Application Engineer

- Mid Level

Salem, OH

Machinery Manufacturing

About the position

Hunt Valve Company has been manufacturing shipboard valves for naval customers for decades. The company, now part of Fairbanks Morse Defense, is rapidly growing and in need of an Application Engineer to lead costing efforts for Hunt Valve, AMMCON, as well as provide support to Montreal Bronze. The responsibility of the Application Engineer is to provide accurate component and system configurations, costs, and technical documentation within the commercial process to contribute to the achievement of aftermarket sales targets. This role will have direct influence over base configurations, component and system designs and costs, project risk, and act as part of the core commercial team of the Fairbanks Morse Services segment. The role requires high motivation, teamwork, and excellent communication skills to work effectively among multiple business areas and functions.

Responsibilities

• Work within the proposal development process and collaborate with commercial management, engineering, procurement, and field service to develop proposals and future FM business
• Meet or exceed agreed-to deadlines and deliverable quality requirements in support of an effective proposal development process; and provide feedback on process improvement through appropriate channels.
• Thoroughly review customer Request for Information (RFIs), Request for Proposals (RFPs), or any other inquiry, and work with supply chain and Quality to determine the requested technical scope. Support Quality and Engineering on the completion of compliance matrices during proposal stage
• Work with Supply Chain and Quality to flow down technical requirements, compliances and specifications to suppliers
• Take ownership of up-front quoting and estimating to the Hunt Valve customer base. Will work directly with the manufacturing and purchasing teams to provide detailed and accurate quotes.
• Work closely with design engineering to determine appropriate system designs, modifications from base configurations, and evaluate technical performance risks.
• Support the technical sale along with sales personnel and the proposal manager in support of technical meetings, transfer of applicable data, creatively solving project-specific challenges, and customer and market development (e.g., trade events).
• Manage configurations through the Engineering Change Order process by releasing part numbers, bills of materials, and drawings when designs are finalized
• Support the proposal manager in developing templates and tools for use in the capture and proposal development process.
• Build effective cross functional relationships throughout the organization and work with awareness of interdependencies and responsibilities; foster a team environment that ensures alignment to company goals, objectives, and corporate values.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Marine Engineering or Equivalent Degree) or Bachelor's degree in unrelated field with 10+ years of manufacturing experience
• 2-7 years of experience in procurement and or leading costing & pricing estimates
• 10+ years of manufacturing experience
• Experience working in a DoD environment and or government contracting a plus
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite
• Demonstrated problem solving skills related to complex customer, site, or project requirements that balance cost, performance, risk, and compliance with the request.
• Attention to detail; quality of work product is #1
• Maintaining a professional attitude through oral and written communication
• Ability to take lead on tasks and drive actions to closure without continuous monitoring by supervisor
• Strong work ethic, a 'self-starter'

Nice-to-haves

• Understanding of bid/proposal development & procurement processes
• Ability to understand manufacturing processes and provide quoting and costing estimates
• Experience with database tools (e.g., Microsoft Excel) and/or other electronic management tools
• Experience with ERP software. InforVisual experience a plus.
• Experience with US Navy military performance specifications (MIL SPECs) a plus