Principal Financial & Operations Analyst

Description

Position at Matson Navigation Company, Inc

About the Role

The Principal Financial & Operations Analyst is a key business partner to Operations leadership, combining financial and accounting expertise, operational understanding, and technical capability to solve complex business problems and improve performance. Working at the intersection of operations, finance, data, and technology, this role helps shape how information is structured, analyzed, and used to drive decision-making across the organization.

The role is responsible for building the data, reporting, and analytical capabilities that support operational and financial performance. This includes enterprise reporting solutions, Power BI dashboards, budget and forecasting models, AI-enabled analytics, and other tools that help leaders understand performance, allocate resources, evaluate opportunities, and make informed business decisions.

This position offers the opportunity to solve complex operational and financial challenges while building capabilities that shape how the organization operates. The successful candidate will be intellectually curious, self-directed, and motivated by ownership. They will invest the time to understand the operation, work confidently through ambiguity, challenge assumptions, and identify the underlying business need before developing a solution. They will possess the technical depth to build that solution, the financial and operational judgment to ensure it is meaningful, and the persistence to see it through implementation, adoption, and continuous improvement.

This is a hybrid position requiring onsite work at our Corporate Office in Walnut Creek, CA, three (3) days per week (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday).

What you'll do:

• Design, build, and maintain data pipelines, reporting solutions, Power BI dashboards, financial models, and analytical tools that support Vessel and Network Operations, budgeting, forecasting, and performance management.
• Establish and maintain trusted sources of financial and operational information by integrating, transforming, and governing data from multiple business systems.
• Build scalable Excel-based budget, forecasting, and scenario models that incorporate operational assumptions, cost drivers, historical performance, and accounting requirements.
• Partner directly with business leaders to understand operational challenges, identify root causes, define requirements, and develop practical data and analytical solutions.
• Translate operational activity into financial insights through analysis of cost drivers, rate, volume, and mix impacts, contract terms, budget variances, forecasts, and performance trends.
• Partner with Operations, Finance, Accounting, and IT to strengthen data governance, standardize reporting logic, and establish a single source of truth for key business metrics.
• Identify and apply AI, automation, and advanced analytics capabilities to enhance reporting, forecasting, recurring analysis, and operational decision support.
• Conduct Vessel and Network and operating cost analysis to explain performance, identify risks and opportunities, and recommend actions.
• Evaluate reports, workflows, and business processes to identify opportunities for simplification, improved controls, and scalable technical solutions.
• Support contract compliance and financial review processes, including invoice analysis, rate validation, cost recovery review, and alignment with approved accounting treatment.
• Maintain strong internal controls and support SOX 404 compliance by ensuring data, models, reports, and analytical processes are documented, repeatable, validated, and auditable.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives involving reporting modernization, financial planning, process improvement, and operational performance improvement.
• Prepare executive-ready analysis that clearly communicates financial performance, operational impacts, risks, opportunities, and recommended actions.
• Maintain ownership of solutions from problem definition through implementation, adoption, and continuous improvement.

You have these skills:

• Expertise in data architecture, data integration, ETL processes, data modeling, governance, and analytics platforms used to establish trusted reporting environments and a single source of truth.
• Advanced Power BI capabilities, including semantic models, DAX, dashboard design, visualization best practices, performance optimization, and executive reporting.
• Advanced Excel modeling skills supporting budgeting, forecasting, scenario analysis, variance analysis, and long-range financial planning.
• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, enterprise reporting architectures, and scalable analytics solutions.
• Strong foundation in finance and accounting, including budgeting, forecasting, accruals, cost allocation, internal controls, invoice review, and financial analysis.
• Understanding of the operational drivers that influence financial performance.
• Practical application of AI, machine learning, copilots, large language models, and advanced analytics tools to reporting, forecasting, operational analysis, and decision support.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills, including the ability to navigate ambiguity, challenge assumptions, identify root causes, and develop effective solutions.
• Sound business judgment with the ability to balance technical sophistication and practical business needs, creating solutions that are scalable, maintainable, and widely adopted.
• Effective communication skills with the ability to translate technical concepts, operational information, and financial analysis into actionable business recommendations.
• Commitment to data integrity, transparency, strong controls, repeatable processes, and defensible analysis.

And these qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Analytics, Data Science, Information Systems, Computer Science, Engineering, Operations Management, or related field required.
• Three more years of experience in operations finance, financial analysis, business intelligence, data analytics, accounting, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated experience developing enterprise reporting solutions, Power BI dashboards, financial models, or analytical tools used to support business decision-making.
• Advanced proficiency in Power BI, Excel, Power Query, SQL, and related analytics technologies.
• Experience supporting budgeting, forecasting, management reporting, operational analysis, and performance measurement.
• Experience working with financial, accounting, operational, and planning data within a complex business environment.

Extra credit if you have:

• Experience with Microsoft Fabric, Workday, Vena, cloud analytics platforms, or similar technologies preferred.
• Experience applying AI and advanced analytics tools to practical business problems preferred.
• Maritime, transportation, logistics, terminal operations, or other asset-intensive industry experience preferred, but not required.

The annual salary range is posted for this position in California. The salary offered will depend upon qualifications and other operational considerations.

At Matson, we're looking for people to build a unified team to maintain our values of trust, integrity, and reliability. We welcome people who think rigorously and thoughtfully challenge assumptions.

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