Consumer Packaged Goods Cost Estimation Consultant

We're looking for an experienced **Consumer Packaged Goods Cost Estimation Consultant** to collaborate with us in validating and strengthening the knowledge architecture of our AI\-powered estimation engine. At Naya, we're building a design\-led, AI\-powered platform that connects product development workflows, from 3D design to costing, planning, and manufacturing conversations. Our estimation engine helps teams generate early\-stage manufacturing cost insights from 3D models and related inputs The ideal candidate brings real\-world validation, domain rigor, and deep **Consumer Packaged Goods** costing knowledge into the system, to help advance the estimation engine to become pinpoint accurate and consistent. **The Role** This is not a traditional in\-house costing job. This is about shaping how cost intelligence is structured inside an AI\-powered platform. The goal is to translate expert judgment into deterministic systems, where the same product, estimated multiple times, returns the same structure and prices within a tight tolerance. You will help us: * **Document.** Build structured skill\-based knowledge files that define what accurate **Consumer Packaged Goods** cost estimation requires. This should include decision rules, step\-by\-step decision logic breakdowns, benchmarks, assumptions, and other relevant material that help map inputs to costs. * **Refine.** Upgrade our estimation methodology with frameworks and industry best practices. * **Shape User Experience**. Define and sequence the steps that reflect how your industry costing process works, ensuring the end\-to\-end flow is logical, fast, and easy to navigate for teams using the platform. * **Review.** Stress\-test AI\-generated cost estimations across materials, processes, tooling, labor, and overhead and identify where the system's logic diverges from how an expert would actually reason. * **Validate.** Conduct structured testing, constructing a reference product set, generating estimates against known actuals, and iterating on the skill\-based documentation to meet accuracy and repeatability targets. * **Strengthen trust.** Contribute to case studies, structured reviews, and credibility\-building insights that increase confidence in AI\-assisted costing. You will work closely with product and leadership, through knowledge\-capture sessions and async document review, to ensure our estimation engine reflects real\-world manufacturing logic. **What You Bring** **(Core requirements)** * A minimum of 3\-5 years of hands\-on experience in product costing or manufacturing cost estimation within the **Consumer Packaged Goods** industry is required. * Demonstrated experience **building BOM\-based costing models** with explicit rules for how inputs map to costs, including material yield, labor time, overhead allocation, and tooling amortization. * Experience building standardized estimation templates or RFQ benchmarking tools. * Strong working knowledge of materials, fabricatio