Application Engineer

Novanta Inc.•Irvine, CA

3d•$116,000 - $174,000

About The Position

As a Sales Application Engineer at Novanta, you will serve as the technical bridge between customers, Sales, and Engineering, translating customer challenges into high-performance solutions. You will work directly with customers to understand their applications, demonstrate technical capabilities, and develop and validate solutions through hands-on prototyping, testing, and technical problem-solving. This collaborative, customer-facing role combines technical expertise with commercial impact and offers opportunities to influence customer solutions, contribute to product direction, and support customer success and business growth. The role includes approximately 50% travel, primarily domestic, with limited international travel based on business needs. Travel may include customer visits, industry events, product training, and visits to other Novanta locations. The base pay is $116,000–$174,000 per year depending on geographic market, with competitive quarterly sales compensation based on achievement to plan. The position includes a full range of medical, financial, and other benefits.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical discipline.
Five or more years of experience supporting motion-control products, including linear bearings, linear motors, feedback systems, drives, and controllers.
Experience in technical sales, applications engineering, or a comparable customer-facing technical role.
Ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear recommendations for technical and nontechnical audiences.
Strong understanding of manufacturing considerations, market segments, and customer workflows, including factors that influence bill of material costs, customer ROI, and key performance indicators.
Strong project management skills and ability to develop prototypes, integrate value-added technologies, manage multiple priorities, and work effectively across functions.
Ability to lift up to 50 pounds and stand for extended periods.
Ability to support hands-on prototype development, testing, demonstrations, and application qualification activities.

Responsibilities

Partner with Sales and customers to understand complex application requirements, recommend fit-for-purpose motion-control solutions, and communicate technical performance, tradeoffs, and business value.
Conduct customer demonstrations, hands-on prototyping, application testing, and solution qualification to ensure reliability, performance, and alignment with customer needs.
Develop value-added solutions by combining Novanta capabilities with complementary third-party technologies.
Provide technical input into feasibility, costing, product conversions, and customer onboarding.
Share customer feedback across Engineering, Product Management, Operations, and Quality to optimize solutions, inform product direction, and deliver an exceptional customer experience.
Travel approximately 50% of the time to work directly with customers and stay connected to relevant applications, technologies, and markets.