Senior Inventory Cost Accountant

Job Details:
Level: Experienced,

Job Location:

Dayton Office - Dayton, MN 55369, Education Level: 4 Year Degree, Salary Range: $90,000.00 - $ Salary/year, Job Shift: First,

Gradian is an engineering-led, full-line thermal solutions partner serving data center and other mission-critical, commercial, and industrial markets. Headquartered in Maple Grove, MN, with additional facilities across North America, we design and manufacture liquid cooling systems, air handling equipment, heat rejection units, and modular, factory-assembled thermal management solutions. Gradian was founded through the unification of four complementary, established brands: MAS HVAC, Daedex, DeepCoolAI, and Eco Chillers.

Together, we act as a single-source provider, deploying cooling technologies as scalable systems optimized for efficiency, spatial constraints, and overall performance. With a vertically integrated engineering and manufacturing model, we pair rapid design turnaround with precision fabrication, so customers can move faster on complex projects where reliability, timeline, and quality all matter.

At Gradian, you'll work alongside others who get genuinely fired up by complex problems, see your work go from first sketch to job site in weeks, not years, and know that while we're developing the technologies critical for AI infrastructure to scale, our culture remains people-first by design.

It is core to our identity that we operate as one team - driving to win together, energizing others, and building lasting relationships that make the work fun and rewarding.

The Senior Inventory Cost Accountant is responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and analysis of inventory and cost accounting records. This role leads standard cost maintenance, inventory valuation, manufacturing variance analysis, reserve assessments, and period-end close activities while partnering with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, and Finance. The successful candidate will strengthen financial controls, translate cost drivers into actionable business insights, and provide technical guidance for inventory costing.

• Own inventory accounting activities, including valuation, reconciliations, reserves, obsolescence, and cycle-count adjustments.
• Maintain and review standard costs, bills of material, routings, overhead rates, and related master data.
• Analyze purchase price, material usage, labor, overhead, and other manufacturing variances; communicate root causes and recommended actions.
• Lead inventory and cost accounting work streams during monthly, quarterly, and annual close, ensuring timely and accurate journal entries and account reconciliations.
• Partner with Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, Engineering, and FP&A to improve cost visibility and decision support.
• Support physical inventories and cycle-count programs, investigate discrepancies, and monitor corrective actions.
• Prepare inventory reserve analyses and recommendations in accordance with company policy and applicable accounting standards.
• Maintain effective internal controls and documentation; support internal and external audit requests.
• Identify and implement process improvements, automation opportunities, and stronger data controls across inventory and costing processes.
• Provide technical guidance and peer review for accounting team members and contribute to special projects as assigned.

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field.
• Five or more years of progressive accounting experience, including at least three years in inventory, cost, or manufacturing accounting.
• Strong knowledge of inventory valuation, standard costing, variance analysis, reconciliations, and period-end close.
• Familiarity with multi-site operations and landed cost.
• Working knowledge of U.S. GAAP and internal control principles.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and large-data analysis.
• Experience using an ERP system and working with cross-functional operational data.
• Demonstrated ability to investigate complex issues, reconcile large data sets, and communicate conclusions clearly.
• Strong organizational skills, sound judgment, and the ability to meet deadlines in a changing environment.

• CPA, CMA, or other relevant advanced degree or professional certification
• Experience in a manufacturing environment.
• Experience with Net Suite, Quick Books, business intelligence tools, SQL, or financial process automation.
• Experience…