What are the responsibilities and job description for the Manager, Cost Engineering position at Jakks Pacific Inc?
JAKKS Pacific, Inc., a leading designer and marketer of toys and consumer products, with a wide range of products that feature some of the most popular brands and children's toy licenses in the world, currently seeks an experienced, energetic, self-starter for the role of Cost Engineering Manager for our headquarters in Santa Monica, CA.
Responsibilities include:
- Lead cost engineering activities from concept through production, ensuring products achieve target cost, margin, and profitability objectives while supporting design innovation and product quality.
- Partner with Product Design, Engineering, Sourcing, Purchasing, and Asia teams to provide strategic cost guidance during concept development and throughout the product development lifecycle.
- Develop, review, and approve product cost estimates, cost models, and cost validations to support business decisions, pricing strategies, and financial planning.
- Lead value engineering initiatives by identifying opportunities to optimize product design, material selection, manufacturing processes, tooling, and assembly methods without compromising product performance or quality.
- Review and negotiate factory quotations, cost breakdowns, and manufacturing assumptions to ensure competitive pricing and cost transparency.
- Drive cross-functional cost reduction initiatives by evaluating alternative materials, components, manufacturing technologies, and supplier capabilities when target costs are not achieved.
- Establish and maintain cost estimation methodologies, historical cost databases, benchmarking tools, and reporting systems to improve forecasting accuracy and support future product development.
- Oversee tooling cost estimation, validation, and budget management to ensure tooling investments are optimized and projects remain within approved budgets.
- Monitor product cost performance throughout development and production, proactively identifying risks, cost variances, and opportunities for continuous improvement.
- Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and global manufacturing partners to drive collaboration, accountability, and timely execution of cost objectives.
Skills & Experience required:
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
- Minimum 7 years of experience in cost engineering, product development, manufacturing engineering, or a related field.
- Demonstrated experience developing product cost models, value engineering initiatives, and manufacturing cost optimization.
- Strong knowledge of manufacturing processes including injection molding, tooling, electronics, metal fabrication, assembly, and packaging.
- Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence engineering, sourcing, and manufacturing decisions.
- Excellent analytical, negotiation, communication, and project management skills.
- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel and cost analysis tools
- Experience working with overseas manufacturers, particularly in Asia, is highly preferred.
- Toy industry experience is preferred but not required.
Our Benefits:
- Health and Wellness: Medical, dental, vision, disability, life & accident insurance and employee assistance program
- Savings: 401K matching, pre-tax spending accounts, and employee discount programs
- Compensation: JAKKS Pacific offers a competitive salary. Compensation for this role commensurate with experience, qualifications, location, and education and typically ranges from $80,000-$90,000.
Company Overview
A leading designer and marketer of children’s toys and consumer products, JAKKS Pacific® is always on the lookout for talented, bright and creative individuals to join our ever-growing team.
Best known for our toy and entertainment products, JAKKS produces impressive and innovative products across multiple categories spanning from action figures, collectibles, and dolls, to high performance activity toys and vehicles, and let’s not forget our deep portfolios of beloved licensed characters. In other words, we work hard to make play more fun, and we believe it has paid off.
Included in Fortune’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies for four years in a row, and Forbes’ 100 Best Small Companies for three years, JAKKS is an aggressive and passionate company, with a commitment to customers and a dedication to growing our business.
Our goal is to continuously cultivate a talented and diverse workforce while providing a safe and productive work environment and an excellent career growth opportunity while working with a dynamic team who loves what they do and for a Company that ultimately makes children smile, play and succeed!
Jakks Pacific, Inc is an Equal Opportunity Employer
No Recruiters Please. No Relocation is associated with this position.
Salary : $80,000 - $90,000