Manufacturing Controller Lead

Freshpet Talent Acquisition•Ennis, TX

3d•$190,000 - $220,000

About The Position

Freshpet is seeking a Manufacturing Controllership Lead to oversee finance and controllership across its manufacturing network, including plants in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Ennis, Texas, as well as a co-manufacturing partner. The role owns cost of goods sold, inventory control, standard costing, and manufacturing budgeting and forecasting across all sites, and leads the plant controllership team. It reports to the Senior Director, FP&A and Manufacturing Finance, and plays a central role in managing cost, gross margin, and performance. This is a hands-on finance leadership role that partners with finance leads, plant leadership, Operations, Supply Chain, Commercial, and Accounting. The role establishes consistent processes and standards across sites while helping each plant improve its financial and operational performance.

Requirements

8+ years of progressive finance and accounting experience.
At least 3 years as a plant controller or in a manufacturing finance leadership role.
Proven results in reducing manufacturing costs, improving inventory accuracy, and strengthening controls.
Bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance.
Deep knowledge of standard costing, inventory accounting, manufacturing variance analysis, and GAAP.
Experience in a SOX-compliant, public company environment.
Proven ability to lead, develop, and elevate finance teams.
Strong track record partnering with plant, operations, and cross-functional leaders and translating financial results into practical recommendations.
Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and experience with an ERP system and Power BI.
Hands-on experience using AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, or Claude, and integrating data sources to automate reporting and improve team productivity.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present manufacturing and cost results clearly to senior leadership.
Ability to travel to manufacturing sites and the co-manufacturer up to 20%, depending on location.
Must be eligible to work in the United States; visa sponsorship is not available.

Nice To Haves

Multi-site or co-manufacturing experience.
Experience in food, CPG, or process manufacturing.
CPA or MBA.
Experience with Microsoft D365.

Responsibilities

Lead, mentor, and develop the plant controllership team across manufacturing sites, including plant controllers, assistant plant controllers, and site controllership staff; establish consistent processes, reporting, and standards across the network.
Own cost of goods sold performance across the manufacturing network, including materials usage and yield, labor, conversion cost, and overhead; explain variances to plan and prior year.
Partner with Operations to identify, quantify, and track plant productivity and cost-saving initiatives, and drive cost reduction and gross margin improvement.
Oversee month-end plant and COGS close across sites and the co-manufacturer, including accruals, inventory and cost reconciliations, balance sheet reconciliations, and variance review; ensure a timely, accurate close with Accounting.
Oversee development and annual updates of product standard costs across sites and the co-manufacturer, including bills of materials, routings, and overhead rates.
Lead inventory control across finished goods, raw materials, packaging, and spare parts, including valuation, excess and obsolete reserves, cycle counts, physical inventories, and reconciliation of operational and financial records.
Provide financial oversight of the co-manufacturing partner, including cost and invoice validation, inventory and yield reconciliation, performance tracking against agreed terms, and financial evaluation of co-manufacturing and capacity decisions.
Lead manufacturing budgeting and forecasting across all sites with plant leadership and FP&A; deliver COGS and gross margin outlooks for the annual operating plan, latest estimates, and long-range plan, and provide insights on outlook, risks, and opportunities.
Own capital planning and spending across the manufacturing network with Engineering and Operations, including return and payback analyses, budget tracking, project closeout and capitalization, and performance reporting.
Coordinate and support internal and external manufacturing and inventory audits, and maintain internal controls and compliance with company policies, SOX requirements, and GAAP.
Partner with Supply Chain Finance, Operations, Engineering, Procurement, and Accounting on cost drivers, network decisions, and supply planning.
Collaborate with Commercial and Commercial Finance on innovation, network and capacity planning, and capital needs; provide manufacturing cost insight for new items, volume and mix changes, and capacity investments.
Develop and maintain consistent KPIs and performance reporting across sites, and support senior management and Board materials on manufacturing and gross margin performance.
Standardize and replicate reporting across sites and the co-manufacturer; streamline site controllership work through data integration and automation, leveraging D365, Power BI, and AI tools.