Application Engineer II

Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases is a leading provider of cryogenic pumps, fueling stations, heat exchangers, process systems, turboexpanders, services, and solutions for the liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied hydrogen (LH2), and industrial gases industries. We are a subsidiary of Nikkiso Company Ltd, a leading industrial manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with $1.5 B USD in annual revenue, 8000 + employees worldwide, and publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

As a member of the Application Engineering Team, reporting to the Regional Manager, Applications Engineering, the individual entrusted with holding this position will be responsible for supporting the overall sales process for Standard and Configurable products within the Nikkiso Applied Technologies Business Unit. Application Engineers are a key part of the sales process, receiving support requests from the sales department, sizing and costing the equipment, generating the proposal, communicating with the customer, and feeding orders on a wide scope of products within the Business Unit. These products include, but are not limited to ambient vaporizers, vacuum jacketed piping, shell and tube heat exchangers, water bath heat exchangers, electric vaporizers and trim heaters, switching panels and equipment, Fueling Stations (standard and configurable designs), offload pumps skids, and all other products that are designated as Standard and Configurable by the Executive Team. To support these requests, Application Engineers work towards established processes and procedures (or support establishing the processes and procedures if not existent yet) that support our sales process. Depending on size of the order, and customer interaction needed during production, some oversight on production management of products through Manufacturing Centers is required. The annual bookings target will be determined for the Region each year by the Executive Team, which will be the largest form of performance measurement for this position, amongst other measurables that include time to quote, capture rates, and overall communication with internal and external customers. As a direct report of the Regional Manager, Applications Engineering, the individual in this position is also responsible for creating a culture of success by supporting ongoing business goals for reaching sales targets / milestones and working with a team of professionals while consistently delivering customer service excellence at every level of interaction internally and externally

Essential Functions/Responsibilities

• Proposal Qualification: Once a support request is received from sales, Application Engineer qualifies the request with either the sales team or end customer by asking open ended questions, routing the solution to our product offerings, and confirming the requirement for the request.
• Engineering Design: Use internal tools to perform basic process sizing of equipment. This includes heat transfer, pressure drop, electrical, and any other engineering calculation needed. Note that tools will be supplied and developed to support this function, and sizing will be managed through regional processes with extensive engineering sizing done through a request to the Engineering Department within the Applied Technologies Business Unit.
• Equipment Costing: Local templates used for costing equipment, working with Engineering and Procurement departments to estimate surface areas needed, material construction and thicknesses to use, quality processes required, engineering hours to be used, and all other facets to determine an overall cost for the equipment.
• Proposal Generation: Based on Standard and Configurable products, generate a comprehensive proposal for customer consideration in collaboration with the sales team. Gross margins to be determined by the local Business Line Manager (Sales). This includes either supporting sales with the proposal presentation to the customer, or performing the presentation to the customer which will be determined case by case. Generally, sales present the proposal with support from the Application Engineers as needed.
• Proposal Follow-up: Operate in a closed-loop process for receiving feedback on the proposals generated. Same day feedback will be a requirement, confirming receipt of proposal, accuracy of scope, and overall customer satisfaction. Customer feedback to be implemented in conjunction with the sales department.
• Workload Management: Work with Regional Manager, Application Engineering to meet KPI’s and metrics on proposals and orders. To include but not be limited to the following: 

• Amount (in local currency or USD) quoted per month
• Quotes per month
• Capture Amount
• Capture Percent
• Time to quote
• Time to call after support request is open
• Time to follow up on quote

 Customer Satisfaction: Work with a closed-loop customer satisfaction process. This includes internal and external customers; i.e.: within Nikkiso includes Business Line Managers, Sales Managers, General Managers, etc…, outside of Nikkiso includes Purchasing Departments, Engineering Departments, Expeditors/Estimators, etc…

• Key Customer Relationships: Support Key Customer Relationships in line with Sales Approach in Region.
• In Region Presence: Travel within region, and occasionally out of region for in-person sales/customer support and relationship building.

Supervisory Responsibility

This position has no direct supervisory responsibilities but does serve as a coach and mentor for other positions in the department.

Work Environment

This job operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as laptop computers, photocopiers, and smartphones.

Physical Demands

In order to perform the duties of this job, the employee may be required to stand, walk, sit, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, stoop or kneel, talk and hear, and use fingers and hands to feel objects, tools or controls.

• Outside normal work hours may be necessary as the workload dictates. This may include week days, weekends, nights and/or holidays.
• Job will generally be performed in an office environment but does require occasional travel to a Client's office or site, production facility or industrial/construction job site. Extensive periods of sitting and standing during meetings, presentations and travel may be necessary. Conditions will vary at each location, but the conditions listed above will generally apply.
• Candidates will be required to show a driving abstract with a clean driving history for travel between the Nikkiso facilities and client sites/offices as required. A valid driver’s license is necessary.

Education and Experience

• Entry level to extensive experience in both an engineered and high-volume sales environment.
• 3 to 5 years of experience in cryogenic is highly preferred. 
• Specific industry experience and knowledge in the following (amongst others): o LNG
  • Industrial Gas
  • Clean Energy
  • Hydrogen
• Exceptional problem solving, negotiating, and time management skills.
• Ability to grow and learn new products for introduction into local market.
• General engineering capabilities with regards to Heat, Mass, Pressure Transfer and general Transport Phenomena as well as Electrical and Mechanical Calculations needed to support equipment sizing.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office: Powerpoint, Excel, Word, and other Microsoft or similar applications.
• Proficient in computer software use: Salesforce, Quotewerks, other internally developed software.
• Great communication skills, this is a customer-facing position with both stakeholders internal and external to the Business Unit.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher, is preferred, but not required, ideally with emphasis in marketing and general business management.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.