Senior Cost Engineer - Power & Electrical Systems

McKinsey & Company; Wrocław; On-site; PLN 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

McKinsey & Company in Wroclaw seeks a knowledge consultant specializing in product development and cost engineering. You will work on projects to improve cost performance, value engineering, and target costing across diverse sectors, applying electrical and mechanical expertise.

You will develop opportunities by analyzing products, collaborating with clients and teams, and contributing to internal methodologies in cost engineering and procurement. Strong English communication is essential.

Qualifications

• Master's degree in electrical engineering, power engineering, or related field.
• 5+ years of professional experience with electrical/power systems engineering.
• Experience in cost engineering, project engineering, or related roles.
• Ability to identify CAPEX optimization opportunities across design, sourcing, installation interfaces.
• Understanding of power cables, switchgear, transformers, rectifiers, and related manufacturing processes.
• Knowledge of cable installation methods (underground, overhead, inside-building).
• Strong analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills.
• Ability to collaborate across teams and communicate with all levels of an organization.
• Familiarity with procurement discussions or installation cost analysis.
• Basic knowledge of industrial automation and control systems (e.g., PLCs, SINUMERIK).
• Willingness to travel and strong business acumen.
• Fluency in English, both written and spoken.

Responsibilities

• Develop concrete product and cost improvement opportunities within value engineering and target costing work.
• Support teams and clients by turning technical insights into practical actions.
• Analyze, disassemble, and redesign products to identify cost improvement levers.
• Contribute to internal knowledge, tools, and methodologies in cost engineering and product development.
• Collaborate with clients across multiple sectors including energy, heavy industry, and high-tech.

Skills

Electrical engineering

Power engineering

Analytical thinking

Quantitative problem solving

Team collaboration

Communication in English

CAPEX optimization

Project engineering

Industrial automation basics

Willingness to travel

Education

Master's degree in electrical engineering or related

Tools

Siemens SINUMERIK

Job description

Who You'll Work With Driving lasting impact and building long-term capabilities with our clients is not easy work. You are the kind of person who thrives in a high performance/high reward culture - doing hard things, picking yourself up when you stumble, and having the resilience to try another way forward.

In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we'll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities you need to become a stronger leader faster than you ever thought possible. Your colleagues—at all levels—will invest deeply in your development, just as much as they invest in delivering exceptional results for clients. Every day, you'll receive apprenticeship, coaching, and exposure that will accelerate your growth in ways you won’t find anywhere else.

Your Impact

You will act as a knowledge consultant in product development and cost engineering-related projects.

You will be based in our Wroclaw office as part of McKinsey’s Product Development and Procurement team. Your team helps clients improve product competitiveness, cost performance, and implementation outcomes through product development, value engineering, target costing, and Design-to-Value work. Your team serves clients across several sectors, including electric power, oil and gas, heavy industries, high-tech, telecom, and other engineering-intensive industries.

Your role is for your strong power and electrical engineering understanding, combined with enough mechanical and installation knowledge to work effectively across equipment, systems, and project environments. You will be working at the intersection of electrical systems, installed equipment, and cost optimization.

In this role, you will develop concrete product and cost improvement opportunities within our value engineering and target costing work. You will support teams and clients in turning technical insights into practical actions, and you will work in our Design-to-Value laboratories by analyzing, disassembling, and redesigning products and equipment to identify improvement levers in cost, design, manufacturability, and installation.

Alongside client work, you will contribute to our internal knowledge, tools, and methodologies in cost engineering, technical benchmarking, and product development.

Your Qualifications and Skills

• Master\'s degree in electrical engineering, power engineering, or a related engineering discipline; a strong mix of electrical and mechanical understanding are also preferred
• 5+ years of professional experience with electrical and/or power systems engineering
• Experience in cost engineering, project engineering, electrical engineering, or related roles
• Ability to identify CAPEX optimization opportunities across design, specification, sourcing, installation, and construction interfaces
• Understanding technical systems and components such as power cables, switchgear, transformers, rectifiers, and associated subcomponents and related manufacturing processes
• Understanding cable installation methods, including underground, overhead, and inside-building applications
• Strong analytical and quantitative problem-solving skills
• Ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and effectively with people at all levels of an organization
• Familiarity with procurement, supplier discussions, or installation cost analysis
• Basic knowledge of industrial automation and control systems, such as Programmable Logic Controllers or Computer Numerical Control environments including Siemens SINUMERIK
• Strong business acumen and willingness to travel
• Language fluency skills to communicate complex ideas effectively, both verbally and in writing, in English