Divisional Plant Controller

PE-backed manufacturer | New plant + distribution build | Onsite, SE Atlanta Metro

Position: Divisional Plant Controller (New Plant Build-Out)

Location: SE Atlanta Metro | 30 min from the airport | Relocation available
Compensation: $140,000 + Bonus - with some flex based on background

An established, PE-backed manufacturer is building a brand-new flagship plant and distribution hub in the Atlanta metro, and hiring the first finance leader it has ever embedded inside one of its plants.

This is a build-out. If you have personally stood up the finance function for a new plant (a build-out, start-up, relocation, or consolidation), or stepped into one that wasn't already running, or running smoothly, keep reading.

THIS ROLE IS FOR YOU IF

• You have personally built a plant finance function (start-up, build-out, relo, or consolidation), or stepped into one that wasn't running smoothly and fixed it, and can walk through exactly what you put in place
• You know a plant floor cold: efficiency/OEE, bill of materials, scrap and waste, absorption, plant spend, forecasting, AOP and budgets, capital/capitalization
• You operate without a net. No one is sitting next to you; you already know what needs to be done and you do it
• You default to building. You document, create, standardize, and train processes that don't exist yet
• You are energized by ambiguity. A lot here is not laid out A-to-Z, and you want to be the one who figures it out
• You will be onsite for the build and want to be, because you know the plant floor doesn't trust a finance partner who isn't there
• You are comfortable in an older, legacy ERP. You've been around the block, not fresh out of school

THIS ROLE IS NOT FOR YOU IF

• Your plant experience is stepping into a mature, smoothly running close and keeping it going. You have never built or fixed one
• You have been adjacent to plant operations (corporate FP&A, reporting-only) but never personally owned efficiency, BOM, absorption, and waste
• You need defined process, a team, and structure handed to you before you can perform
• You want fully remote or a corporate-office seat. This role is onsite at the plant through the build
• You expect someone else to make the calls. There is no controller above you at this plant; you set what “good” looks like

ABOUT THE COMPANY

• A PE-backed manufacturer and distributor, standing up a new flagship manufacturing plant with an attached distribution hub in the Atlanta metro. A true build, with infrastructure going in in real time
• Runs lean in finance. This is the first finance role ever placed inside one of its plants; you are creating the standard, not inheriting it
• A full onsite leadership team is being built around this plant (plant director, engineering, quality, continuous improvement, HR, warehouse). You won't be alone, but finance is yours

THE CULTURE AND THE LEADERSHIP

This is a company that hires people it trusts and then lets them do the work. The leadership here values problem-solvers and judgment over watching the clock or dictating how you get there. You'll be valued for what you build and how you think, not for hours logged.

• Flexibility that's real, not a policy on paper. Go to your kid's game, handle life; no one is counting hours
• Onsite through the build, which the right person wants to be there for, with genuine openness to hybrid as the plant stabilizes
• You'll report to a leader who wants a true problem-solver and partner, gives you room to run, and trusts you to own it. Founder of Talent Co worked with her personally and can confirm
• A lean, close-knit team where your work is seen and your judgment carries weight
• Autonomy with real support. You own the finance function, and leadership backs you

WHAT YOU WILL OWN

• Stand up and own the plant finance function end to end (controls, processes, reporting, month-end close) where little exists today
• Own the plant P&L drivers: efficiency/OEE, bill of materials accuracy, scrap and waste, absorption, plant spend, and variance analysis, and translate them for operations
• Serve as the finance right hand to the plant director, in the details daily, not a month-end readout
• Build the annual operating plan (AOP), budgets, forecasts, and capital/capitalization tracking through the build and ramp-up
• Create, document, and train the processes, controls, and reporting cadence that do not exist yet
• Be hands-on and strategic: both a doer (journal entries, close) and a partner who sets direction

WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY

• A true build. You set what great looks like for plant finance, and it becomes the model across the network, not just at this site
• First-ever embedded plant finance role, with high visibility to the Senior Director, VP, and CFO
• Growth up and out, into a large, growing supply chain, procurement, category management, and commercial organization
• No layers. You own the calls
• A growing manufacturing network, with new sites and expansion ahead

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Must-haves:

• Plant / manufacturing controller experience that includes a build-out, start-up, plant relocation, consolidation, or turnaround of a plant that wasn't running smoothly
• Fluency in plant/cost finance: OEE, BOM, absorption, scrap/waste, plant spend, forecasting, AOP, budgets, capital
• A self-directed operator who has built and documented process without oversight
• Willing to be onsite in (SE Atlanta metro) through the build with potential hybrid after

Ideal:

• A mix of large-company and small-company / lean-team experience
• Plastics / blow molding, fluids / chemical, or high-volume filling background

COMPENSATION

• Base: $140,000 + Bonus - with some flex based on background
• Bonus: 10%+ with a high payout history
• Relocation: Available
• Location: SE Atlanta Metro | 30 min from the airport