Senior Cost Analyst - manufacturing

Senior Cost Analyst - manufacturing National Carwash Solutions - 2.7 Grimes, IA Job Details 3 hours ago Benefits Health insurance Dental insurance Paid time off Vision insurance 401(k) matching Opportunities for advancement Qualifications Bachelor's degree Full Job Description National Carwash Solutions has grown over the past 50 years to become North America's largest equipment, service, and cleaning solutions provider in the car wash industry. Our world-class brands are backed by the largest service network in the country. Come join us for an extraordinary career in a high-growing, team-oriented company! Position Summary The Senior Cost Analyst is responsible for analyzing, monitoring, and improving manufacturing costs across multiple production facilities. This role partners closely with plant operations, supply chain, and finance leadership to ensure accurate, consistent product costing and actionable financial insights across sites. The position plays a critical role in driving cost transparency, operational efficiency, and margin improvement in a complex, multi‑plant manufacturing environment. Key Responsibilities Cost Accounting & Analysis Develop, maintain, and govern standard costs for materials, labor, and overhead across multiple manufacturing locations. Perform detailed cost and variance analysis by plant, product line, and cost center; identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities. Analyze and explain inter‑plant cost differences, efficiencies, and capacity utilization. Support month-end and year-end close activities related to inventory, manufacturing costs, and COGS for all facilities. Operational & Strategic Support Partner with plant managers, operations leadership, and engineering teams at multiple sites to drive cost reduction, productivity, and process improvements. Support make/buy decisions, inter‑plant sourcing strategies, and footprint optimization analyses. Develop cost models for new products, transfers between plants, and manufacturing process changes. Support budgeting, forecasting, and long-range planning at both the plant and consolidated manufacturing level. Monitor inventory valuation, excess and obsolete inventory, and reserve recommendations across all locations. Reporting, Systems & Governance Create standardized cost reporting, KPIs, and dashboards to enable consistent performance measurement across plants. Ensure costing methodologies, policies, and procedures are consistently applied across all facilities. Maintain data integrity within ERP systems and support system implementations, upgrades, or plant integrations. Document and enforce internal controls and cost accounting practices in compliance with GAAP and company policies. Leadership & Cross‑Functional Collaboration Serve as a manufacturing cost accounting subject matter expert for multi‑plant operations. Act as the primary finance liaison for assigned plants while supporting enterprise-wide manufacturing initiatives. Mentor and review work of junior analysts or plant-level finance staff, as applicable. Collaborate with FP&A, supply chain, procurement, operations, and executive leadership. Qualifications Education Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required MBA, CPA, CMA, or equivalent certification preferred Experience 5-8+ years of progressive cost accounting or financial analysis experience in a manufacturing environment Demonstrated experience supporting multiple manufacturing plants or complex operations Strong knowledge of standard costing, inventory accounting, variance analysis, and manufacturing KPIs ERP experience (e.g., SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, Dynamics, or similar) Skills & Competencies Advanced Excel skills; BI/reporting tools (Power BI, Tableau, etc.) preferred Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities Ability to communicate financial results clearly to plant and non-finance leadership Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple sites in a fast-paced environment Working Conditions Combination of office and manufacturing plant environments Periodic travel to manufacturing sites expected Grow your career supported by an energized and passionate team, professional development, training, flexibility and opportunities for advancement. We offer competitive wages and benefits including comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage, matching 401(k), paid time off and more. National Carwash Solutions is a proud equal opportunity employer. We are a drug free, EEO employer committed to a diverse workforce. We will consider all qualified candidates regardless of race, color, national origin, sex age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity, family responsibilities, disability, education, political affiliation or veteran status.