Field Application Engineer

Avnet•Edina, MN

About The Position

The Field Application Engineer drives Avnet’s design-chain value proposition by generating design wins and registrations among customers engaged in product design, helping grow the business. The role interfaces with customer and supplier engineering departments and performs product, technical, and engineering functions, including pre- and post-sales support, research, design, and development. The position develops technical sales strategies, identifies customer design requirements and opportunities, recommends solutions, and supports customers from product concept through production. It also works with sales teams and supplier partners to promote products and technologies, provide technical training, and strengthen customer relationships. The role requires a solid understanding of assigned accounts, products, markets, and emerging trends, along with autonomy in planning account approaches and negotiating product or service terms. The engineer may act as a resource or team lead for colleagues and participate in sales efforts and negotiations for significant accounts.

Requirements

Typically at least 5 years of work experience with a bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience providing comparable knowledge and job skills.
Solid understanding of business, financials, products and services, the market, and assigned account needs.
Understanding of emerging market trends and their interdependencies and ability to apply that understanding to expand customer relationships.
Developed sales expertise across a defined portfolio of products, services, or accounts, including work in a complex sales environment.
Ability to work independently or lead teams in identifying, pursuing, or managing large or strategically important accounts and opportunities.
Ability to set and negotiate product or service terms and plan territory or account approaches within broad guidelines and policies.
Ability to collaborate with teams and leadership and communicate directly with clients and decision makers.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement technical sales account penetration strategies, presenting new products and technologies to current and potential customers.
Build knowledge of solutions before component selection and participate in supplier and customer design reviews.
Understand customer needs, products, technologies, competitive landscape, design processes, and design cycles.
Identify and develop relationships with key technical decision makers and influencers in assigned accounts.
Discover design requirements from the system level down to individual elements, collaborating with design, production, and engineering departments to address customer challenges.
Promote supported product lines and supplier-partner solutions to sales teams to increase design activity, design wins, and sales growth.
Provide application and product-level sales training and align with sales teams to secure business.
Communicate account calls with suppliers, account managers, and inside sales.
Identify and track major design opportunities from concept through production, using supplier resources to improve the likelihood of success.
Create presentations and other sales tools that communicate technical value and support trusted-advisor relationships.
Manage products from beginning to end through consultation and communication with customers, sales teams, and vendors.
Research major industry players and communicate industry trends and directions to internal and external customers.
Develop full solutions based on customer expectations for product performance, lifecycle, and total cost.
Attend internal and external technical training and maintain certifications as necessary.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Plan territory or account approaches and collaborate with teams and leadership.
Lead negotiations on medium-sized, complex accounts and participate in team sales for major accounts.
Act as a resource for less-experienced colleagues and may lead teams or help develop colleagues’ and customers’ understanding.