Sales & Applications Engineering Manager

Position Summary

The Manager, Sales & Applications Engineering leads the Applications Engineering team and serves as a technical and commercial bridge between the Sales organization, prospective customers, and internal engineering groups. This role oversees the development of technical proposals, ensures margin-protected solutions, drives standardization, and supports strategic product decisions through structured Voice of Customer (VOC) activities.

The manager is accountable for delivering high-quality applications support, mentoring the team, and ensuring process discipline that aligns customer requirements with profitable and manufacturable solutions for pharmaceutical freeze-dryer (lyophilizer) equipment.

Key Responsibilities
Leadership & Team Management

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of 3–4 Applications Engineers, fostering strong technical capability, commercial awareness, and customer engagement skills.
• Establish team workflows, quote development standards, templates, and review processes that ensure accuracy, speed, and margin discipline.
• Prioritize workloads, delegate assignments, and ensure timely response to Sales and customers.•
• Conduct performance reviews, set professional development goals, and drive continuous improvement within the team.
• Own, maintain, and refine the applications engineering process to improve efficiency, consistency, and scalability as the business grows.
• Customer & Sales Support
• Engage directly with customers—along with the Sales team—to understand process needs, URS details, constraints, and project objectives.
• Oversee the translation of customer requirements into technically sound and commercially viable system proposals.
• Support customer meetings, discovery sessions, presentations, and pre-award technical negotiations as needed.
• Ensure the Applications Engineering group delivers consistent, high-quality technical documents, configuration worksheets, and proposal content

Customer & Sales Support

• Engage directly with customers—along with the Sales team—to understand process needs, URS details, constraints, and project objectives.
• Oversee the translation of customer requirements into technically sound and commercially viable system proposals.
• Support customer meetings, discovery sessions, presentations, and pre-award technical negotiations as needed.
• Ensure the Applications Engineering group delivers consistent, high-quality technical documents, configuration worksheets, and proposal content

Engineering & Product Integration

• Collaborate closely with Mechanical, Controls, and Project Engineering to validate customizations, component selections, and design feasibility.
• Drive standardization by identifying and promoting configurable design modules that reduce one-off engineering.
• Ensure all proposals follow established engineering best practices, quality standards, and long-term serviceability requirements.

Margin Protection & Cost Management

• Lead the team in developing solutions that protect gross margin through scope discipline, thoughtful customization limits, and accurate cost estimation.
• Advise Sales on pricing impacts, commercial risks, and alternatives that better protect margin or schedule.
• Identify value-added options or modular configurations that enhance margin and deliver differentiated value to clients.

Product Management & VOC

• Work closely with Product Management to systematically capture, organize, and prioritize Voice of Customer (VOC) insights from sales interactions, proposals, and customer meetings.
• Provide structured feedback on product gaps, frequently requested features, competitive differentiators, and market trends.
• Participate in product roadmap discussions, helping the company make informed decisions about future product enhancements, new features, and standardization opportunities.

Proposal Development & Review

• Oversee generation of customer-facing technical documents such as process narratives, system descriptions, P&IDs (with engineering support), and layout concepts.
• Review and refine all proposals to ensure accuracy, clarity, and alignment with both customer expectations and internal cost objectives.
• Support development and maintenance of application tools, configuration logic, and proposal templates

Qualifications:

Required:

• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline.
• 5+ years of experience in applications engineering, sales engineering, or technical customer-facing roles within capital equipment, pharmaceutical manufacturing, freeze-drying, or related industries.
• Prior experience leading, mentoring, or supervising technical staff.
• Strong understanding of mechanical systems, thermal processes, and GMP environments.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to balance customer service with disciplined scope and cost control

Preferred:

• Direct experience with freeze-dryers, aseptic manufacturing equipment, or thermal process systems.
• Experience developing or reviewing URS/SDS documentation.
• Familiarity with VOC collection frameworks and product management collaboration.
• Ability to read and interpret mechanical drawings, P&IDs, and equipment specifications.

Competencies

• Strong leadership and people-development skills.
• Technical aptitude and system-level thinking.
• Commercial awareness and margin-oriented judgment.
• Customer-centric consultative approach.
• Ability to drive standardization and repeatable processes.
• Excellent prioritization, organization, and problem-solving skills.

HSE

All managers are responsible for creating a positive safety culture and maintaining a safe and healthy workplace. It is the responsibility of each manager to ensure that employees receive regular training regarding health, safety and environmental matters.  Each manager is also accountable to ensure that HSE matters are addressed in a timely manner and that compliance with both legislative and corporate requirements are maintained.

Manager responsibilities for Health, Safety and Environment include:

• Demonstrate leadership in Health, Safety and Environment compliance
• Hold team members accountable for health, safety and environmental compliance as part of the annual performance review process
• Ensure that the requirements of the health, safety and environment management system are implemented and maintained
• Carry out hazard assessments, inspections, and audits as required by legislative framework and/or corporate requirements
• Ensure that training is provided to all departmental employees are per established training matrix
• Implement appropriate corrective measures for unsafe conditions and unsafe acts
• Ensure that appropriate equipment, materials and protective devices are provided and maintained in safe condition
• Provide information, instruction and supervision to employees
• Take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of employees