Plant Controller
Location: Chelmsford, MA

The Role
We are seeking a Plant Controller to serve as the strategic finance leader for our Chelmsford, MA manufacturing site supporting ADFED operations. This role owns the financial architecture underpinning cost competitiveness, operational performance, and long-range profitability across mission-critical aerospace and defense products. The Plant Controller partners closely with site leadership, operations teams, and Commercial Finance to translate complex financial data into actionable operational insights. The role is responsible for driving disciplined cost structures, scalable processes, and financial accountability at a rapidly growing manufacturing site. This leader is expected to operate with strong business acumen, deep costing expertise, and the ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders in a highly dynamic, matrixed environment.

Key Responsibilities

Cost Strategy & Financial Leadership
• Own and evolve standard cost structures for Chelmsford manufacturing, ensuring alignment with government program requirements and cost accounting standards.
• Drive rigor in billable rates, cost methodologies, and compliance with CAS/FAR and US GAAP requirements.
• Develop activity-based costing frameworks that improve visibility into cost drivers and accountability.

Operational Finance & Performance Management
• Serve as the primary Finance Business Partner to site leadership, translating financial performance into operational decision-making.
• Lead forecasting, financial close, and variance analysis processes, clearly articulating key drivers and risks.
• Quantify and address sources of manufacturing inefficiency, including labor variance, material waste, and overhead absorption gaps.

Strategic Planning & Profitability
• Partner with Commercial Finance to build long-range product profitability strategies and scenario models.
• Support decision-making on make-vs-buy, capital investments, and cost structure optimization.
• Drive initiatives that enhance long-term cost competitiveness of Chelmsford’s product portfolio.

Partnership & Influence
• Build strong relationships with operations leaders, engineers, and site stakeholders to drive financial accountability and shared ownership of performance.
• Influence decisions across functions without direct authority in a matrixed organization.
• Communicate complex financial insights in clear, actionable terms for non-finance audiences.

Systems, Processes & Compliance
• Oversee inventory controls, cycle counts, and ERP data integrity aligned with SAP and financial systems.
• Drive process standardization, automation, and scalability across financial workflows.
• Ensure compliance with government accounting requirements and internal control frameworks.

Experience
• Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, Accounting, or related discipline; MBA, CPA, or CGFM preferred.
• Significant experience in manufacturing finance, ideally within aerospace, defense, or government contracting environments.
• Deep expertise in standard costing, billable rate structures, and cost accounting methodologies.
• Proven ability to develop cost models and translate financial insights into operational improvements in strategic planning, assembly and test.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze complex cost structures, identify sources of inefficiency, and partner with cross-functional teams to implement effective solutions
• Strong influencing skills with demonstrated success partnering with senior operations leaders.
• Experience with SAP, financial modelling tools, and data analysis platforms preferred.
• Ability to drive process standardization and lead change effectively in a fast-scaling, complex manufacturing environment.

Job Req Type: Experienced

• Actual wage offered may vary depending on work location, experience, education, training, external market data, internal pay equity, or other bona fide factors.

• This position qualifies for a discretionary performance-based bonus which is based on personal and company factors.

• This position includes medical, vision and dental coverage, 401k, paid vacation, holidays, and sick time, and other benefits.