Electronics Cost Estimating Engineer
Electrical / Electronics Engineering | Design-to-Cost | RFQ Support
Department
Electronics Engineering
Experience
3-5 years preferred
Reports To
Cost Estimating Management
Role Level
Mid- to Senior-Level Engineer
Position Summary
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 cost estimates. This role reviews customer Statements of Work (SOWs), specifications, and related technical information; works with Electrical/Electronics and Systems Engineers to define designs that meet customer requirements; and develops costed electronic Bills of Materials (eBOMs) and supporting cost estimates.
This position is well suited for an electrical or electronics engineer with hands-on design experience who enjoys understanding how a design works, what drives its cost, and how it can be simplified or optimized. Prior dedicated cost-estimating experience is helpful but is not required; a strong engineering foundation, cost-conscious mindset, and willingness to learn are more important.
The engineer will often support several estimates at the same time and is expected to use available engineering tools, supplier information, internal cost data, and approved AI tools to research requirements, compare design options, and prepare timely, consistent estimates.
Key Responsibilities
RFQ and Customer Requirement Review
Review customer RFQ packages, SOWs, specifications, drawings, and other technical documents to identify the electronics requirements that affect the design and cost estimate.
Work with Electrical/Electronics and Systems Engineers to make sure proposed designs address the applicable customer requirements.
Identify missing, unclear, or conflicting requirements and help the team develop questions or assumptions needed to complete the estimate.
Support RFQ meetings and technical reviews by summarizing key electronics requirements, assumptions, and cost impacts.
Electronics Design and Cost Estimating
Work with engineers to develop or review preliminary electronic architectures, schematics, and eBOMs for quotation 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 the major cost drivers associated with components, PCB construction, assembly, testing, programming, and other PCBA manufacturing content.
Use schematic capture and engineering tools to review or develop quote-level designs. Experience with Altium Designer is preferred, but experience with other schematic tools is applicable.
Maintain clear 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.
Cost-Conscious Design and Program Support
Apply a cost-conscious design mindset when evaluating component selections, circuit approaches, PCB size/construction, and overall electronics architecture.
Support cost walks between design revisions and help explain the 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 by helping the team maintain visibility to electronics cost.
Reverse Engineering and Benchmarking
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 a reasonable cost estimate or reconstructed eBOM.
Compare benchmark designs with internal designs to identify useful lessons learned, lower-cost approaches, component alternatives, or opportunities to simplify future designs.
Share relevant teardown findings and optimization ideas with the broader engineering team.
Supplier, Purchasing, and Manufacturing Coordination
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 the 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 common semiconductor, LED, passive-component, connector, and PCB/PCBA suppliers relevant to the product designs.
AI-Assisted Engineering and Workflow Efficiency
Use approved AI tools, when appropriate, to assist with 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 help manage multiple cost estimates concurrently while maintaining traceability and engineering accuracy.
Review and validate AI-assisted outputs before using them in official estimates or engineering deliverables.
Required Qualifications
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 how they affect an electronics design.
Ability to evaluate whether a proposed design meets stated customer requirements and to 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 with the ability to work on multiple estimates or projects at the same time.
Effective written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively with Engineering, Purchasing, suppliers, and Manufacturing.
Comfort working with spreadsheets and engineering data to organize cost information and compare design alternatives.
Preferred Qualifications
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.
Key Skills and Attributes
Cost-conscious engineeringDesign-to-cost thinkingRequirements understanding
Schematic & eBOM reviewAnalytical problem solvingTechnical research
Cross-functional teamworkClear communicationManaging concurrent work
What Success Looks Like
Customer requirements are understood and reflected in the proposed electronics design and estimate.
Cost estimates are timely, well documented, and updated as requirements or designs change.
The engineer identifies meaningful cost drivers and practical opportunities to simplify or reduce cost.
Engineering, Purchasing, and Manufacturing teams have clear and consistent cost information for RFQs and active programs.
Benchmarking, supplier research, and AI-assisted analysis are used to improve the speed and quality of future estimates.