Conair is the leading producer of auxiliary equipment for plastics processing in the world. We make and market over 450 different products, including resin-drying systems, blenders, feeders and material-conveying systems, temperature-control equipment and granulators.  Extrusion solutions include gravimetric control systems, film and sheet scrap-reclaim systems and downstream equipment for pipe and profile extrusion. Conair is also a leader in plastics process integration, engineering and installing complete manufacturing systems that help plastics processors manage their valuable raw materials, handle their critical manufactured parts, and improve their process yield. 

Role

The Sales Application Engineer facilitates the preparation of commercial proposals to customers for what Conair calls “Engineered Systems”. These systems can be complicated in nature and require a degree of technical competence. This requires the Technical Sales Systems Specialist to analyze customer data and information to determine the appropriate system design and application/selection of Conair equipment providing effective, robust, and cost effective solutions. This analysis phase is done in conjunction and with direct interaction with one or more of the following: regional sales manager, technical sales manager, engineering, product managers, sales representative, parts and service, finance, operations and the customer. The final integrity of the system design and pricing are the responsibility of the Sales Application Engineer. This position will report to the Director – Systems Group and is located in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Manages territory opportunities and activities, including tactically planning and interfacing with the sales representative, regional managers and product managers to determine a successful strategy for each opportunity before any work is started on the quotation;
• Understand and interpret technical requirements based upon gathered application information to ultimately satisfy the customer. The application information can be provided by the sales representative, regional managers or solicited directly from the customer as needed. May require direct communication with customer to gather application information;
• Completes design specifications compatible with project goals/objectives and applies product specific knowledge, engineering principles and practices to support all phases of development, customization, and enhancement activities. Requires the use of data to support and communicate technical decisions;
• Interacts with Conair sales group to analyze customer inquiry/request for proposal. This is inclusive of organization of the appropriate resources to define the required detail to develop an accurate, effective, robust, and cost competitive proposal in a timely manner;
• Effectively manages communications with all Conair resources regarding inquiries for such items as drawings, labor, water, and TBC quoting to support proposals being delivered in a timely manner;
• Effectively manages external communications with all vendor resources regarding inquiries for buyout/purchased items;
• Interacts with and supports the Regional Managers in planning a sales strategy for “Engineered Systems” in the assigned territories;
• Travels as required to assist in the selling effort, project data collection, and proposal presentations along with trade shows as needed;
• Proficient in software packages needed to manage customer opportunities. This includes but is not limited to CRM, CPQ, ERP, and Document Management Software.
• Cross-sell to our existing customer base, while trying to expand the portfolio of equipment that could be purchased from Conair;
• Develop an understanding of the injection molding, extrusion and blow molding industries so that they can direct the selection of the appropriate Conair product offering;
• Utilize Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Permanent Corrective Actions (PCA’s)
• When a mistake is made, help seek to identify the “root cause” (why it happened) and help implement “corrective actions” (to keep it from happening again).
• Manage incoming phone calls from the sales line when required;
• Other duties as assigned.