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Finance & Accounting · San Diego, CA
Controller jobs in San Diego, CA
Controllers run the accounting function of a company. They own the close process, financial reporting, and internal controls, and manage the accounting team that keeps the numbers accurate and audit-ready.
63
Open roles today
$51–$125/hr
Typical pay range
$165k
Median, full-time
9
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Open controller roles
12 shown of 63 · sorted by freshness
OverviewCome join Payroll Tax Operations (PTO) as a payroll tax professional responsible for the accurate and timely resolution of payroll tax issues across Notices, Corrections, Amendments, and Pay & File. The Senior Pa…
water and treating wastewater responsibly to developing sustainable water supplies and protecting lives and property through flood control, your work will directly support public health, environmental sustainability, and…
$75k - $95k
combines strong nonprofit accounting skills with ownership of the financial system, ensuring that MAAC's financial data is accurate,... ...local agencies and management. Ensure that funds are budgeted, controlled, accoun…
candidate brings strong technical accounting expertise, sound judgment, and a process-minded approach to improving reporting and controls. Responsibilities:• Direct accounting for operating expenditures and cost of reven…
$70k - $76k
Maintains bank and credit card accounts and relationships with financial partners responding to inquiries and reviewing processing fees... ...ensures compliance with policies, procedures and operational controls, includi…
The role will partner with Accounting and IDS to confirm that financial data, configurations, interfaces, scheduled jobs, master data,... ...closes to validate period-end processes, dependencies, timing, controls, and fi…
conducts internal audits of IT systems with an emphasis on cybersecurity. The position executes testing primarily of cybersecurity controls in IT and operational technology audits, strengthening critical infrastructure c…
$55 per hour
proactive Senior Accounting Analyst for a contract role to spearhead financial data integrity, ensure seamless cutover readiness, and drive... ...stabilization. Draft and modernize process narratives and control document…
$90k - $100k
Kratos is seeking a Financial Reporting Accountant to join the Corporate team at their San Diego location. This position is a hybrid... ...reports while ensuring compliance with U.S. GAAP and SOX internal controls. The F…
$31.45 - $37.4 per hour
of moderately difficult to complex professional accounting and financial analysis in the preparation and maintenance of financial... ...local agencies and management; ensures that funds are budgeted, controlled, accounte…
$75k - $90k
for maintaining accurate accounting records, supporting timely financial close, and providing reliable financial and operational... ...property management company. The position works closely with the Controller and cross…
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What controllers earn in San Diego
Hourly first — that's how the offer arrives
| Experience | Hourly | Annual, full-time |
|---|---|---|
| Entry level | $51–$68 | $106k–$142k |
| Mid level | $68–$91 | $142k–$189k |
| Senior | $88–$125 | $183k–$260k |
Adjusted for the San Diego market from national ranges.
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What employers ask for
The skills these listings keep naming
GAAP and technical accountingFinancial reportingInternal controlsTeam managementMonth-end and year-end closeAudit managementERP systems (NetSuite, SAP)Cash flow managementProcess documentation
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Interview questions worth rehearsing
With the thing the interviewer is actually listening for
How have you improved a close process you inherited?
Give the before and after in days, and the specific changes: reconciliation cadence, checklist ownership, or automation. Show the team came along with the change.
Tell me about your experience managing an external audit.
Describe owning the PBC list, keeping schedules ready year-round, and how the audit concluded — ideally with no material adjustments and a shorter fieldwork period.
How do you design internal controls without slowing the business down?
Show risk-based thinking: strong controls where dollars and fraud risk concentrate, lighter touch elsewhere, and automation where judgment is not needed.
How do you develop and retain your accounting team?
Mention clear ownership of areas, cross-training to remove single points of failure, and giving seniors visible stretch work like audit or systems projects.
Describe a technical accounting issue you had to research and resolve.
Pick something real — revenue recognition, leases, capitalization — and walk through the guidance you applied and how you documented the position.
How do you work with FP&A and the CFO?
Frame the controller as the source of trustworthy actuals: clean, timely closes that let FP&A forecast and the CFO speak to the board with confidence.
Tell me about a time you found or prevented a material problem.
Show vigilance plus process: how the issue surfaced, how you contained and corrected it, and the control you added afterward.
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Resume tips that move the needle
For controllers specifically — generic advice costs you here
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Lead with the scope you controlled: revenue, entity count, team size, and audit firm relationships.
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Quantify close discipline, for example a consistent five-day close across a multi-entity consolidation.
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Name clean audit outcomes and any first-year audits or system implementations you led.
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Include CPA licensure prominently; most controller postings treat it as required.
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Show a systems story, such as migrating from QuickBooks to NetSuite, since controllers often own that transition.
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Where this role goes
Typical progression
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Senior Accountant
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Accounting Manager
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Assistant Controller
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Controller
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VP of Finance / CFO
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