Senior Cost & Value Engineer

About the role

Our client is seeking a Senior Cost & Value Engineer to drive cost competitiveness and value creation across the product lifecycle. This role requires deep expertise in cost engineering, strong technical understanding of electromechanical systems, and cross-functional leadership to establish structured cost management processes.

This is a consulting assignment through Academic Work, initially for a period of 6 months. For the right person, there are opportunities for long-term employment.

You are offered

Join a global working environment with cross-cultural collaboration, where you will significantly contribute to industrial scalability and margin improvement. This role offers the opportunity to establish transparent product cost structures and drive measurable cost reductions.

Work tasks

This role will be instrumental in establishing structured cost management processes across the product lifecycle, from concept phase through industrialization and supplier execution, combining deep expertise in cost engineering with a strong technical understanding of electromechanical systems.

• Develop and maintain comprehensive product cost breakdown structures (CBS).
• Lead target cost generation and tracking, defining cost roadmaps aligned with product strategy.
• Drive Design-to-Cost (DTC) and Design-for-Manufacturing (DFM) initiatives.
• Conduct detailed should-cost analysis for electronics assemblies, tooling, and mechanical parts.
• Act as a key technical-commercial interface to suppliers, supporting negotiations with fact-based cost transparency.
• Develop robust costing models for various manufacturing tools and automation equipment.
• Collaborate closely with Engineering, Purchasing, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure cost governance.

We are looking for

• Degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial Engineering) or comparable.
• Advanced knowledge in cost engineering and value engineering (8+ years).
• Advanced knowledge in industrial product development.
• Strong understanding of electromechanical assemblies and electronics (PCBA, components, EMS structures).
• Strong understanding of tooling and automation costing.
• Experience in scaling production volumes (industrial ramp-up).
• Advanced knowledge in target costing methodologies and should-cost modeling.
• Advanced knowledge in cost breakdown structures (CBS) and value analysis / value engineering (VA/VE).

It is meritorious if you have

• Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems.
• Good financial literacy (margin structures, ROI, NPV, CapEx evaluation).
• Experience in global supplier environments with international exposure.

To succeed in the role, your personal skills are:

We are seeking an entrepreneurial and proactive self-starter who thrives in an evolving organization. You are a strong communicator capable of bridging the gap between technical and commercial teams, and you feel confident navigating supplier negotiations within cross-cultural environments.

You approach challenges with an agile, solution-oriented mindset, supported by a structured and data-driven analytical approach. Beyond your core responsibilities, you are someone who naturally takes ownership and is willing to step outside formal job boundaries to drive results.

Our recruitment process

This recruitment process is handled by Academic Work and it is our client’s wish that all questions regarding the position is directed to Academic Work.

Our selection process is continuous and the advert may close before the recruitment process is completed if we have moved forward to the next phase. The process includes two tests: one personality test and one cognitive test. The tests are tools to find the right talent for the right position, to enable equality, diversity, and a fair process.