Thin film magnetic materials with out-of-plane anisotropy are important for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuation and other applications requiring forces at a distance. Electrodeposited magnetic alloys are the most easily integrated option because they do not require high temperature processing or exotic seed layers. However, electrodeposition processes can be inconsistent and optimizing such processes is difficult because of the large number of factors typically involved: seed layer, bath chemistry, physical bath parameters, and current density. Such problems are well-suited to Taguchi design of experiments, which we used to determine and optimize factors with the largest influence on residual stress and out-of-plane magnetic properties of CoNiMnP films. A new process recipe resulted which yielded a maximum energy density of 5.3 kJ/m(3), a remanence of 220 mT, and a coercivity of 93 kA/m. These results provide improved properties for immediate application in magnetic MEMS and should guide future work in the optimization of CoNiMnP and other electroplated cobalt alloys. (C) 2010 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3499355] All rights reserved.