Cost Accountant

Chariot Defense•San Bruno, CA

14h•$100,000 - $135,000•Onsite

About The Position

Chariot Defense is seeking a Cost Accountant to join its Finance team. Reporting to the Head of Operations, the Cost Accountant will own the accuracy of product and program costs as the company scales hardware production. The role works across Finance, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain to value inventory, track work in progress, allocate overhead, and ensure products and contracts are costed accurately and in compliance with government contracting standards. The position is hands-on and detail-driven, with work both on the production floor and in the ERP, and includes building cost accounting processes from the ground up. This is an onsite role based in Chariot Defense’s San Bruno, California office, five days per week. Extended and weekend hours may be necessary, such as during close or physical inventory. The stated salary range is $100,000–$135,000 annually. Compensation packages also include early-stage equity and access to company-sponsored benefit plans.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance.
2–5 years of cost or inventory accounting experience at a hardware, defense, aerospace, automotive, or industrial manufacturing company.
Solid understanding of U.S. GAAP, standard costing, inventory valuation, and overhead absorption.
Familiarity with government contracting cost principles (FAR Part 31, CAS, and DCAA) and job/program costing.
Hands-on experience with an ERP/MRP system such as NetSuite, Costpoint, SAP, or similar.
Advanced Excel skills, including lookups, pivot tables, and building cost models.
Willingness to work onsite in the San Bruno, California office five days per week and work extended and weekend hours when necessary.
Provide proof of authorization to work in the U.S. within the first three days of work.
Conscientiousness, precision, curiosity about manufacturing, collaboration, resilience, adaptability, transparency, diligence, and responsiveness.

Nice To Haves

CPA, CMA, or progress toward either credential.
Experience supporting indirect rate development, incurred cost submissions, or DCAA audits.
Exposure to ASC 606 revenue recognition on milestone-based hardware contracts.
Experience in an early-stage or high-growth company helping build processes from scratch.

Responsibilities

Build and maintain standard costs, bills of materials costing, and routings for power products; perform periodic standard cost roll-ups and revaluations.
Own accounting for raw materials, work in progress, and finished goods, including cycle count reconciliations, physical inventory support, and excess and obsolete reserve analysis.
Prepare cost-related journal entries, accruals, and reconciliations for inventory, cost of goods sold, work in progress, and overhead to support a timely, accurate month-end close under U.S. GAAP.
Analyze and explain purchase price, labor, material usage, and overhead variances, and translate findings into actionable insights for Operations and leadership.
Develop and maintain overhead allocation methodologies and indirect rate pools, including fringe, overhead, and G&A, consistent with FAR Part 31 and CAS requirements.
Track costs by program and contract, support estimates-at-completion, and provide cost data for pricing proposals and milestone-based revenue recognition under ASC 606.
Maintain DCAA-compliant timekeeping and job-costing practices; prepare schedules and documentation for financial audits and DCAA/DCMA reviews.
Improve cost accounting workflows in the ERP/MRP system, including item costing, work orders, and assembly builds; identify opportunities to automate manual reporting.
Partner with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Engineering to understand production flows, validate BOM accuracy, and support make-versus-buy and margin analyses.