Associate Director, Product Cost Management (remote)

Collins Aerospace, a leader in technologically advanced solutions for the aerospace and defense industry, is seeking an analytically-driven Associate Director for their Product Cost Management function. This role focuses on data analysis and strategic insight to identify cost reduction opportunities and enhance cost management processes across the enterprise.

Responsibilities:

• Analyze and forecast product cost performance across programs and commodities, identifying emerging risks and untapped opportunities
• Develop and maintain cost performance dashboards and reporting mechanisms that provide visibility to key stakeholders
• Conduct deep-dive cost analysis to support informed decision-making at executive and operational levels
• Track and measure the impact of cost reduction initiatives and strategic sourcing activities including long-term agreement management
• Identify and evaluate cost reduction opportunities across Value Analysis & Value Engineering (VAVE), Work Transfer, and Claims & Assertions initiatives
• Responsible for operational and cross-functional governance of assigned workstreams, including facilitating tiered escalation reviews
• Collaborate with engineering, supply chain, procurement, and finance teams to drive cost reduction ideation and establish prioritization frameworks
• Assess feasibility, risk, and financial impact of proposed cost initiatives
• Support the development of business cases and implementation roadmaps for priority cost reduction opportunities
• Drive the CORE (Cost Optimization & Reduction Excellence) engagement roadmap, serving as primary coordinator and project manager for this strategic initiative
• Establish clear milestones, deliverables, and success metrics for CORE initiatives
• Facilitate cross-functional collaboration and maintain momentum across CORE workstreams
• Provide regular updates and progress reporting to leadership on CORE roadmap execution
• Provide actionable insights and data-driven recommendations to leadership on cost-related matters and strategic opportunities
• Prepare analysis, summaries, and presentation materials that translate complex cost data into clear business impact narratives
• Partner cross-functionally on should cost opportunities to aid in negotiations, business case completion, or cost reduction initiatives
• Identify emerging cost trends, systemic issues, and process improvement opportunities
• Support executive decision-making with timely, accurate, and relevant cost intelligence
• Support the implementation of process maturity improvements designed to enhance cost visibility and control
• Evaluate current cost management tools, processes, and governance structures; identify gaps and improvement opportunities
• Partner with process owners and business units to pilot and scale process improvements
• Develop training and communication materials to support adoption of enhanced processes and tools
• Monitor and report on the effectiveness of process improvements through relevant KPIs

Requirements:

• Typically requires a University Degree and minimum 12 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field and minimum 10 years of experience
• 7+ years experience in cost analysis, financial analysis, supply chain, or operations
• Experience collaborating across functional teams (engineering, supply chain, finance, procurement)
• Must be willing and able to communicate with all levels of the organization
• Must be willing and able to travel up to 20% of the time (domestic and international)
• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Engineering, Business, Supply Chain, or related field
• Experience in cost modeling, financial analysis, and data visualization
• Experience from aerospace industry