well-being of our people, global mobility, and sustainability and innovation.

Our people are the foundation of our success. Skilled, motivated, and results‑driven individuals shape our culture, demonstrating our core values of Respect, Responsibility, Curiosity, Courage, Passion, and Diversity each day. This commitment extends to shared responsibilities for safety and quality, a genuine care for one another’s growth and development, a commitment to our customers, and a strong focus on fostering relationships within the Nortrak Team.

Reporting directly to the Vice President of Controlling, the Plant Controller / Senior Cost Accountant at voestalpine Railway Systems Nortrak (vaRS Nortrak) in Chicago Heights, IL, is responsible for performing and leading a variety of financial management and reporting responsibilities. The role works closely with the Plant Manager and reports to the company’s VP of Controlling.

• Complies with all Nortrak safety policies and regulations.

• Complete month‑end procedures and prepare internal management reports.
• Analyze profitability by product, project, and customer.
• Lead monthly financial reviews with the CFO, VP of Controlling, Plant Manager, and other departments.
• Support process‑improvement initiatives and assist with cost‑saving plans.
• Perform profitability and cost analyses for various projects, investments, and products.
• Assist decision making at a plant level with regular and ad‑hoc analyses.
• Prepare internal budgets and monitor actual results against budget.
• Prepare quarterly revenue forecasts in collaboration with the production team.
• Work closely with Purchasing, HR, and Sales to optimize cost, pricing, and overhead.

• Manage product costing in SAP and review standard costs monthly.
• Review and reconcile labor reports and analyze actuals versus production benchmarks.
• Monitor inventory costing, balance, and movement.
• Collaborate with the Production Team in managing inventory counts and various operations.
• Identify, investigate, and resolve costing and labor variances with different groups.

• Monitor and enforce compliance with internal policies at the plant level.
• Monitor vendor invoices, provide classification, and address errors.
• Monitor and resolve sales order issues with Sales and Account Managers.
• Ad‑hoc reporting and financial management tasks as required.
• Support plant team with analytical and financial tasks.
• Ensure all costing is current, accurate, and complete; continuously verify estimated costs against actuals.
• Manage deadlines and prioritize bids based on complexity, priority, and risks.

• Maintain knowledge of state‑of‑practice and identify cost‑effective material, design, and process options.
• Liaise with sub‑trades for quotations and analyze quotes compared to historical data.
• Use financial and non‑financial data to make informed assumptions for costing.

• Build and nurture healthy working relationships with a wide range of employees.
• Take interest and ownership of your responsibilities.
• Participate and engage in different initiatives as needed.
• Actively participate in production meetings to gain an understanding of products and manufacturing procedures.
• Maintain and collaborate a good working relationship with other functions and divisions; in particular Sales.
• Perform peer‑review on other estimators’ work and provide feedback; eager to improve and support other estimators.

• Adhere to Nortrak’s Environmental Procedures, Practices and Policies.

• Undergraduate Degree in Accounting, Business or Finance or equivalent. CPA…