Join a HireLevel client in a direct hire role as a Controller and advance your career in a high-impact, growth-oriented manufacturing environment. The Controller ensures the accuracy, integrity, and strategic use of the company’s financial information. This role owns the accounting function end to end, including financial reporting, internal controls, compliance, and month-end close. It partners closely with executive leadership and operations to deliver financial insight, operational visibility, and disciplined growth while driving process, system, and reporting improvements.
The Controller will enjoy collaborating with a dynamic, customer-centric team based in St. Louis, MO. You'll be rewarded with a competitive salary commensurate with experience, along with incentive opportunities reflecting your leadership impact and business contribution. The company has provided a range of $140,000 - $150,000/year.
This is an onsite position at the client facility in downtown St. Louis.
Our client’s vibrant culture celebrates energetic problem solvers, entrepreneurial thinkers, and leaders who thrive in fast-paced environments. Benefits include Medical, Dental, Vision, 401(k), Life Insurance, Unlimited Paid Time Off, One Weekly Work from Home day, Disability Insurance, Tuition Reimbursement, Company-led Leadership & Development Programs, 10 Company Paid Holidays, and Bonus Incentive Programs. This is a rare opportunity for a finance leader to help build scalable systems in a growing, tech-forward organization.
About the Company:
Our client is a next-generation food manufacturing company reimagining what’s possible in protein innovation. Specializing in fresh, sous-vide cooked proteins and patented food safety technologies, they serve some of the most trusted brands and culinary teams across the U.S. They are not your typical manufacturer, but a mission-driven startup powered by entrepreneurial energy, scientific rigor, and a relentless drive to create a more nutritious, efficient, and sustainable food system. With a team of approximately 150+ employees, they are small enough to be nimble and innovative yet established enough to make a lasting impact.
This company is proud of its rapid growth, strong customer partnerships, and long-term vision to build a vertically integrated, tech-forward manufacturing platform.
What would you do as a Controller
As a Controller, you will lead the company’s accounting, financial reporting, and internal controls while serving as a strategic partner to executive leadership. You will oversee daily accounting operations, month-end and year-end close, and the preparation of accurate, GAAP-compliant financial statements. Partnering closely with operations, you will analyze manufacturing performance, inventory, cost drivers, and plant-level profitability to support data-driven decision-making.
Your day will include reviewing financial results, strengthening accounting policies, supporting audits, and delivering executive-ready reports and dashboards. You will help ensure compliance with tax, audit, and statutory requirements while continuously improving systems, reporting automation, and financial visibility. You can expect to participate in leadership discussions around forecasting, capital planning, and growth initiatives, acting as a bridge between finance and operations.
Your schedule will be Monday to Friday, allowing for a structured work week while supporting cross-functional collaboration in a fast-moving manufacturing environment.
Requirements for this Controller job
To succeed as a Controller, you must combine strong accounting fundamentals with operational and strategic thinking. You are comfortable navigating complexity, building process where needed, and translating financial data into clear business insight. A proactive, improvement-oriented mindset is critical as the organization continues to scale.
Experience leveraging technology, automation, and analytics to improve reporting efficiency is essential. You will be expected to maintain strong internal controls, lead an efficient close process, and communicate financial results to both financial and non-financial stakeholders.
Knowledge and skills required for the position are:
- Strong GAAP and financial reporting expertise
- Leadership of month-end, quarterly, and annual close processes
- Development and enforcement of internal controls
- Audit preparation and compliance management
- Operational finance and manufacturing cost awareness
- Financial reporting automation and dashboarding
- Data visualization and analytics (Power BI preferred)
- ERP and cloud-based accounting systems experience
- Strategic thinking and executive-level communication
- Entrepreneurial mindset and comfort in high-growth environments
Are you ready for an exciting opportunity?
So, what do you think? If you feel this is the right next step in your finance leadership career, go ahead and apply! We look forward to meeting you.