Cost Accountant - Data Center Assets

About TensorWave Our mission is simple: deliver seamless, secure, reliable, and resilient AI compute at scale. We've built a versatile cloud platform that eliminates infrastructure barriers, empowering builders to focus on innovation instead of fighting their stack. Because breakthrough AI should move at the speed of ideas, not infrastructure. About the Role The Cost Accountant plays a foundational role in building and scaling our cost accounting function within a high-growth AI infrastructure startup. Unlike traditional manufacturing, this role focuses on the capitalization of high-value Data Center equipment—managing the financial lifecycle of hardware from procurement and landed cost, through server/GPU/hardware assembly, and ultimately into placed-in-service Fixed Assets. The ideal candidate brings a strong manufacturing or data center background and thrives in a startup environment, possessing the strategic vision to design processes from scratch and the tactical execution to manage the daily Construction-in-Progress (CIP) and component inventory. This role provides an opportunity to take ownership of a broad and increasingly important area of Finance & Accounting within a rapidly growing organization. The Cost Accountant will have meaningful exposure to financial reporting, accounting systems, internal controls, process automation, and cross-functional operations, while working in a flat organization that values ownership, accountability, and continuous improvement. What You’ll Do BOM and Inventory Management & Valuation: - Manage item creation and associated accounting implications, ensuring master data accuracy across systems. - Manage and review the Bill of Materials (BOM) for various server/rack configurations. - Consolidate inventory and non-inventory items to streamline tracking, reporting, and operational efficiency. - Oversee standard costing function, including monthly variance analysis, overhead allocation, and month-end reconciliations. - Plan and execute physical counts, cycle counts, and perform inventory health assessments for impairment, obsolescence, or shrinkage. - Reconcile inventory sub-ledgers to the general ledger on a regular basis to ensure system accuracy and balance sheet integrity. Fixed Asset Assembly & Material Flow Accounting: - Track and account for high-value components (e.g., GPUs, network switches, servers, chassis) as they are assembled into full AI infrastructure racks. - Manage the accounting impact of material flow as hardware moves across staging, assembly, deployment, and data center locations. - Process assembly build transactions for the deployment of infrastructure hardware. - Ensure accurate movement of costs from raw inventory into Construction-in-Progress (CIP) and ultimately capitalized as Fixed Assets upon being placed in service. - Maintain perpetual inventory systems with monthly reconciliations. - Review and update historical data as needed to align the accounting information systems to the data center ops systems. Landed Cost Management: - Develop and maintain methodologies to accurately capture, allocate, and capitalize landed costs, including international freight, customs, tariffs, insurance, and handling fees for high-value hardware. - Analyze and reconcile freight, tariff, customs and insurance invoices between subledgers and the general ledger. Process Engineering & Function Building: - Architect the cost accounting function, including continuous iteration for process re-engineering. - Participate in the design, documentation, and implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for inventory tracking, assembly builds, and asset deployment. Reporting: - Report on unit economics for all product offerings. - Assist FP&A with forecasting, monthly financial reports, margin reporting, and break-even analysis. - Develop meaningful metrics to support decision making. Operations & Engineering Alignment: - Partner closely with Data Center Operations and Hardware Engineering to understand build schedules, component tracking, and deployment timelines to ensure assets are capitalized precisely when placed into service. Supply Chain Procurement: - Collaborate with Supply Chain to establish rigorous receiving processes, validate vendor pricing, and accurately accrue freight and tariff liabilities. Financial Systems Collaboration: - Work hand-in-hand with the Business Ops team to design, test, and implement automated assembly workflows, landed cost modules, and BOM tracking within the ERP (e.g., NetSuite). - Who You Are Required Qualifications - Bachelor's degree in accounting or related field. (CPA or CMA designation is a plus but is not required). - 2–4+ years of progressive cost accounting experience, specifically within Manufacturing, Data Centers, or Hardware Infrastructure environments. - Proven experience working in a high-growth, startup environment. Must have a track record of building processes, policies, or systems from the ground up. - Deep understanding of US GAAP as it applies to landed costs, inventory valuation (FIFO/Weighted Average), CIP, and ASC 360 Fixed Asset capitalization rules. - Strong experience with enterprise ERPs (NetSuite highly preferred) and a high degree of proficiency in advanced Excel (data modeling, large dataset manipulation). - Ability to work Monday–Friday in the Las Vegas HQ office. Preferred Qualifications - Thrives in ambiguity. You do not wait for a playbook to be handed to you; you write the playbook. - Ability to take traditional manufacturing concepts (BOMs, routings, work-in-process) and adapt them to building revenue-generating AI infrastructure. - Extreme attention to detail when allocating costs, understanding that a small percentage error on AI hardware (like GPU clusters) represents millions of dollars in financial impact. - The ability to communicate complex cost accounting requirements to non-financial stakeholders, like engineers and warehouse staff, in a way that gains their buy-in. What Success Looks Like - Day 1–30: Conduct a deep-dive of current procurement, landed cost, and hardware assembly workflows. Understand the physical lifecycle of hardware—from the loading dock to the data center floor—and identify immediate gaps in financial tracking. - Day 31–60: Draft and implement the company’s first formal SOPs for landed cost allocation and Fixed Asset assembly capitalization. Take full ownership of the inventory, landed cost, and CIP components of the month-end close. - Day 61–90: Partner with the financial systems team to fully architect and automate the hardware assembly workflow within the ERP. Eliminate manual spreadsheet tracking for BOMs, drastically reducing the risk of error and accelerating the month-end close timeline. What We Offer - Stock Options - 100% paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance for Employees - Company Health Savings Account Contributions - 100% paid Short Term and Long Term Disability Insurance for Employees - Life and Voluntary Supplemental Insurance Options - Other Insurance Options, such as Pet & Legal Insurance - Various Supplementary Health Benefits, such as discounted Virtual Healthcare Appointments and Serious Illness Support - Flexible Spending Account - 401(k) - Employee Assistance Program - Flexible PTO - Paid Holidays - Parental Leave - Other In-Office Perks Equal Employment Opportunity TensorWave is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We do not discriminate on the basis of any protected status under applicable law. Reasonable Accommodations TensorWave provides reasonable accommodations in accordance with applicable laws. If you require accommodation during the hiring process, please contact accomodations@tensorwave.com. Employment Eligibility All offers of employment are contingent upon verification of identity and authorization to work in the United States, as required by law. Background Checks Where permitted by law, employment may be contingent upon the successful completion of a job-related background check. Data Privacy Notice By submitting an application, you acknowledge that TensorWave may collect, use, and retain your personal information for recruiting and employment-related purposes in accordance with applicable data privacy laws.