Controller

About the Company

When the facilities that simply cannot go down need HVAC systems engineered right the first time, design and construction teams call this firm. It is an engineer-led commercial and industrial HVAC equipment company that sells on technical expertise rather than price, and over the past decade it has grown fast, landing some of the largest and most complex projects in its market.

About the Role

The Controller will take ownership of the entire accounting operation, build the systems and discipline that turn a scrappy function into an institutional-grade one, and become a trusted partner to ownership on every number that matters.

Responsibilities

• Full ownership of accounting operations, including AP, AR, the general ledger, and GAAP accrual accounting
• A disciplined month-end close, driving the timeline to the 15th of the month or sooner
• The WIP schedule and job costing, applying practical judgment to cost-based percentage-of-completion (which jobs belong in, which don't, and why)
• gross profit adjustments (back charges, freight variances, vendor pricing disputes, internal labor), accruals, reconciliations, aligning commission expense to the same period as revenue
• Customer deposits and revenue recognition on shipment
• Supporting schedules for every balance sheet account, reconciled on a regular cadence
• Annual audit support
• Banking relationships and lines of credit, keeping lenders supplied with everything they need
• A budgeting process and rolling forecast built from bookings and high-probability pipeline
• KPI definition and tracking: close timing, DSO/DPO, cash management, invoice timing, job profitability
• Institutional-grade, diligence-ready financials, including working capital management and well-organized supporting documentation
• Process documentation, partnership with outside accounting advisors, and teaching best practices to the existing team

Pay range and compensation package

• Base salary of $130,000–$250,000+, tiered by location and experience
• Straightforward, base-heavy compensation: ownership would rather pay a strong base than build a complicated bonus formula, and any bonus is discussed individually
• Full-time, Monday–Friday; onsite in the East Bay office strongly preferred, with remote arrangements considered for exceptional candidates
• Comprehensive benefits package (details shared during the interview process)
• A direct seat alongside the founder-CEO and operations leadership, with genuine authority to build the finance function the way it should be built
• A role designed to grow: from roughly 70% Controller / 30% CFO today toward 30/70 as the company scales
• An engineer-led, values-driven culture built on humility, accountability, doing what you say you'll do, and shared ownership of people, process, and systems

Required Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field
• Proven experience in a true Controller role, owning the close, the balance sheet, and the numbers leadership relies on (accounting manager experience alone is not a fit)
• Experience at a company with $20M+ in annual revenue
• Hands-on construction or project-based accounting: job costing, WIP schedules, and percentage-of-completion revenue recognition
• Experience accounting for complex commission plans, ideally GP-based plans with draws, adjustments, and accruals
• Ownership of month-end close and GAAP accrual accounting
• Balance sheet reconciliation and audit support experience
• Budgeting and forecasting experience
• Experience managing banking relationships and lines of credit
• Expert-level QuickBooks Online
• A track record of building and maturing accounting systems and processes, not just maintaining them
• Long tenure with prior employers and the ability to earn the trust of owners quickly
• An analytical, recommendation-driven style that pairs every number with the "so what" and a next step
• Able to run independently and raise the skill level of an existing team
• CPA and tax experience required for candidates based outside California

Preferred Skills

• Experience with 100% commission sales compensation or commission payroll
• Background in HVAC, mechanical contracting, construction, equipment distribution, or a manufacturer's representative firm