Cost Engineer

Aston Carter•Costa Mesa, CA

1d•$75 - $85•Onsite

About The Position

The Cost Engineer will develop lifecycle cost models and help define the long-term affordability, supportability, and sustainment strategy for advanced vehicle systems. The role works with engineering, operations, logistics, and customer teams to inform engineering decisions, improve readiness, and support cost-efficient product lifecycles. Responsibilities span lifecycle cost estimation, sustainment and product support planning, engineering trade studies, and data-driven analysis. The position develops operating and support (O&S) estimates, evaluates affordability and cost drivers, creates sustainment plans and support strategies, and provides analyses for customer deliverables, executive reviews, and program assessments. It is a contract position based fully onsite in Costa Mesa, California.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Logistics, Economics, Finance, or a related discipline.
At least 4 years of experience in sustainment engineering, product support, systems engineering, or a related field.
Experience developing lifecycle cost (LCC) or operating and support (O&S) cost models.
Working knowledge of sustainment methodologies, including Maintenance Task Analysis (MTA), Level of Repair Analysis (LORA), Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM), and Contractor Logistics Support (CLS).
Understanding of Integrated Product Support (IPS) elements and sustainment planning principles.
Familiarity with military standards and regulatory requirements related to product support and logistics.
Strong analytical, written, and verbal communication skills.
Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced environment with evolving priorities.
Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting DoD programs and Integrated Product Support initiatives.
Knowledge of provisioning analysis, sparing optimization, and sustainment planning.
Background in naval, maritime, or defense sustainment environments.
Experience with Performance-Based Logistics (PBL) or sustainment contracting models.
Proficiency with cost modeling tools, data analytics platforms, or scripting and automation solutions.
Experience with Siemens NX, Teamcenter, ERP systems, or similar engineering platforms.
Familiarity with Technical Data Packages (TDPs), engineering drawings, and system schematics.
Experience supporting complex military systems, autonomous platforms, robotics, or unmanned systems.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain lifecycle cost models for vehicle fleets and supporting systems.
Generate operating and support (O&S) cost estimates and refine projections as product designs mature.
Conduct affordability assessments and provide cost insights at program milestones and decision gates.
Perform sensitivity analyses to identify cost drivers, risks, and optimization opportunities.
Perform product support analyses covering provisioning, manpower, facilities, support equipment, and logistics.
Develop sustainment plans that support mission readiness and long-term operational success.
Create spares, provisioning, and support strategies with Reliability, Availability & Maintainability (RAM) and Maintenance teams.
Define product support architectures and Integrated Product Support (IPS) strategies.
Lead sustainment cost trade studies and recommend product design and maintenance concepts.
Collaborate with engineering teams to integrate design-for-supportability principles throughout product development.
Partner with customers, operations, and technical teams to improve maintenance, repair, and sustainment approaches.
Establish cost modeling methodologies and sustainment data repositories.
Develop data pipelines that convert reliability, maintenance, and operational data into cost forecasts.
Maintain Service Bills of Materials (SBOMs) and other sustainment artifacts.
Deliver supportability and affordability analyses for customer deliverables, executive reviews, and program assessments.