PERL Senior Cost and Value Engineer

Job Description

About the Role

As a Senior Cost & Value Engineer in Kearney’s PERL Europe practice, you will help clients achieve step-change improvements in product cost, value, and sustainability. You’ll lead cost optimization projects, run hands-on workshops, and build data-driven models across technologies from castings to electronics. Collaborating with our Center of Excellence in India and European teams, you’ll drive cost transparency, enhance design-to-value performance, and embed sustainable engineering practices.

Working alongside a dedicated and diverse set of people, you will broaden your knowledge and experience in an open, agile, and collaborative environment. With the freedom to be yourself and recognition for what you bring to the table, you can put your purpose into action and help build a future that works for everyone, everywhere—as a Kearney Original.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, analyze, and optimize should-cost models and benchmarking analyses across key manufacturing technologies (machining, casting, plastics, sheet metal, electronics, assemblies), and products in Automotive, Rail, Aerospace, Automation, and Consumer products.  
• Conduct Value Engineering / Value Analysis (VE/VA) workshops to identify cost reduction and value enhancement opportunities.
• Lead design-to-cost (DtC), design-for-value (DfV), and design-for-manufacturability (DfM) assessments during product development.
• Evaluate total cost of ownership (TCO), life-cycle cost, and cost risk to support strategic decision-making.
• Collaborate closely with client functions — engineering, procurement, supply chain, R&D, manufacturing, and quality — to ensure technical feasibility and business alignment.
• Present insights, business cases, and cost-out roadmaps to senior management and client leadership teams.
• Act as a technical interface with Kearney’s Center of Excellence in India, sharing methodologies, models, and knowledge to strengthen global capability.

Who You Are

At Kearney’s PERL practice, we value curiosity, courage, and craftsmanship. We’re looking for an engineer who is both analytically sharp and hands-on pragmatic, someone who can move seamlessly between data models, shop floors, and boardrooms.

We want to hear from you if you are:

• A seasoned professional with 15+ years of experience in cost engineering, value engineering, or product cost optimization, ideally in automotive, mechanical, or automation industries.
• Skilled across multiple technologies (casting, plastics, electronics, sheet metal, welded assemblies, etc.).
• Experienced with should-costing tools, supplier cost models, and cost databases.
• Known for your ability to identify cost drivers and challenge design and sourcing assumptions.
• Degree-qualified in Mechanical, Electrical, or Industrial Engineering (Bachelor’s or Master’s level).
• Fluent in English; German is a strong advantage.
• An excellent communicator — confident presenting to both technical and business audiences.
• Willing to travel across Europe to work closely with clients and suppliers.

Additional qualifications include familiarity with ERP systems and cost databases, professional certification in cost engineering or value management, and hands-on experience in sustainability and life-cycle cost assessments, including carbon impact and resource efficiency. Experience working across multiple sites and in cross-cultural project environments is also highly valued.

Working conditions

• Hybrid work setup (office/remote) with regular client-site travel.
• Multi-project environment with fast-paced delivery cycles aligned with client product development timelines.
• Occasional extended hours during RFQs, workshops, or proposal deadlines.

What You’ll Gain

You’ll join a high-performing community of engineers, consultants, and industry specialists who work at the intersection of technology, cost, and strategy. You’ll learn from peers across Europe and our global network, gain exposure to leading OEMs and tier suppliers, and shape how world-class organizations design and manufacture products competitively and sustainably.

Kearney offers:

• Competitive compensation and performance-linked rewards.
• Comprehensive health and retirement benefits.
• Structured learning and development, including global capability-building programs.
• Flexibility to grow your career across consulting, technical advisory, or client leadership paths.

Apply now! 

Equal employment opportunity and non-discrimination 
Kearney prides itself on providing a culture where our employees belong and thrive equally, which means our people feel comfort, confidence, and joy as they do great things for our firm, our colleagues, and our clients. That’s why Kearney is committed to building a diverse workforce and inclusive environment. Kearney is an equal opportunity employer; we recruit, hire, train, promote, develop, and provide other conditions of employment without regard to a person’s gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, religion, age, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy status, veteran status, genetic information, or any other differences consistent with applicable laws. This includes providing reasonable accommodation for disabilities or religious beliefs and practices. We encourage everyone to apply, including those who may not feel historically represented in consulting.