Plant Controller II

Darigold Careers • Pasco, WA

1d • $94,772 - $142,158 • Hybrid

About The Position

Darigold is seeking a Plant Controller II to serve as the financial leader for up to two dairy manufacturing plants. This role partners closely with Plant Leadership and Operations to drive cost discipline, operational performance, and financial integrity. The Plant Controller II owns plant-level financial reporting and leads the team responsible for plant accounting activities. This role provides clear insight into production and cost trends and partners with plant leadership to support informed decisions that drive growth and profitability. The position requires a strong operational presence, building relationships with production teams to understand processes firsthand and ensure accurate reporting of production activity, labor, and inventory. This is a hands-on leadership role with broad exposure across accounting, forecasting, cost management, internal controls, and continuous improvement initiatives. This position reports to the Director of Operations Accounting and will be a hybrid onsite role at one of our dairy manufacturing plants. Travel between plant locations and headquarters may be required (typically less than 20%).

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or related field (or equivalent progressive experience)
• 7–15 years of progressive accounting experience, preferably in a manufacturing environment
• Prior experience leading and developing direct reports
• Strong knowledge of standard cost accounting and inventory control in manufacturing
• Solid understanding of U.S. GAAP and internal control design
• Advanced Excel skills
• Demonstrated ability to analyze and translate complex data into clear, practical financial insight and recommendations
• Strong communication skills and experience partnering with operations leaders
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic manufacturing environment
• A mindset focused on continuous improvement and challenging the status quo
• Strong team player with effective communication skills, both oral and written

Responsibilities

• Leadership & Team Development
• Directly manage plant accounting team members responsible for production reconciliations and inventory true-ups
• Provide hands-on coaching to ensure production activity and inventory adjustments are accurate, timely, and well supported
• Drive consistency in processes, controls, and reporting across team members and plant locations
• Review reconciliations and analysis to reinforce strong controls and data integrity
• Identify process improvement opportunities within production reporting and inventory management workflows
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement
• Mentorship
• Serve as a mentor to junior members of the broader Operations Accounting function, sharing best practices and strengthening technical consistency across plants
• Support succession planning and talent development within the Operations Accounting organization
• Financial Close & Reporting
• Lead and coordinate monthly plant close activities, ensuring timely and accurate financial reporting
• Oversee preparation and review of journal entries and plant account reconciliations
• Analyze plant results, including labor and overhead, and clearly communicate key drivers and variances
• Identify and share recommendations for operational and cost improvements with Plant Management
• Ensure compliance with company policies and U.S. GAAP
• Internal Controls and Compliance
• Assess and strengthen plant-level internal controls to support accurate financial reporting and safeguard assets
• Provide recommendations to enhance process discipline and data integrity
• Ensure adherence to company policies and financial standards
• Cost Accounting
• Partner with the Cost Accounting team to ensure accuracy of standard costing for monthly close and reporting, including inventory valuation, production reporting, key statistical entries, and manufacturing variance analysis
• Prepare and review plant account reconciliations to ensure accuracy, completeness, and alignment with financial reporting
• Planning, Forecasting, and Capital
• Lead development of the plant Annual Operating Plan (AOP) and budget
• Prepare monthly forecasts and variance analysis, sharing insights with plant leadership
• Partner with Plant Leadership to evaluate capital improvement projects, prepare supporting requests, and monitor spend
• Support execution of cost management initiatives
• Continuous Improvement & Systems
• Participate in problem-solving and Continuous Improvement initiatives as the finance subject matter expert
• Support analysis related to process performance, line efficiency, inventory management, capital spending, etc.
• Collaborate with IT and cross-functional partners to enhance reporting tools and streamline processes
• Lead or support special projects, including user acceptance testing for systems implementations
• Document and standardize processes to reduce inefficiencies and drive consistency across plants

Benefits

• Employer 401K contribution
• Comprehensive medical, dental & vision benefits
• Employer paid life & disability coverage
• Paid time off and paid Holidays
• Eight weeks of paid paternal Leave
• Education assistance
• Flexible (hybrid) working arrangement - must live a commutable distance from the Pasco plant
• Community giving through matching donations
• Access to great dairy products & participation in our employee butter purchase Program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level