Senior Financial Analyst - Manufacturing Finance (Steel / Heavy Industrial)

Job Title: Senior Financial Analyst - Manufacturing Finance (Steel / Heavy Industrial) Location: Little Rock, AR - On-Site - Full Time Industry: Steel / Metals / Pipe & Tubular / Heavy Industrial Manufacturing About the Opportunity: We are hiring a Sr. Financial Analyst for a leading Steel Pipe & Tubular Manufacturing company in Little Rock, AR. This is a newly created position with room to shape and build the role. The role is 60-70% Cost Accounting weighted and is a critical business partner to Plant Leadership and Operations. This is a hands-on, plant-level role - NOT a corporate HQ FP&A role. Key Responsibilities: Cost Accounting & Manufacturing Finance: Own and maintain the standard cost system including BOM reviews, cost rollups, and overhead rate analysis Lead manufacturing variance analysis - PPV, Labor efficiency/rate, Material usage, Overhead absorption - explain variances and drive corrective actions with operations Manage inventory valuation across raw materials, WIP, finished goods Perform WIP analysis and COGS reconciliation during month-end close Understand impact of manufacturing variances on inventory valuation and margins FP&A & Business Partnering: Lead monthly, quarterly, annual budgeting and forecasting cycles Conduct variance analysis (Actual vs Budget vs Prior Year) and present findings Partner with Plant Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement to drive cost reduction and improve gross margin Support capital expenditure analysis, ROI modeling Systems: Leverage SAP FI/CO (or equivalent ERP) for financial reporting and analysis Maintain reporting tools, dashboards in Excel / Power BI Required Qualifications: Bachelor's in Finance, Accounting or related field - MBA/CPA/CMA a plus 5+ years of DIRECT manufacturing finance experience only - counted separately from total finance experience Proven experience OWNING and maintaining a standard cost system - not just reporting Strong hands-on experience with manufacturing variances: PPV, Labor, Material, Overhead Strong experience with Inventory, WIP, COGS accounting Plant-level experience - day-to-day involvement with plant leadership, operations, supply chain Advanced Excel, SAP FI/CO or equivalent ERP Must be willing to work Full-Time On-Site in Little Rock, AR Preferred Background: Tier 1: Steel, metals, pipe/tubular, OCTG, line pipe, oil & gas manufacturing Tier 2: Heavy industrial manufacturing Tier 3: Other manufacturing with strong plant cost accounting Work Authorization: US Citizen, Green Card Holder, H4EAD, H1B Transfer, F1-OPT Location: Little Rock, AR - Full-Time On-Site Travel: Minimal Strictly Not a Fit: Banking, Healthcare, Software, Services, General Corporate FP&A backgrounds Upstream oil & gas accounting (E&P, JIB, LOE) - This is NOT plant cost accounting