Contractual Cost Estimation Engineer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Location: Michigan

Company: KC Jones Plating Company

Department: Engineering / Sales

Employment Type: Full-Time

KC Jones Plating Company is seeking an Estimating Engineer to support new business development, customer quoting, and manufacturing engineering activities across our electroplating operations.

The Estimating Engineer will be responsible for reviewing customer drawings, specifications, volumes, and technical requirements to develop accurate and competitive manufacturing estimates. This position will work closely with Sales, Engineering, Operations, Quality, Purchasing, and Tooling to determine the most effective manufacturing and plating process for new and existing programs.

The ideal candidate combines strong mechanical and manufacturing knowledge with the ability to analyze part geometry, surface area, plating specifications, production rates, tooling requirements, material consumption, and overall manufacturing costs.

• Review customer RFQs, engineering drawings, CAD files, specifications, and annual volume requirements.
• Develop detailed cost estimates for electroplating and related manufacturing operations.
• Interpret customer and industry plating specifications, including coating type, thickness, coverage requirements, masking requirements, and testing requirements.
• Determine the appropriate plating process and manufacturing sequence for each opportunity.
• Calculate part surface area and determine coating material requirements based on plating thickness and specification.
• Estimate consumption and cost of metals including nickel, zinc, tin, silver, copper, and other plating materials.
• Determine whether parts should be processed using rack, barrel, reel-to-reel, or other automated plating methods.
• Evaluate rack density, parts per load, barrel load size, cycle time, line capacity, and expected production throughput.
• Estimate tooling, rack, masking, fixture, and other program-specific capital requirements.
• Develop labor estimates based on expected production methods, cycle times, handling requirements, inspection, packaging, and secondary operations.
• Incorporate chemical, metal, energy, wastewater treatment, packaging, freight, outside processing, and other manufacturing costs into estimates.
• Evaluate opportunities for automation and process improvements that reduce cost and improve production efficiency.
• Work with Operations and Engineering to validate production assumptions before quotations are finalized.
• Partner with Sales to develop competitive pricing while maintaining required margins.
• Identify technical or commercial risks during the quoting process and communicate them before program award.
• Participate in customer technical discussions regarding manufacturability, plating requirements, tooling, and process capabilities.
• Support new program launches by transferring quoting assumptions and process requirements to Engineering and Operations.
• Review awarded programs against actual production performance and use actual results to continuously improve estimating models.
• Maintain estimating databases, historical production information, material costs, labor rates, tooling costs, and manufacturing assumptions.
• Support value engineering and cost-reduction initiatives for existing programs.

Candidates should have experience or familiarity with several of the following:

• Manufacturing cost estimating
• Engineering drawings and GD&T
• CAD models and surface-area calculations
• Electroplating or metal finishing
• Rack and barrel plating
• Automated manufacturing equipment
• Tooling and fixture design
• Production cycle-time analysis
• Labor and machine-rate calculations
• Metal and raw-material costing
• Manufacturing capacity analysis
• Quality and inspection requirements
• Automotive and industrial manufacturing specifications

Knowledge of electroplating processes such as zinc, zinc-nickel, electroless nickel, nickel, tin, silver, copper, and related finishes is highly desirable.

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Engineering, Industrial Engineering, or a related technical field preferred.
• Relevant manufacturing estimating or process engineering experience may be considered in place of a degree.
• 3+ years of experience in manufacturing engineering, estimating, process engineering, tooling, or a related manufacturing role preferred.
• Strong ability to read and interpret engineering drawings and customer specifications.
• Strong mathematical and analytical skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and manufacturing costing tools.
• Experience with CAD software and calculating part surface area is preferred.
• Experience within electroplating, metal finishing, automotive, stamping, machining, fasteners, or high-volume manufacturing is strongly preferred.
• Ability to manage multiple RFQs and priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Detail-oriented with strong commercial judgment and an understanding of how engineering decisions affect manufacturing cost and profitability.

Experience estimating high-volume programs involving automotive components, stampings, fasteners, electrical components, battery components, bus bars, or other engineered metal products is particularly valuable.

Experience working with automated plating lines and understanding the relationship between part geometry, rack design, current density, plating thickness, cycle time, line capacity, and cost is a significant advantage.

The Estimating Engineer will help KC Jones Plating:

• Respond to customer RFQs quickly and accurately.
• Develop technically sound manufacturing processes before programs are awarded.
• Improve consistency between quoted and actual production costs.
• Identify tooling and capital requirements early.
• Protect program profitability through accurate engineering assumptions.
• Improve manufacturing efficiency through better upfront process planning.
• Support continued growth in automotive, industrial, electrical, battery, energy-storage, and data-center markets.

KC Jones Plating Company is a Michigan-based metal finishing company specializing in high-volume engineered plating solutions for demanding automotive, industrial, electrical, and energy applications. Our operations combine advanced electroplating technology, automation, engineering, quality systems, and manufacturing expertise to support customers requiring consistent, high-volume production.

We are looking for an Estimating Engineer who can bridge the gap between engineering, manufacturing, and commercial decision-making and help ensure that new programs are designed and quoted for long-term success.