Cost Analyst

Do you have a passion for finance and a knack for problem-solving? Are you interested in working in the exciting world of aerospace manufacturing?

We're looking for a highly motivated and results-driven Cost Analyst who's excited to build controlling structures, optimize manufacturing costs, and shape the site's long-term profitability. Reporting directly to the Cost Accounting Manager within the Finance team, you will support all plant controlling activities and provide data to drive operational decision-making within a precision-critical aerospace defense government contracting environment. If you enjoy solving complex financial and operational challenges and seeing your insights directly impact decision-making on the production floor, this role is for you!

• Extract and analyze data from ERP and financial systems to perform inventory valuation, product costing, and price-cost analysis. Calculate production costs, labor costs, and overhead expenses across 5,000+ unique custom products with multi-layer Bill-of-Materials (BOMs) and routings to support these efforts.
• Conduct variance and margin analyses to identify and monitor root-cause issues, including but not limited to labor and overhead efficiency, scrap trends, yield estimates, purchase price differentials, machine rates, employee utilization, and resource usage.
• Utilize advanced Microsoft Excel tools, including extensive Power Query use, to perform the above responsibilities and build live reporting tools for use across departments.
• Support internal and external audits as required, such as year-end audits, customer-mandated price and cost analysis reports (PCARs), in-house physical inventory counts, daily cycle counts, etc.
• Establish and scale controlling structures to support accurate and effective internal controls across all financial processes, with particular emphasis on inventory.
• Support capital investment (Cap Ex) through financial analysis and business case development, to include return-on-investment (ROI)/payback period calculations.
• Assist in the development and continuous evaluation of annual account/departmental budgeting, forecasting, and long-term financial planning.
• Prepare and analyze monthly financial reports, including commentary, to support financial closing activities.
• Establish, monitor, and report key performance indicators (KPIs) regarding operational and financial performance to management.
• Create and maintain operational dashboards and financial models to provide real-time insights into revenue and cost trends, supporting profitability.
• Locate opportunities for cost reduction and process improvement through pro-active collaboration with Plant Management, Operations, Sales, Procurement, and Corporate Finance teams.
• Integrate directly with daily floor operations, building cross-functional relationships to align operational activities with financial outcomes.
• Assist in cleaning datasets in preparation for group-wide ERP and Accounting software migrations.
• Ensure compliance with corporate policies, internal controls, and regulatory requirements such as FAR, DFARS, CAS, ITAR, EAR, CUI, and CMMC.

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, or a related field. MBA or related advanced degree is a plus.
• Minimum of 3 years of experience in cost analysis, plant controlling, manufacturing finance, or industrial controlling.
• Strong knowledge of cost accounting, budgeting, forecasting, and…