Application Engineer - Parts and Product Mgmt (32164)

UCC Environmental•Libertyville, IL

56d•Onsite

About The Position

The Application Engineer serves as the technical bridge between the Parts Sales team (inside sales support, organized by region) and the Product Management team (technical sales support, organized by product family). It provides first-line technical support for parts identification, competitor cross-referencing, and non-standard, retrofit, and performance-parts quotations. The position exists to accelerate quote turnaround for the Parts Application Specialists and Field Sales Offices while protecting Product Engineer capacity for the product-development roadmap. The Application Engineer triages incoming technical requests — resolving those within scope and routing genuine design or engineering work to the appropriate Product Engineer — and helps convert technical opportunities into booked parts sales. This is an entry-level engineering position and a deliberate development path into the Product Engineer role. Through daily exposure to UCC products, drawings, pricing, and customer applications — and structured mentorship from the Product Engineers — the Application Engineer builds the product and engineering depth required to progress onto the Product Management team.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Engineering required.
Ability to read and interpret engineered design drawings is required.
Strong technical aptitude with mechanical and industrial products, and the ability to translate customer needs into part solutions.
Excellent verbal and written communication and interpersonal skills; comfortable interfacing with Field Sales, customers, and engineering.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, with the ability to prioritize and triage competing requests under time pressure.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
Ability to act with integrity, professionalism, and confidentiality.
Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite; strong Excel and data skills.

Nice To Haves

Internships, co-ops, or coursework involving mechanical or industrial products, engineered drawings, or manufacturing are a plus.
Familiarity with ERP systems (Microsoft Dynamics AX) and technical or parts databases is a plus; training will be provided.
Smartsheet preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as the first-line technical resource for identifying service parts from UCC contract, standard, and vendor drawings, and for competitor cross-referencing that supports retrofit opportunities.
Respond to application inquiries from the Parts Application Specialists (PAS) and Field Sales Offices.
Process part-number add requests and Engineering Work Requests as needed.
Own the technical review and pricing coordination for non-standard, retrofit, and performance-parts quotations — the work that sits between a standard PAS quote and full Product Engineer engineering.
Coordinate with Product Engineers for product-family pricing and with PAS for quote generation and order entry in AX.
Act as the central intake point for technical questions from PAS and Field Sales.
Resolve requests within scope, and route true design or engineering work to the appropriate Product Engineer.
Track request volume, turnaround, and disposition, and publish a periodic summary.
Support the Performance Parts Opportunity (PPO) log and the competitor-retrofit funnel operationally — feeding quotes to PAS and product ideas to Product Engineers.
Maintain cross-reference data, Standard Product List content, and the technical portions of Contract Spare Parts (CSP) lists.
Contribute technical “Did You Know” content to the Selling Boldly program.
Identify and implement AX, Prism, and Smartsheet enhancements and tools that improve technical-support efficiency.
Support technical and sales presentations and marketing literature as assigned.
Perform all other duties as assigned.