Value Optimization Engineer

SEGULA Technologies; Auburn Hills (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

SEGULA Technologies in Auburn Hills, MI, is seeking a VA/VE Lead to identify cost and mass reduction opportunities across vehicle systems while maintaining performance, durability, safety, and regulatory compliance.

You will lead cross-functional workshops, develop robust business cases, coordinate design changes, and track savings from ideation to realization. The ideal candidate has a mechanical/auto engineering degree and hands-on value engineering experience.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Automotive, Manufacturing or related engineering field.
• Experience in value engineering, product cost optimization, or competitive benchmarking.
• Strong analytical and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead VA/VE activities across automotive domains.
• Benchmark designs, materials, features, and supplier solutions.
• Identify cost, weight, and complexity reduction opportunities with technical rationale.
• Facilitate cross-functional workshops with Engineering, Purchasing, Finance, Manufacturing, Quality, CAE, Validation, and Tier-1 suppliers.
• Assess design changes against performance, fatigue, NVH, safety, and warranty requirements.
• Build robust business cases detailing cost, tooling, investment, validation, timing, and savings.
• Coordinate feasibility studies, design changes, inputs, and validation plans.
• Track opportunity pipeline from ideation through approval and realized savings.
• Support should-cost modeling, DtV reviews, and lessons-learned documentation.
• Present recommendations and risk mitigation to program leadership.

Skills

VA/VE leadership

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Presentation & communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Tools

NX

Teamcenter

PLM environments

cost databases

Job description

Position Summary

Identify and implement cost and mass optimization opportunities across vehicle systems while maintaining vehicle performance, durability, safety, manufacturability, regulatory compliance, and customer experience.

Key Responsibilities

• VA/VE Leadership: Lead value-analysis and value-engineering (VA/VE) activities across major automotive domains.
• Competitive Benchmarking: Benchmark competitor designs, materials, features, specifications, manufacturing processes, and supplier solutions.
• Opportunity Identification: Develop fact-based cost, weight, complexity, and commonization opportunities supported by clear technical rationale.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Facilitate structured workshops with Engineering, Purchasing, Finance, Manufacturing, Quality, CAE, Validation, and Tier-1 suppliers.
• Engineering Assessment: Assess proposed design changes against performance, fatigue, NVH, corrosion, safety, homologation, serviceability, and warranty requirements.
• Business Case Development: Build robust business cases detailing piece cost, tooling, capital investment, validation, timing, implementation risk, and annualized net savings.
• Execution & Coordination: Coordinate feasibility studies, design changes, sourcing inputs, validation plans, and engineering implementation schedules.
• Pipeline Tracking: Track the opportunity pipeline from ideation through approval, validation, engineering release, and realized savings.
• Technical Reviews: Support teardown analysis, should-cost modeling, design-to-value (DtV) reviews, and lessons-learned documentation.
• Executive Communication: Present design recommendations, trade-offs, risk mitigation strategies, and decision requirements to program leadership.

Key Deliverables & Success Measures

• Validated cost and mass reduction opportunities
• Approved cross-functional business cases
• Clear, no-regret technical trade-off decisions
• On-time engineering release and implementationRealized financial savings while protecting vehicle quality and performance
• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical, Automotive, Manufacturing, or a related engineering discipline.
• Technical Depth: Strong understanding of vehicle components, vehicle attributes, automotive materials, manufacturing processes, and design validation methodologies.
• Relevant Experience: Practical background in value engineering, product cost optimization, design release, purchasing engineering, or competitive benchmarking.
• Analytical Skills: Ability to interpret engineering drawings, GD&T, specifications, test data, and supplier manufacturing assumptions.
• Business Acumen: Proficiency in structured problem-solving, financial business case development, and cross-functional workshop facilitation.
• Communication: Exceptional presentation, negotiation, and stakeholder-management skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with teardown costing, should-cost tools, VA/VE workshops, or supplier technical cost reduction initiatives.
• Familiarity with NX, Teamcenter, PLM environments, cost databases, or lightweighting techniques.
• Vehicle launch experience along with a solid understanding of APQP/PPAP processes and engineering change control systems.

Core Competencies

• Technical Ownership & Accountability
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Structured Problem-Solving
• Quality Mindset & Customer Focus
• Clear Technical & Executive Communication

SEGULA Technologies

SEGULA Technologies is a global engineering group, boosting the competitiveness of all major industrial sectors: automotive, aerospace, energy, rail, naval, life sciences, and telecoms. With a presence in more than 30 countries and 140 locations worldwide, the Group prioritizes close relationships with its clients, driven by the expertise of its 15,000 employees. As a leading engineering player putting innovation at the heart of its strategy, SEGULA Technologies manages large-scale projects, ranging from initial studies to industrialization and production. SEGULA TECHNOLOGIES is dedicated to gender balance and diversity, recognizing and recruiting talent of all backgrounds.