Tooling Cost Engineer

Objective of the Position

Supports BUAM Procurement by providing dedicated tooling cost engineering expertise for component tooling. This position strengthens Procurement’s ability to challenge supplier tooling quotations, develop internal tooling cost benchmarks, support fact-based supplier negotiations, and provide reliable tooling cost input for acquisitions, business cases, customer quotations, engineering changes, and post-nomination claims.

This role serves as a technical-commercial expert within Procurement, providing independent tooling cost assessments and translating technical findings into commercial recommendations for Commodity Management, Program Controlling, Sales, Product Engineering, and Program Management.

Essential Responsibilities

• Develop independent tooling cost estimates and benchmarks for component tooling prior to supplier RFQ, supplier nomination, and major post-nomination changes.
• Review, analyze, and challenge supplier tooling quotations from a technical and commercial perspective.
• Develop tooling cost benchmarks utilizing supplier quotations, historical programs, market data, comparable tooling projects, and regional cost structures.
• Analyze supplier tooling cost breakdowns to identify cost drivers, missing transparency, unsupported assumptions, and deviations from market benchmarks.
• Support Commodity Managers with fact-based negotiation arguments, cost analysis, and technical-commercial explanations.
• Provide tooling cost input to Program Controlling and Sales/ASC for business case calculations, customer quotations, acquisition assumptions, and claim support.
• Assess tooling cost impact resulting from engineering changes, capacity changes, localization activities, tool modifications, and replacement tooling requirements.
• Partner with Product Engineering during early design phases to identify tooling cost impacts, design complexity, manufacturability risks, and optimization opportunities.
• Develop and continuously improve tooling cost calculation templates, benchmark databases, cost driver logic, and reporting standards.
• Evaluate opportunities for digitalization and AI-supported tooling cost calculation methods.
• Maintain cross-functional collaboration with Procurement, Engineering, Sales, Program Management, Controlling, and supplier partners.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or comparable technical qualification.
• Experience in manufacturing engineering, toolmaking, tooling cost calculation, cost engineering, purchasing controlling, or supplier quotation analysis.
• Strong technical understanding of component tooling, manufacturing processes, drawings, material specifications, and tooling cost drivers.
• Experience with automotive manufacturing, preferably within a Tier-1, Tier-2, tooling manufacturer, cost engineering, manufacturing engineering, or procurement environment.
• Knowledge of cold forming processes preferred, including stamping, deep drawing, roll forming, fine blanking, and related tooling concepts.
• Ability to evaluate tool complexity, tool design logic, material requirements, manufacturing steps, try-out efforts, and cost drivers.
• Experience with cost modeling, cost estimation, supplier quote analysis, or product costing preferred.
• Strong procurement, negotiation support, and commercial cost analysis skills preferred.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, especially Excel.
• Experience with digital cost calculation tools, benchmark systems, databases, or AI-supported calculation methods preferred.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as needed.

Required Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret technical and commercial data.
• Ability to communicate technical findings into clear business recommendations.
• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to work across Procurement, Engineering, Sales, Controlling, and Program Management.
• Ability to constructively challenge supplier calculations and internal assumptions.
• Strong business acumen with an understanding of the commercial impact of tooling cost decisions.
• Self-driven with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a matrix organization.