In today’s Formula 1, bright ideas don’t automatically get the green light. Under the FIA Financial Regulations, teams work within a cost cap that controls the amount they can spend on the car each year. That means every new part, process change, and project has to earn its place, making cost engineer jobs crucial to our success.
Here’s a look at how cost engineering jobs help create the winning formula, with insights from Rafaela Aguiar, one of our cost engineers.
What does an F1 cost engineer do?
Since its introduction, the cost cap has changed how teams up and down the grid think. Teams are still pushing for every possible gain, but those gains now have to sit inside a tightly managed financial framework. Strong engineering ideas need equally strong financial understanding behind them. This is where cost engineers make real impact.
A cost engineer in Formula 1 helps the team understand the true cost of going faster. That means looking at parts, projects, materials, and manufacturing choices, then turning that information into insight the wider business can use. Every estimate and recommendation helps the team optimise resources without losing sight of performance.
Cost engineering is woven into how the team creates the winning formula. The role is about gathering data from across the business, interpreting it properly, and helping different departments make smarter decisions. Designers, project managers, production teams and finance all need to move in the same direction, and cost engineers help make that happen.
Day-to-day, the role itself is varied. A cost engineer job description usually includes:
- Analysing component design and manufacturing cost
- Estimating budgets and understanding cost drivers
- Identifying process improvements
- Supporting cost cap optimisation while maintaining compliance
As Rafaela explains:
“My job is to make sure every penny we spend will actually make the car faster on the track so we can bring real cost performance to the team. I’ll be costing projects, going around to speak with designers and project managers so we can understand their ideas and actually cost those projects.”
What skills matter most in cost engineering jobs?
If you’re exploring a cost engineer job description, the technical side is only part of the picture. The best cost engineers know how to ask the right questions and build trust with stakeholders across the business just as much as they know how to crunch numbers and analyse cost.
What is really important in this role is the way your ability to work with people. Cost engineers need to connect with empathy, collaborate with purpose, and stay close to the people behind the work. These behaviours are central to how the team works and how we build performance together.
As Rafaela shares:
“Curiosity is one of the most important skills needed to do my job. Always keep asking and trying to see what’s hidden behind all the projects so we can capture everything we should and have no cost surprises around it. Staying close to stakeholders is also very important so we can understand what’s happening and make sure we’re providing the best support and advice to them.”
What is it like to work in cost engineering at Atlassian Williams F1 Team?
Williams is one of the most iconic names in motorsport, but this is not a team stuck in the past. While there is huge pride in the history here, there’s even more focus on what comes next. For people exploring cost engineer jobs, that makes this a particularly exciting place to be. You are joining a team that is pushing forward with purpose, and a role where your work can genuinely shape the direction of travel.
There’s also a strong human side to the experience. Formula 1 is demanding, and cost engineering is no exception, but there’s a real sense of support around the team too, as Rafaela sums up:
“My time at Williams has been a rollercoaster. We have to handle a lot of pressure, but we also have so many nice moments around here and I’ve made great friends. So, it’s been a really good time in my career.”
“In terms of what makes Williams a great place to work, I can only say it’s about the people. I think we really support each other and it’s great to have that common purpose around the team in that we believe in what we’re doing and will achieve it together. “
In Formula 1, the gap between an approved idea and seeing it come to life can be much shorter than other industries. Reflecting on her start at Williams, Rafaela captures that energy:
“I can sum up my first 90 days here as very exciting, challenging and inspirational. I think the biggest thing that surprised me when I joined was how fast things work around here. I really wanted to be able to approve projects and make them happen, because in other industries you can have a year until you finally see your project in action. Here, you could experience that in the very early days, which is really rewarding.”
What qualifications and experience do cost engineer jobs usually need?
For candidates exploring cost engineering jobs, the usual starting point is a relevant engineering background and some experience in a manufacturing or prototype environment. Great cost engineers have technical understanding, commercial awareness and the confidence to work across functions.
Typical requirements for a cost engineer job description include:
- A mechanical, industrial or management engineering degree
- Experience in a prototype manufacturing environment or similar
- A rigorous approach to data analysis and interpretation
- Strong communication skills and the ability to influence stakeholders
- Curiosity, enthusiasm and the confidence to challenge the status quo
- An agile mindset in a fast-paced environment
A natural curiosity and the willingness to keep improving are also key. Excellence at Williams is about raising the bar, developing yourself and helping others do the same. Rafaela describes the team’s focus on learning and moving forward:
“We’re going through this process now from what we’ve seen from the busy period we had on build last year and what we’re trying to achieve now already looking at next year’s car. We’re looking at all the lessons learned and trying to be even better for next year.”
Explore F1 cost engineer jobs
At Atlassian Williams F1 Team, working in cost engineering is a unique chance to shape the future of a team that is ambitious and fuelled by talented people who believe in what they are building.
Ready to find your place? Explore our cost engineering jobs today or join our talent community to stay up to date.
