Financial Controller - Solar & Energy Infrastructure

AlphaHire

  • Santa Cruz, CA
  • 8 days ago

    Highlights

    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 . 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.

    Numbers & Facts

    LocationSanta Cruz, CA

    Description

    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.

    Key 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.

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

    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.

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