Financial Controller - Solar & Energy Infrastructure

AlphaHire • Santa Cruz, CA

22h

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Controller to lead the accounting and financial operations for a project-based contractor supporting commercial clean-energy and infrastructure projects. This is a hands-on leadership position with ownership of the company’s finance function, including job costing, WIP accounting, payroll compliance, financial reporting, process development, and ERP strategy. The ideal candidate has a strong background in construction or contractor accounting and has experience building or redesigning financial processes within a small-to-mid-sized organization. Experience in solar, EV, microgrid, or other clean-energy projects is a plus, but not required.

Requirements

• 5+ years of progressive accounting and finance experience, including Controller, Assistant Controller, or similar senior-level responsibility.
• Direct construction or contractor accounting experience required.
• Strong experience with job costing, WIP schedules, and percentage-of-completion accounting.
• Hands-on experience with union and prevailing wage payroll, including certified payroll, fringe benefits, and multi-local rate management.
• Proven experience leading an ERP migration, implementation, or system consolidation.
• Demonstrated experience building or substantially redesigning accounting or finance processes from the ground up.
• Experience managing intercompany accounting and reconciliations.
• Strong financial statement analysis skills, with the ability to identify anomalies, trends, discrepancies, and potential business risks.
• Experience working in a small-to-mid-sized company where independence and a hands-on approach are essential.
• Strong communication, analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.

Nice To Haves

• Solar, EV, microgrid, renewable energy, or clean-energy experience is a plus, not required.

Responsibilities

• Lead the full accounting function, including general ledger, AP, AR, billing, reconciliations, month-end close, and financial reporting.
• Manage construction job costing and WIP accounting, including percentage-of-completion revenue recognition, project profitability, cost-to-complete analysis, and variance reporting.
• Oversee union and prevailing wage payroll compliance, including certified payroll, fringe benefit reporting, and multi-local wage requirements.
• Review and analyze financial statements to identify discrepancies, trends, risks, and opportunities.
• Manage intercompany transactions, reconciliations, and eliminations across related entities.
• Lead ERP implementations, migrations, system changes, or accounting-system consolidations, including planning, data migration, testing, implementation, and process redesign.
• Build and improve accounting processes, internal controls, reporting structures, and financial workflows.
• Develop budgets, forecasts, cash-flow projections, and financial analyses to support business decisions.
• Partner with project managers and operations teams to monitor project costs, profitability, billing, and overall financial performance.
• Serve as a hands-on finance leader in a lean organization, taking ownership of critical accounting functions without relying on a large finance team.

Benefits

• Competitive salary based on experience.
• Health insurance and retirement plan options may be available.
• Paid time off and company-sponsored benefits.
• Opportunity to take ownership of a growing finance function and work directly with company leadership.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: No Education Listed