Sales & Applications Engineering Manager

ATS Automation • Warminster Township, PA

2d

About The Position

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.

Requirements

• 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

Nice To Haves

• 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.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

Benefits

• We provide a wide range of innovative and high-quality scientific products that improve people’s lives
• We offer a robust health and welfare benefits package that includes Life, Health, Dental, Vision
• We offer 401(K) including company match, Paid Time Off annually + Paid Holidays
• You will enjoy career Advancement Opportunities and Tuition Assistance to help you achieve your goals and continue your career growth

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager