Project Accountant

Aery Aviation•Newport News, VA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Located in Newport News, VA, Aery Aviation is seeking an experienced Project Accountant to join our Finance and Accounting team in our Newport News office. This role will support project-based accounting across government, aviation, maintenance, engineering, modification, and special mission programs. The ideal candidate will have strong accounting fundamentals, experience supporting contract or project-based businesses, and preferably prior exposure to government contracting accounting, including cost tracking, labor allocation, billing support, indirect cost awareness, and compliance-oriented documentation. This position is in-office 5 days a week - not remote or hybrid.

Requirements

Minimum 5 years of accounting experience, preferably in project accounting, job cost accounting, contract accounting, or government contracting.
Strong understanding of general accounting principles.
Experience with project/job cost tracking and financial reporting.
Proficiency with accounting systems and Microsoft Excel.
Ability to work with detailed financial data and reconcile costs to supporting documentation.
Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
Ability to communicate clearly with accounting, operations, and program management personnel.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
Ability to handle confidential financial and contract information professionally.

Nice To Haves

Experience in aviation, aerospace, defense, engineering, manufacturing, maintenance, or government contracting.
Experience with QuickBooks Online or similar accounting software.
Familiarity with timekeeping, labor distribution, and project-based billing systems.
Understanding of WIP, inventory, project accruals, and revenue recognition concepts.
Experience supporting audits, contract reviews, or compliance documentation.
Strong Excel skills, including pivot tables, lookups, and budget-to-actual reporting.
Government accounting experience is strongly preferred, including familiarity with one or more of the following: FAR-based contract environments.
Cost-reimbursable, fixed-price, or time-and-material contract structures.
Direct vs. indirect cost treatment.
Labor distribution and timekeeping requirements.
Project/job cost accounting.
Government billing support.
DCAA-style documentation expectations.
Contract funding, ceiling values, modifications, and period-of-performance tracking.
Indirect rates, overhead, G&A, and fringe cost concepts.

Responsibilities

Track project costs, labor, materials, subcontractor costs, travel, and other direct project expenses.
Support project setup, customer/job coding, class tracking, cost codes, and contract-specific accounting requirements.
Assist with monthly project financial reviews, including budget-to-actual analysis and variance explanations.
Support government contract billing, commercial billing, and customer invoicing as assigned.
Work closely with Program Managers, Operations, Business Development, and Finance leadership to ensure project financial information is accurate and timely.
Review labor charging, timekeeping data, and cost allocations for consistency with project requirements.
Support work-in-process accounting, project accruals, revenue recognition, and cost-to-complete analysis.
Assist with tracking project profitability, gross margin, backlog, and contract performance.
Help maintain documentation required for internal controls, audits, contract reviews, and customer support.
Assist with accounts receivable follow-up, billing backup, invoice documentation, and customer reporting.
Support monthly close activities related to assigned programs and projects.
Identify accounting discrepancies, coding issues, missing documentation, or process gaps and help resolve them.
Assist with improving project accounting processes, reporting tools, and internal coordination between Accounting and Operations.