Controller - Operations & Systems

Company Description: Founded in Cleveland in 1944, WLS specializes in short and medium run metal stamping, fabrication and laser cutting to service a wide variety of industries. Position Summary: The Controller – Operations & Systems is responsible for driving measurable improvements in labor productivity, costing accuracy, inventory control, and data integrity across manufacturing operations. This is not a traditional accounting role. This position owns the connection between shop floor performance, financial results, and system data. Core Mandate Own the truth: reconcile ERP data to actual shop floor performance Eliminate inefficiencies: drive earned vs paid labor accountability Fix costing: align quoted, standard, and actual performance Build systems: automate reporting and eliminate manual processes Drive action: lead and drive corrective action across departments Key Responsibilities Labor & Throughput Control Own weekly earned vs paid labor reporting Identify and eliminate top labor losses Challenge run rates vs standards Costing Discipline Maintain and continuously correct standard costing Build feedback loop from actual performance to quoting Quantify and reduce margin erosion Systems & Automation Lead implementation of modern finance and reporting systems Automate recurring reporting and analytics Build dashboards linking operational and financial performance Data & AI Utilization Use AI daily to accelerate analysis and identify anomalies Automate data reconciliation and reporting workflows Inventory & Data Integrity Own inventory accuracy and cycle count processes Reconcile ERP data to shop floor reality Qualifications 7–15+ years in manufacturing finance Strong standard costing expertise Tech-savvy with modern systems (ERP, analytics, automation) Proven ability to drive operational change J-18808-Ljbffr