Director, Application Engineering & Specification

The Hillman Group, Inc.•Cincinnati, OH

About The Position

The Director, Application Engineering & Specification will build and lead a national Application Engineering & Specification capability for PowerPro Building Solutions, supporting growth across residential, multifamily, and light-commercial construction. The role owns the strategy, team, operating model, and industry relationships needed to move PowerPro products from technical evaluation through specification, approval, channel recommendation, project conversion, and sale. It works across Engineering, Product Development, Sales, Marketing, Compliance, and the construction market, establishing a scalable technical resource and commercial capability for Hillman. The director will develop a national specification and market-development strategy; establish a disciplined process connecting technical influence to project conversion and revenue; and recruit, develop, and lead a field-based national team. The role builds relationships with design and construction professionals, channel partners, and code and approval stakeholders; leads technical guidance and education; supports strategic projects; and represents Hillman in industry forums and events. The position also partners with lumberyards, dealers, distributors, buying groups, and specialty channels to strengthen recommendation and sales pull-through. It translates customer, jobsite, code, channel, and competitive insights into product, application, approval, certification, and technical-resource opportunities. Work takes place in office, customer, field, trade-show, and active construction-site environments, with required travel throughout North America. Site-specific safety procedures and personal protective equipment must be followed when applicable. The role regularly involves sitting, standing, walking, speaking, hearing, viewing screens, and using hands for computer and presentation equipment; it may occasionally involve climbing stairs, bending, reaching, and lifting or carrying materials up to 25 pounds.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction Management, Architecture, Building Science, or a related technical discipline.
At least 10 years of experience in construction products, engineered building materials, fastening systems, specification sales, technical services, field engineering, or application engineering.
At least 5 years of experience leading technical, engineering, or field-based teams, including experience building or scaling a capability.
Demonstrated success influencing design professionals, builders, contractors, distributors, channel partners, and code or approval stakeholders.
Strong knowledge of construction methods, building materials, fastening applications, specifications, and code-compliant solutions.
Ability to translate complex technical information into practical decisions, differentiated customer value, and measurable commercial results.
Entrepreneurial and commercially minded approach, with the ability to build strategy, teams, processes, and market credibility.
Executive-level communication, presentation, relationship-building, and cross-functional leadership skills.
Sound engineering judgment, accountability, customer focus, and commitment to technical excellence.
Ability to establish priorities, operating rhythms, performance measures, and scalable processes across a distributed team.
Ability to travel throughout North America.

Nice To Haves

Professional Engineer (PE) or Engineer in Training (EIT) credential.
Experience with fastening, anchoring, structural connectors, engineered wood, gypsum systems, or adjacent building-material categories.
Experience with ICC-ES evaluation reports, testing programs, certifications, approvals, building-code compliance, AIA continuing education, CRM, construction project intelligence, BIM, specification, or project-management platforms.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a national strategy to increase specification, approval, and adoption in residential, multifamily, and light-commercial construction.
Prioritize applications, geographies, customers, influencers, and projects with the greatest commercial potential.
Drive PowerPro inclusion in construction specifications, builder standards, approved-product lists, project takeoffs, contractor submittals, and code-approved applications.
Design and govern the process connecting technical influence to project conversion and revenue, including clear handoffs among Application Engineering, Sales, Product, Marketing, and channel partners.
Use CRM and project-tracking tools to monitor specifications, approvals, opportunities, actions, and conversion.
Recruit, develop, and lead field-based Application Engineers; establish territory coverage, operating rhythms, account and project priorities, activity expectations, performance measures, and career paths.
Build a team culture centered on technical excellence, engineering judgment, accountability, customer partnership, and commercial impact.
Build trusted relationships with architects, engineers, residential designers, builders, developers, contractors, code officials, municipalities, plan reviewers, and other influencers.
Provide leadership on application guidance, specification development, code interpretation, evaluation reports, certifications, testing data, competitive equivalencies, and installation practices.
Support strategic projects from design through installation and represent Hillman in professional associations, technical forums, customer events, and trade shows.
Partner with lumberyards, building-material dealers, buying groups, distributors, and outside sales teams to increase recommendation and conversion.
Create technical-selling programs, joint customer engagement, and project-support models that improve dealer confidence and generate pull-through demand; extend the model into relevant specialty channels.
Own Hillman’s AIA and continuing-education strategy, including accredited programs, lunch-and-learns, certification seminars, code education, and technical workshops.
Build train-the-trainer programs and practical technical tools for Hillman sales teams, independent representatives, dealer personnel, contractors, and design professionals.
Ensure technical content is accurate, current, code-compliant, clear, and commercially relevant.
Translate customer, jobsite, code, channel, and competitive insights into new products, applications, approvals, certifications, and technical resources.
Partner with Product Management, Engineering, Compliance, Marketing, and Sales to close market gaps and improve customer outcomes.