Senior Electronics Cost Estimator

Flex N Gate•Warren, MI

14h

About The Position

The Electronics Cost Estimating Engineer supports new-business RFQs, engineering changes, and active programs by translating customer requirements into practical, cost-conscious electronics solutions and estimates. The role reviews customer Statements of Work (SOWs), specifications, drawings, and related technical information; collaborates with Electrical/Electronics and Systems Engineers to define designs that meet customer requirements; and develops costed electronic Bills of Materials (eBOMs) and supporting estimates. This position is suited to an electrical or electronics engineer with hands-on design experience and an interest in understanding how designs work, what drives their cost, and how they can be simplified or optimized. Dedicated cost-estimating experience is helpful but not required. The engineer may support several estimates at once and uses engineering tools, supplier information, internal cost data, and approved AI tools to research requirements, compare design options, and prepare timely, consistent estimates. The role also supports cost-conscious design, program cost updates, reverse engineering and benchmarking, and coordination with Purchasing, suppliers, PCBA manufacturing, and global engineering teams. Approved AI tools may be used for research and workflow support, with outputs reviewed and validated before inclusion in official estimates or engineering deliverables.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, or a closely related engineering field.
Approximately 3–5 years of relevant electrical/electronics design engineering experience.
Working knowledge of electronic circuit design, schematics, component selection, and eBOMs.
Ability to read customer SOWs and technical requirements and understand their effects on electronics design.
Ability to evaluate whether a proposed design meets stated customer requirements and recognize when clarification is needed.
Basic understanding of electronic component, PCB, and PCBA cost drivers, or the ability and interest to develop this knowledge.
Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills, including the ability to work on multiple estimates or projects at the same time.
Effective written and verbal communication skills and ability to collaborate with Engineering, Purchasing, suppliers, and Manufacturing.
Comfort working with spreadsheets and engineering data to organize cost information and compare design alternatives.

Nice To Haves

Automotive electronics, lighting electronics, or other high-volume electronic product design experience.
Experience with Altium Designer or similar schematic/eBOM tools.
Exposure to electronics cost estimating, value engineering, cost reduction, or supplier component pricing.
Experience with reverse engineering, teardown analysis, or competitive benchmarking.
Familiarity with PCB/PCBA manufacturing processes and cost drivers.
Familiarity with automotive development processes such as ASPICE or structured requirements traceability.
Experience using AI-assisted research, engineering, or productivity tools.

Responsibilities

Review customer RFQ packages, SOWs, specifications, drawings, and other technical documents to identify electronics requirements that affect design and cost estimates.
Work with Electrical/Electronics and Systems Engineers to ensure proposed designs address applicable customer requirements.
Identify missing, unclear, or conflicting requirements and help develop questions or assumptions needed to complete estimates.
Support RFQ meetings and technical reviews by summarizing electronics requirements, assumptions, and cost impacts.
Work with engineers to develop or review preliminary electronic architectures, schematics, and eBOMs for quotations and design studies.
Develop costed eBOMs using supplier quotations, Purchasing pricing, internal cost information, distributor pricing, and reasonable volume assumptions.
Compare design alternatives and identify cost drivers related to components, PCB construction, assembly, testing, programming, and other PCBA manufacturing content.
Use schematic-capture and engineering tools to review or develop quote-level designs.
Document assumptions and pricing sources so estimates can be updated as requirements, designs, or commercial inputs change.
Prepare internal electronics cost-estimate summaries and communicate key changes, risks, and opportunities to the project team.
Apply cost-conscious design principles when evaluating component selections, circuit approaches, PCB size and construction, and overall electronics architecture.
Support cost walks between design revisions and explain technical reasons for cost increases or decreases.
Recommend practical cost-reduction opportunities that continue to meet customer requirements, product performance, quality, and manufacturing needs.
Support awarded programs by updating eBOM costs as designs mature and helping maintain visibility into electronics costs.
Support teardown and reverse-engineering activities for benchmark, competitor, customer, or existing production electronics.
Identify major components, circuit functions, PCB construction, and design approaches sufficiently to develop reasonable cost estimates or reconstructed eBOMs.
Compare benchmark designs with internal designs to identify lessons learned, lower-cost approaches, component alternatives, and opportunities to simplify future designs.
Share teardown findings and optimization ideas with the broader engineering team.
Work with Purchasing and electronics suppliers to obtain component pricing, identify alternatives, and understand new products or cost opportunities.
Help maintain current component-cost information in approved engineering tools and databases.
Coordinate with PCBA manufacturing and global engineering teams as needed to align engineering estimates with manufacturing quotation inputs.
Build working knowledge of semiconductor, LED, passive-component, connector, and PCB/PCBA suppliers relevant to product designs.
Use approved AI tools, when appropriate, for technical research, RFQ/SOW review, requirements organization, component research, eBOM comparisons, cost-delta analysis, and preparation of engineering summaries.
Use AI and other productivity tools to manage concurrent estimates while maintaining traceability and engineering accuracy.
Review and validate AI-assisted outputs before using them in official estimates or engineering deliverables.