Knowledge Analyst - Design-to-Value Lab

Who You'll Work With Driving lasting impact and building long-term capabilities with our clients is not easy work. You are the kind of person who thrives in a high performance/high reward culture - doing hard things, picking yourself up when you stumble, and having the resilience to try another way forward.

In return for your drive, determination, and curiosity, we'll provide the resources, mentorship, and opportunities you need to become a stronger leader faster than you ever thought possible. Your colleagues—at all levels—will invest deeply in your development, just as much as they invest in delivering exceptional results for clients. Every day, you'll receive apprenticeship, coaching, and exposure that will accelerate your growth in ways you won’t find anywhere else.

When you join us, you will have:

• Continuous learning: Our learning and apprenticeship culture, backed by structured programs, is all about helping you grow while creating an environment where feedback is clear, actionable, and focused on your development. The real magic happens when you take the input from others to heart and embrace the fast-paced learning experience, owning your journey.
• A voice that matters: From day one, we value your ideas and contributions. You’ll make a tangible impact by offering innovative ideas and practical solutions, all while upholding our unwavering commitment to ethics and integrity. We not only encourage diverse perspectives, but they are critical in driving us toward the best possible outcomes.
• Global community: With colleagues across 65+ countries and over 100 different nationalities, our firm’s diversity fuels creativity and helps us come up with the best solutions for our clients. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from exceptional colleagues with diverse backgrounds and experiences.
• World-class benefits: On top of a competitive salary (based on your location, experience, and skills), we provide a comprehensive benefits package to enable holistic well-being for you and your family.

Your Impact You will be part of the global Design-to-Value (DtV) Lab team based in our Japan office, a specialized cell operated under the Operations practice. Our team strives to improve productivity and effectiveness of our clients by working to create higher-value products and services and more attractive product lines. Our team serve clients in different industry sectors with a concentration in High-Tech, Telecom, Automotive & Assembly, Industrial, Consumer goods, Pharma and Medical Products.

In this role, you will drive product value optimization and cost efficiency by leveraging design and digital solutions. You will combine consulting expertise with McKinsey's cutting-edge digital tools and industry experience to deliver impactful results on product development projects with clients. You will work in an intellectually challenging environment, developing strong problem-solving and leadership skills.

Your primary responsibilities may include develop actionable product improvements within our value engineering approach and target costing projects as well as contribute to create innovative product concepts. Also, you will utilize advanced tools such as Cleansheet to analyze product cost structures, uncover savings opportunities, and drive fact-based supplier negotiations. You will conduct competitive benchmarking and consumer insight analysis to identify opportunities for product improvement, enhance design effectiveness, and elevate quality attributes. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams in Operations practice —such as sales and marketing, procurement, manufacturing, and quality—to elevate clients' product development performance. You will partner with McKinsey’s global network and functional practices to develop cutting-edge expertise in product development, while leading initiatives to expand the firm’s proprietary knowledge base. You will have the opportunity to contribute to our way of working, our knowledge and skills and thus continually expand your expertise. You will benefit from exceptional training along with regular coaching and mentoring. This includes guidance from a senior practice member to guide your career. Additionally, your local office will support you in selecting client projects, aiding in skill development and network building.

There is flexibility to hire at either the Knowledge Analyst or Senior Knowledge Analyst level depending on your qualifications.

Your Qualifications and Skills

• Bachelor’s degree with a major Science or Engineering, or a related technical field; Master's degree is a plus
• 3+ years of experience in product cost optimization, product design, product manufacturing, value engineering, DFMA, R&D, prototyping, supplier management, procurement, negotiation, target cost setting or related engineering background; For master’s in engineering or management, the experience is relaxed to 1-2 years
• Proven experience in cross-functional team environments
• Demonstrated analytical and quantitative skills with the ability to structure and solve problems
• Excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills
• Strong communication skills in English and Japanese, both verbal and written