Strategic Cost Engineering Program Manager

KION Group; Grand Rapids (MI); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 137,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career Development

Competitive Compensation and Benefits

Pay Transparency

Global Opportunities

Job summary

Dematic is seeking a Program Manager, Cost Engineering to lead and drive cost optimization initiatives for the Modular Conveyor Systems portfolio. The role focuses on developing and executing strategic cost reduction programs delivering year-over-year improvements and financial savings across the MCS segment.

The position requires strong cross-functional collaboration, disciplined execution, and executive-level communication, with hybrid work at the Grand Rapids, MI office and up to 20% travel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering or similar field; equivalent experience may be substituted.
• PMP certification or equivalent project management experience.
• Minimum 8 years of relevant experience in project management, value engineering, cost optimization, or related functions.
• Willingness to travel up to 20% and collaborate across regions.

Responsibilities

• Lead Cost Engineering programs to achieve annual cost reduction targets.
• Deliver sustainable year-over-year cost savings and productivity improvements for the MCS portfolio.
• Create, maintain, and own the Variable Cost Productivity (VCP) scorecard with executive updates.
• Build and expand the Cost Engineering project pipeline for future savings objectives.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to execute prioritized cost reduction projects.
• Establish governance for project identification, execution, savings validation, and reporting.
• Facilitate ideation workshops to identify value engineering opportunities.
• Collaborate globally with Sales, Engineering, PM, Marketing, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Operations.
• Develop business cases and ROI analyses to support investment decisions.
• Monitor project performance and savings realization to meet objectives.

Skills

Cost optimization

Project management

Value engineering

Cross-functional leadership

Data visualization

Dashboard development

ROI analysis

Stakeholder management

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering

PMP certification

Tools

Microsoft Office

Data visualization tools

Job description

Dematic is seeking a Program Manager, Cost Engineering to lead and drive cost optimization initiatives for the Modular Conveyor Systems portfolio. The role focuses on developing and executing strategic cost reduction programs delivering year-over-year improvements and financial savings across the MCS segment.

The position requires strong cross-functional collaboration, disciplined execution, and executive-level communication, with hybrid work at the Grand Rapids, MI office and up to 20% travel.