Cost Accountant, Sr.

AeroVironment • Simi Valley, CA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

The Senior Cost Accountant is responsible for overseeing and analyzing cost expenditures within the organization as well as the ongoing analysis of process constraints, target costing projects, margin analysis and tracing costs back to underlying activities. This role partners cross-functionally with Operations, Planning, and Supply Chain teams to trace root causes of variances, recommend process improvements, and ensure accurate financial reporting.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Finance or related field is required or equivalent combination of education, training, and experience
• Minimum of 8-12 years of experience in Finance, General Accounting and/or Cost Accounting in an aerospace manufacturing environment
• Working knowledge of GAAP
• Current expertise in: MS Office Suite (Advanced MS Excel required)
• ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) System Working knowledge (Fusion Preferred) and associated reporting tools.
• Experience supporting a high-tech internal manufacturing environment desired
• Strong Analytical and problem-solving skills
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail
• Able to work in a team environment, and able to effectively shift focus to multiple priorities
• Readily adapt to changing circumstances
• Effectively manage time, and workflow and meet deadlines
• Produce high quality work and services
• Open to feedback and motivated to grow outside the comfort zone.
• Is an experienced professional with a full understanding of area of specialization with ability to resolve a wide range of issues in creative and effective ways.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree preferred
• Knowledge of Government Cost Accounting Principles (CAS) and FAR preferred
• Is a team player with good oral and written communication skills, and capable of working with various functional organizations to coordinate inputs and outputs
• Having wide-ranging experience, uses professional concepts and company objectives to resolve complex issues in creative and effective ways with little instruction
• Able to excel in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment, where small teams share a broad variety of duties
• Displays strong initiative and drive to accomplish goals and meet company objectives
• Takes ownership and responsibility for current and past work products
• Is committed to learning from mistakes and driven to improve and enhance performance of oneself, others, and the company
• Has effective problem-solving, analytical, interpersonal and communication skills.
• Focuses on teamwork, collaboration and puts the success of the team above one's own interests

Responsibilities

• Drives accounting process within the plant to ensure accurate books, records and compliance to key control requirements including Sarbanes Oxley.
• Act as an active financial advisor to the Operations management team.
• Support Operations staff in developing and interpreting financial and non-financial performance measurements.
• Collaborate across departments to identify, trace, and resolve inventory and cost anomalies.
• Must have hands-on knowledge of how manufacturing works operationally.
• Demonstrate ownership and proactive curiosity when addressing issues to identify and address problems before they escalate.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to promote better cost control discipline.
• Lead cross-functional meetings with Operations, SCM, and PLM, with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Monitor and collect inventory and cost data; review daily/weekly/monthly reports and investigate variances to ensure proper financial reporting.
• Build dashboards, business intelligence reports, and cost models in Oracle (Fusion preferred).
• Must understand how ERP settings impact cost behavior across supply chain transactions, labor routings, and WO closure rules.
• Lead Perpetual Inventory reviews, E&O Reserve analysis, inventory forecasting, operational data analysis, and ERP integrity audits.
• Thrive in environments where processes may be evolving, must have a continuous improvement mindset and comfort working through ambiguity.
• Other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• AV offers an excellent benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401K with company matching, a 9/80 work schedule and a paid holiday shutdown.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 1,001-5,000 employees