Senior Cost Engineering Manager, Cost Engineering
Amazon
2 days ago
Full-time
On-site
Houston, Texas, United States
Ever wondered what it takes to build Amazon's massive global network — and how we make sure every dollar spent on construction delivers maximum value?
We're looking for a Senior Cost Engineering Manager who will own cost engineering on large-scale construction projects and help shape the future of AI-powered cost intelligence. This isn't a back-office analytics role — you'll be influencing multi-million-dollar supplier negotiations, presenting to senior leadership, and support building the tools that will transform how Amazon Global Procurement Organization models, negotiates and manages construction cost worldwide.
Construction is one of our largest and most complex procurement categories. Every project is different — unique site conditions, local labor markets, permit requirements, and material constraints mean that each costing cycle demands a fresh bottom-up deep dive: decomposing cost structures, stress-testing assumptions against local market realities, and building analytics that reflect the true cost drivers of that specific build. You'll bring deep construction industry expertise and pair it with a forward-looking mindset, co-creating AI-driven tools that scale your impact far beyond individual projects.
Key job responsibilities
Lead end-to-end should-costing on large-scale construction projects — reverse engineering supplier pricing to determine the true cost of constituent parts, labor, manufacturing, assemblies, overheads and expected profit margins
Build reliable bottom-up cost models that simulate the industry benchmark with fact-based calculations, serving as anchoring price targets in negotiation
Challenge supplier quotations with rigorous technical analysis, forcing transparency into supply chain cost structures and driving meaningful cost reductions
Present should-cost findings and recommendations to senior leadership, acting as a trusted internal consultant on construction cost matters
Co-develop AI-powered costing tools and feed scalable datasets alongside our AI & MI solutions tea
Coordinate with other Sourcing Excellence pillars and Capabilities (e.g. Value engineering, Construction Cost Estimation, Market Intelligence) across multiple regions as we expand our global should-costing footprint
Establish and evolve should-cost methodologies during design and specification phases, collaborating with category managers, engineers, and construction teams
Advise stakeholders on cost impacts of specification changes and identify design-to-cost opportunities with suppliers, working closely with Value Engineering team.
Define KPIs and scorecard metrics (E.g. gap-to-should-cost) that track supplier cost performance and strengthen long-term partnerships rooted in fairness and mutual understanding
Drive change management as you introduce new costing approaches across procurement and the supply base
About the team
Cost Engineering answers one fundamental question for Amazon: Are we paying the right price? We combine deep technical expertise with advanced analytical methodologies — should-cost modeling, market intelligence, and cost driver decomposition — to deliver transparent, fact-based insights that empower procurement teams to negotiate with confidence. Our vision is to make cost transparency a strategic capability across the organization, ensuring every procurement decision reflects what something should cost, not just what the market offers. We cover billions in managed spend across Amazon Global Procurement Organization with cost engineering, driven by an exponential growth since the team formation in 2022.
- 5+ years of program or project management experience
- 5+ years of supply chain experience
- Experience using data and metrics to determine and drive improvements
- Experience owning program strategy, end to end delivery, and communicating results to senior leadership
- Experience being responsible/leading large and complex negotiations
- 2+ years of driving process improvements experience
- Master's degree, or MBA in business, operations, human resources, adult education, organizational development, instructional design or related field
- AI&Automation: Experience in leveraging AI, machine learning, or advanced analytics to improve cost modeling, automate procurement workflows, or build scalable datasets. You don't need to be a data scientist — but you should be comfortable working alongside AI teams, curating training data from real-world projects, validating model outputs, and identifying where intelligent automation can multiply your impact. A track record of enabling (not just consuming) AI tools in a procurement or engineering context is a strong differentiator.
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
USA, TN, Nashville - 103,900.00 - 148,400.00 USD annually
USA, TX, Houston - 115,400.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually
USA, VA, Arlington - 115,400.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Bellevue - 115,400.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually
We're looking for a Senior Cost Engineering Manager who will own cost engineering on large-scale construction projects and help shape the future of AI-powered cost intelligence. This isn't a back-office analytics role — you'll be influencing multi-million-dollar supplier negotiations, presenting to senior leadership, and support building the tools that will transform how Amazon Global Procurement Organization models, negotiates and manages construction cost worldwide.
Construction is one of our largest and most complex procurement categories. Every project is different — unique site conditions, local labor markets, permit requirements, and material constraints mean that each costing cycle demands a fresh bottom-up deep dive: decomposing cost structures, stress-testing assumptions against local market realities, and building analytics that reflect the true cost drivers of that specific build. You'll bring deep construction industry expertise and pair it with a forward-looking mindset, co-creating AI-driven tools that scale your impact far beyond individual projects.
Key job responsibilities
Lead end-to-end should-costing on large-scale construction projects — reverse engineering supplier pricing to determine the true cost of constituent parts, labor, manufacturing, assemblies, overheads and expected profit margins
Build reliable bottom-up cost models that simulate the industry benchmark with fact-based calculations, serving as anchoring price targets in negotiation
Challenge supplier quotations with rigorous technical analysis, forcing transparency into supply chain cost structures and driving meaningful cost reductions
Present should-cost findings and recommendations to senior leadership, acting as a trusted internal consultant on construction cost matters
Co-develop AI-powered costing tools and feed scalable datasets alongside our AI & MI solutions tea
Coordinate with other Sourcing Excellence pillars and Capabilities (e.g. Value engineering, Construction Cost Estimation, Market Intelligence) across multiple regions as we expand our global should-costing footprint
Establish and evolve should-cost methodologies during design and specification phases, collaborating with category managers, engineers, and construction teams
Advise stakeholders on cost impacts of specification changes and identify design-to-cost opportunities with suppliers, working closely with Value Engineering team.
Define KPIs and scorecard metrics (E.g. gap-to-should-cost) that track supplier cost performance and strengthen long-term partnerships rooted in fairness and mutual understanding
Drive change management as you introduce new costing approaches across procurement and the supply base
About the team
Cost Engineering answers one fundamental question for Amazon: Are we paying the right price? We combine deep technical expertise with advanced analytical methodologies — should-cost modeling, market intelligence, and cost driver decomposition — to deliver transparent, fact-based insights that empower procurement teams to negotiate with confidence. Our vision is to make cost transparency a strategic capability across the organization, ensuring every procurement decision reflects what something should cost, not just what the market offers. We cover billions in managed spend across Amazon Global Procurement Organization with cost engineering, driven by an exponential growth since the team formation in 2022.
- 5+ years of program or project management experience
- 5+ years of supply chain experience
- Experience using data and metrics to determine and drive improvements
- Experience owning program strategy, end to end delivery, and communicating results to senior leadership
- Experience being responsible/leading large and complex negotiations
- 2+ years of driving process improvements experience
- Master's degree, or MBA in business, operations, human resources, adult education, organizational development, instructional design or related field
- AI&Automation: Experience in leveraging AI, machine learning, or advanced analytics to improve cost modeling, automate procurement workflows, or build scalable datasets. You don't need to be a data scientist — but you should be comfortable working alongside AI teams, curating training data from real-world projects, validating model outputs, and identifying where intelligent automation can multiply your impact. A track record of enabling (not just consuming) AI tools in a procurement or engineering context is a strong differentiator.
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, TN, Nashville - 103,900.00 - 148,400.00 USD annually
USA, TX, Houston - 115,400.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually
USA, VA, Arlington - 115,400.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually
USA, WA, Bellevue - 115,400.00 - 160,000.00 USD annually