Position SummaryThe Senior Applications Engineering Manager is responsible for leading Liberty Lift Solutions' applications engineering function across all artificial lift product lines. This role provides technical leadership, application design oversight, customer support, and engineering direction to ensure optimal system performance, customer satisfaction, and profitable growth.
The Senior Applications Engineering Manager serves as the primary technical resource for sales, operations, field personnel, and customers, supporting the design, optimization, troubleshooting, and continuous improvement of artificial lift systems including rod lift, jet pump, gas lift, ESP, plunger lift, and related production enhancement technologies. The position is expected to develop engineering talent, standardize application practices, and drive technical excellence throughout the organization.
Key ResponsibilitiesLeadership & Management- Lead, coach, and develop applications engineers and technical specialists.
- Establish departmental goals, performance metrics, and development plans.
- Promote a culture focused on safety, accountability, innovation, and customer service.
- Support succession planning and technical workforce development.
- Coordinate engineering resources across regions and product lines.
Applications Engineering- Oversee design and optimization of artificial lift systems for customer applications.
- Review and approve engineering recommendations, equipment sizing, and system designs.
- Ensure consistency and accuracy of engineering calculations, modeling, and technical deliverables.
- Develop and maintain engineering standards, procedures, and best practices.
- Support life-of-well artificial lift strategies and transition planning.
Customer Support & Business Development- Provide high-level technical support to customers, sales teams, and field operations.
- Participate in customer meetings, technical presentations, and application reviews.
- Assist with strategic account development and technical sales initiatives.
- Support proposal development, system recommendations, and commercial evaluations.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex field and production challenges.
Product Performance & Optimization- Monitor application performance and identify optimization opportunities.
- Analyze production data and operating trends to improve customer outcomes.
- Lead root cause analysis efforts on significant equipment or production issues.
- Develop recommendations that improve reliability, run-life, and system efficiency.
- Utilize field data to support product improvements and innovation initiatives.
Cross-Functional Collaboration- Partner with Operations, Manufacturing, Product Management, and Sales teams.
- Support new product development and commercialization efforts.
- Work closely with field personnel to improve installation and commissioning practices.
- Assist with technical training for employees and customers.
- Ensure alignment between engineering recommendations and operational capabilities.
Safety & Compliance- Champion Liberty Lift's commitment to safety and environmental stewardship.
- Ensure engineering activities comply with applicable industry standards and regulations.
- Promote safe work practices during design, field visits, and customer interactions.
- Support quality assurance and continuous improvement initiatives.
Required Qualifications- Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related technical discipline.
- 10+ years of artificial lift engineering experience.
- 5+ years of supervisory or management experience.
- Demonstrated expertise in one or more artificial lift technologies including:
- Rod Lift
- Hydraulic Jet Pump Systems
- Gas Lift
- Electric Submersible Pumps (ESP)
- Plunger Lift
- Strong understanding of production optimization and well performance analysis.
- Ability to interpret production, pressure, and operational data.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and customer-facing skills.
- Willingness to travel as required.
Preferred Qualifications- Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred.
- Advanced degree in Engineering or Business preferred.
- Experience supporting multi-product artificial lift organizations.
- Experience with engineering modeling and optimization software.
- Experience managing geographically distributed teams.
Key Competencies- Technical Leadership
- Strategic Thinking
- Customer Focus
- Problem Solving
- Team Development
- Project Management
- Commercial Awareness
- Continuous Improvement
- Communication & Presentation Skills
- Decision Making Under Pressure
Performance Measures- Customer satisfaction and retention
- System performance improvement metrics
- Applications engineering response times
- Technical proposal quality and accuracy
- Team development and retention
- Revenue growth influenced by engineering support
- Reduction in recurring field failures
- Safety and compliance performance
