SlipstreamJobs tracks this role from the company's public career site. Apply directly on the employer's site.
Northwood Space is a modern space infrastructure company building a global network of phased array ground stations for satellite communications supporting national security, global connectivity, and disaster response. As the first Cost Accountant, you will build and own the cost accounting function as the company scales space infrastructure products from development into production.
You will establish processes, methodologies, and controls that provide accurate visibility into inventory, cost of goods sold (COGS), and the true cost of building hardware. Working closely with Finance, Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Engineering, and Program teams, you will create a scalable cost accounting foundation supporting rapid organizational growth and increasingly complex manufacturing operations.
Key responsibilities include:
- Build and own the company's cost accounting function, establishing scalable processes, methodologies, controls, documentation, and reporting for inventory, standard costs, work-in-progress (WIP), COGS, and manufacturing variances as production scales.
- Own cost accounting activities across month-end and quarter-end close, including journal entries, inventory and cost account reconciliations, accruals, variance analysis, and supporting schedules, ensuring accurate and timely financial reporting.
- Develop and maintain standard costing methodologies across purchased and manufactured hardware; analyze purchase price, material, labor, overhead, absorption, scrap, and other variances to identify root causes and improve cost accuracy.
- Own inventory accounting and valuation across raw materials, WIP, and finished goods, partnering with Supply Chain and Manufacturing to reconcile operational activity to the ERP and resolve inventory, work order, and transaction discrepancies.
- Partner closely with Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Engineering, and Program teams to understand bills of materials (BOMs), production flows, procurement costs, engineering changes, and operational drivers, translating them into accurate product costs and actionable financial insights.
- Serve as the Finance owner for cost accounting systems and continuous improvement, helping define ERP requirements, automate manual processes, strengthen financial controls, and build the reporting infrastructure needed to support significant company and production growth.
This is an opportunity to build a foundational function from the ground up at a venture-backed aerospace company with real-world impact.
REQUIREMENTS:
Basic Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field with 4+ years of experience in cost accounting, inventory accounting, or manufacturing accounting.
- Strong understanding of manufacturing cost accounting, including standard costing, inventory valuation, WIP, COGS, purchase price variance (PPV), absorption, manufacturing variances, and inventory flows within an ERP environment.
- Demonstrated ability to independently own cost accounting close activities, journal entries, reconciliations, and complex analyses while identifying and resolving discrepancies across financial and operational data.
- Highly analytical and comfortable operating autonomously in a fast-paced environment, with strong Excel skills and demonstrated ability to build processes, solve ambiguous problems, and partner effectively across Finance and Operations.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience in aerospace, defense, hardware, automotive, electronics, or another complex manufacturing environment, particularly within a startup or rapidly scaling organization.
- Experience building or significantly improving cost accounting processes, controls, standard costing methodologies, and reporting as manufacturing operations scale.
- Experience partnering directly with Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Engineering, and other operational teams and translating manufacturing activity into financial insights and recommendations.
- Experience implementing, configuring, or improving cost accounting and inventory workflows within an ERP system, including supporting system requirements, testing, data validation, and process automation.
Note: To conform to U.S. Government space technology export regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.
