Cost Accounting Analyst

The Cost Accounting Analyst provides accurate, meaningful cost information to support Clear Align’s manufacturing operations and financial decision-making. Reporting directly to the Accounting Manager, this role is responsible for product and job costing, inventory valuation, COGS reporting, standard costing, labor and material analysis, cost allocations, variance analysis, and manufacturing ERP data integrity. The role partners closely with Operations to understand cost drivers, improve visibility into margins and manufacturing performance, and provide reliable analysis that supports pricing, planning, profitability, and operational decisions.

In Your First Year, You Will (What Success Looks Like)

First 30 Days – Business & Cost Accounting Immersion

• Develop a strong understanding of Clear Align’s manufacturing operations, products, revenue streams, cost structure, and financial systems.
• Learn current inventory, job and product costing, standard costing, labor, overhead, material, and cost-allocation processes.
• Become familiar with manufacturing ERP modules and master data, including inventory, BOMs, labor/routings, costing, and related transactions.
• Build strong working relationships with Finance, Manufacturing, Planning, Supply Chain, Purchasing, and Program Management.
• Support month-end activities related to inventory, COGS, manufacturing costs, accruals, and account reconciliations.

By 60–90 Days – Own Core Cost Accounting & Analysis

• Lead month-end inventory reconciliations and prepare accurate COGS reporting, manufacturing cost entries, and detailed expense flux analyses.
• Analyze labor, material, overhead, yield, inventory, and manufacturing variances; investigate and explain significant or unusual drivers.
• Review product and job costs, inventory valuation, standard costs, and cost allocations for accuracy.
• Maintain and improve ERP costing and manufacturing master data, identifying transaction or data issues that affect financial accuracy.
• Prepare recurring cost, margin, and variance reporting for the CFO and operational leadership.
• Partner with Operations and Finance to connect financial results to manufacturing activity and recommend improvements to costing, reporting, and data integrity.

By 6 Months – Become a Trusted Cost Accounting Resource

• Provide actionable analysis that improves leadership visibility into manufacturing costs, margins, inventory, and operational performance.
• Maintain and refine standard costs, labor and overhead rates, cost allocations, and other costing assumptions.
• Support budgeting and forecasting using manufacturing cost assumptions, historical trends, and operational data.
• Support cycle counts, physical inventory activities, financial audits, and investigation of inventory discrepancies.
• Identify recurring cost, process, or data issues and work cross-functionally to address root causes and improve finance and manufacturing workflows.
• Deliver ad-hoc management reporting and analysis to support pricing, profitability, planning, and operational decisions.

By the End of Year 1 – Strengthen Cost Visibility & Scalability

• Maintain reliable, scalable cost accounting processes that support Clear Align’s continued growth.
• Improve the accuracy and consistency of inventory valuation, COGS, product/job costing, ERP cost data, and manufacturing reporting.
• Provide leadership with clear visibility into cost drivers, margins, and manufacturing performance.
• Identify opportunities to improve margins, reduce unfavorable variances, strengthen working capital, and improve operational decision-making.
• Serve as a trusted partner to the CFO and Operations for manufacturing financial analysis and decision support.

How You Know You’re Winning

• Inventory, COGS, product/job costs, and manufacturing cost…