Role Summary
The Application Engineer is responsible for providing technical application support, developing engineered solutions, and preparing competitive proposals for HVAC, Fire Pump, and integrated plant package systems. This role serves as a key link between Sales, Engineering, Project Management, Manufacturing, and customers to ensure timely development of technically sound and commercially viable solutions.
The position plays a critical role in supporting Armstrong's growth within the Data Center, Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional markets by delivering accurate, value-driven proposals and helping customers identify the most effective prefabricated and engineered system solutions. The successful candidate will combine strong technical knowledge with commercial awareness to improve proposal quality, response times, and project success rates.
Key Accountabilities:
Application Engineering
- Provide application engineering expertise and technical support to customers, sales teams, consulting engineers, contractors, and representatives.
- Analyze project specifications, design criteria, and customer requirements to develop optimized HVAC, Fire Pump, and engineered package solutions.
- Support opportunities across North America and other global markets as required.
- Collaborate with Design Engineering, Product Management, Manufacturing, and Service teams to develop innovative and cost-effective solutions.
- Document and maintain technical solutions, application standards, and product knowledge within company systems.
- Act as a technical resource for product selection, system integration, controls, and energy-efficient solutions.
Proposal Development & Estimating
- Review project specifications, drawings, schedules, and RFQs to identify project requirements and opportunities.
- Develop accurate project cost estimates for packaged systems and automation systems.
- Prepare detailed technical and commercial proposals that align with customer requirements and profitability objectives.
- Support the development of Base of Design proposals for strategic projects opportunities.
- Ensure proposals are completed accurately, competitively, and within established response timelines.
- Maintain proposal documentation, pricing records, assumptions, risk assessments, and commercial terms.
- Continuously improve estimating methods, proposal templates, and costing tools to enhance proposal accuracy and efficiency.
Customer & Sales Support
- Build and maintain strong relationships with customers, consulting engineers, contractors, and Armstrong representatives.
- Provide technical support throughout the sales cycle, including project reviews, customer meetings, and technical presentations.
- Respond promptly to customer inquiries and proposal clarification requests.
- Support business development strategies by identifying opportunities for value-added solutions and margin improvement.
- Gather customer feedback and market intelligence to help improve products, services, and proposal effectiveness.
- Promote a customer-focused culture that prioritizes responsiveness, quality, and technical excellence.
- Support root cause analysis and corrective actions for project issues or non-conformances.
- Contribute to process improvements, lessons learned, and standardization within the Project Engineering Group.
Operational Excellence
- Support smooth project handoff to Project Management & Engineering teams following order receipt.
- Maintain CRM and proposal tracking systems to ensure accurate.
- Support standardization and continuous improvement initiatives aimed at increasing proposal capacity and efficiency.
- Monitor key metrics related to turnaround time, accuracy, margin performance, and conversion rates.
- Contribute to departmental best practices, processes, and technical standards.
- Perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
Qualifications & Experience
- Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering or related discipline.
- Minimum 5 years of experience in engineering, manufacturing, or industrial project environments.
- Minimum 4 years of experience in specification review, estimating, and proposal development.
- Experience supporting engineered systems in HVAC, hydronics, fire pump systems and automation.
- Strong understanding of pumping systems, HVAC applications, and industry standards including ANSI, ASHRAE, and NFPA.
Skills & Competencies:
Core Competencies
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent communication and presentation abilities.
- Customer-focused mindset with a sense of urgency.
- Strong organizational and project coordination skills.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Self-motivated and results-oriented.
- Effective collaborator within cross-functional and matrix organizations.
- Continuous improvement mindset with a focus on efficiency and quality.
Leadership & Interpersonal Skills
- Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively within cross-functional teams.
- Emerging leadership capability with confidence to drive projects forward.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to influence without authority.
- Professional presence when interacting with customers, suppliers, and internal stakeholders.
