Senior Product Costing Engineer

Blue Bird Corporation•Troy, MI

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Product Cost Engineer is responsible for developing and executing the product cost strategy for a next-generation commercial chassis platform from concept through production launch. This role owns engineering cost modeling, design-to-cost execution, value analysis/value engineering (VA/VE), design for manufacturing and assembly (DFM/DFA), and cost optimization across the complete vehicle. Working alongside Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Strategic Sourcing, this position ensures cost objectives are achieved without compromising safety, quality, reliability, manufacturability, or vehicle performance. This engineer will influence vehicle architecture, supplier selection, manufacturing processes, and engineering decisions by providing data-driven cost analyses, technical trade studies, and design recommendations throughout the product lifecycle. This is a high-impact role for an experienced engineer who thrives in ambiguity, challenges conventional thinking, and wants meaningful ownership over one of the primary drivers of program profitability and launch success.

Requirements

Strong understanding of automotive or commercial vehicle product cost development and cost engineering methodologies
Experience leading Design-to-Cost, VA/VE, DFM, and DFA initiatives
Ability to evaluate engineering trade-offs involving cost, performance, quality, manufacturability, serviceability, and durability
Experience developing component, subsystem, and vehicle-level cost models
Strong understanding of manufacturing processes including fabrication, machining, casting, molding, welding, stamping, assembly, and automation
Experience supporting supplier sourcing, quoting, should-cost analysis, and cost negotiations
Strong analytical, financial, and engineering problem-solving capability
Ability to influence technical decisions across engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and supplier organizations without direct authority
Strong communication, presentation, and decision-making skills
Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, or related engineering discipline
7+ years of experience in product cost engineering, manufacturing engineering, product development, value engineering, or commercial vehicle engineering
All candidates must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Candidates must be authorized to work in the United States and will be required to provide proof of employment eligibility at the time of hire.

Nice To Haves

Demonstrated experience developing product cost strategies from concept through production launch
Experience leading VA/VE, Design-to-Cost, DFM, and DFA activities on production vehicle programs
Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Strategic Sourcing, Finance, and suppliers
Experience supporting supplier technical reviews, should-cost analysis, or cost optimization initiatives
Experience with commercial vehicles, body-on-chassis platforms, vocational vehicles, or heavy-duty vehicle programs
Experience supporting clean-sheet vehicle development or major platform redesign programs
Experience with supplier cost modeling, manufacturing cost analysis, and competitive benchmarking
Experience supporting sourcing strategy, supplier negotiations, and industrialization activities
Experience applying Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) methodologies
Master's degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Industrial Engineering, or Business Administration
Experience supporting accelerated product launches in low-process or rapidly evolving engineering organizations

Responsibilities

Own product cost development, tracking, and optimization across the complete commercial chassis platform from concept through production launch.
Establish and drive design-to-cost objectives by partnering with engineering teams to balance cost, performance, quality, manufacturability, durability, and customer requirements.
Lead VA/VE activities to identify cost reduction opportunities through design optimization, material selection, process improvements, supplier innovation, and product simplification.
Drive DFM/DFA principles throughout product development to improve manufacturability, reduce assembly complexity, minimize labor content, and improve production efficiency.
Develop detailed component, subsystem, and vehicle-level cost models to support architecture decisions, supplier sourcing strategies, make-versus-buy analyses, and engineering trade-offs.
Partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Development, Quality, Finance, and Program Management to ensure technical decisions support program cost objectives.
Work directly with suppliers to evaluate technical proposals, identify cost reduction opportunities, benchmark competitive solutions, and support commercial negotiations through engineering analysis.
Evaluate engineering changes for piece cost, tooling investment, manufacturing impact, lifecycle cost, warranty exposure, and overall business case.
Support prototype builds, manufacturing launch, and early production by identifying cost optimization opportunities while maintaining production readiness and launch timing.
Establish ongoing cost reduction roadmaps throughout product development and production while maintaining product performance, quality, and customer expectations.
Create structure and drive execution where product definitions, supplier strategies, manufacturing processes, and cost targets continue to evolve.
Manage calibration revisions, software releases, configuration control, and production-ready datasets supporting prototype, validation, manufacturing, and production programs.
Ensure vehicle control strategies meet emissions, safety, diagnostics, cybersecurity, and applicable commercial vehicle regulatory requirements.
Support prototype builds, validation testing, manufacturing launch, and early production by rapidly resolving controls-related issues and optimizing vehicle performance.
Create structure and drive execution in environments where vehicle architectures, software, propulsion technologies, and performance requirements evolve simultaneously.