Applications Engineer

About the Role: Pinnacle Partners is recruiting for an Applications Engineer in Lebanon, IN. This is a technical and customer-facing engineering position supporting advanced surface treatment and coating applications within a manufacturing environment. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, along with 3-5+ years of industrial or manufacturing experience. This role will combine customer communication, quoting, project management, process development, troubleshooting, and engineering design, with opportunities to work hands-on with advanced coating technologies including PVD, DLC, plasma spray, and nitriding.

Key Responsibilities: Develop a strong understanding of advanced surface treatment and coating processes to effectively support customers and internal teams. Learn and understand technical aspects of PVD, DLC coatings, ion plasma nitriding, thermal spray, and other surface treatment technologies. Serve as a technical resource for customers and internal teams regarding coating processes, capabilities, and applications. Respond to customer Requests for Quote (RFQs) and other technical inquiries. Review customer requirements and determine appropriate technical solutions and manufacturing approaches. Communicate directly with customers regarding technical requirements, project scope, quotes, and application questions. Follow up with customers by phone and email to clarify technical requirements and provide project updates. Meet with customers to discuss larger projects and technical applications. Develop quotes and technical responses based on customer requirements. Manage customer projects from initial inquiry through trials, scale-up, and transition into production. Support small-scale coating trials and evaluate results. Assist with scaling successful trials into production. Develop, optimize, and maintain processes for existing production applications and new customer applications. Troubleshoot coating, equipment, and process issues to improve quality, consistency, and production performance. Work closely with Process Engineering and Operations to resolve technical challenges. Utilize SolidWorks to create tooling, fixtures, and other components required to support incoming customer work. Design or assist with the design of fixtures and tooling based on customer and production requirements. Read and interpret blueprints, technical drawings, schematics, and computer-generated reports. Support engineering projects related to new applications and product development. Assist with technical contract review when incoming customer parts are received. Coordinate with the Plant Manager to schedule and implement new customer projects into production. Support the development and implementation of new processes and customer applications. Understand and apply technical concepts related to gas flow, temperature, bias voltage, deposition rates, arc currents, and other coating process variables. Apply knowledge of materials science and surface treatment principles to solve customer and manufacturing challenges. Assist with process optimization and continuous improvement activities. Prepare technical documentation, reports, forecasts, and project updates for management. Develop and maintain technical documentation such as control plans, test results, work instructions, and other engineering records. Support the Business Development team in growing existing customer relationships and identifying new opportunities. Participate in sales support activities including website requests, referrals, targeted marketing campaigns, and customer follow-up. Support and attend trade shows, conferences, and other industry events. Collaborate with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Business Development, and leadership to achieve customer and production objectives. Serve as a technical resource and subject matter expert for assigned coating processes and customer applications. Maintain strong organization and responsiveness across multiple customer and engineering projects. Complete additional engineering and technical projects as assigned. Travel as needed for customer visits, trade shows, conferences, and other business activities, generally less than 20%.

Requirements: Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.3-5+ years of industrial or manufacturing engineering experience. Strong customer-facing communication skills. Ability to communicate technical information clearly through email, phone conversations, presentations, and technical documentation. Experience working directly with customers or other external stakeholders. Strong organizational and project management skills. SolidWorks experience, particularly for designing tooling and fixtures. Ability to read and interpret blueprints, technical drawings, and schematics. Ability to design or assist with the design of fixtures and tooling. Desire to work hands-on in a manufacturing environment. Ability to troubleshoot manufacturing processes, equipment, and technical issues. Strong problem-solving and analytical skills. Ability to understand and apply engineering and materials science principles. Ability to learn new coating technologies, processes, equipment, and applications. Ability to manage multiple projects and customer requests simultaneously. Strong attention to detail. Ability to work effectively with Engineering, Operations, Business Development, Quality, and customers. Ability to travel up to approximately 20% as needed. Must be eligible to work on ITAR-related projects and be a U.S. citizen. Ability to work Monday through Friday, generally on a 6:00 AM-2:00 PM or 7:00 AM-3:00 PM schedule.

Preferred: Experience with surface coatings or advanced surface treatment processes. Experience with PVD or Physical Vapor Deposition. Experience with DLC coatings. Experience with plasma spray. Experience with HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel).Experience with flame spray. Experience with twin wire arc spray systems. Experience with ion plasma nitriding. Experience with thermal diffusion, carburizing, or other surface treatment technologies. Working knowledge of materials science principles and coating characterization methods. Aerospace or Department of Defense experience. Experience supporting Navy, Air Force, or other DOD customers. Former military experience. Experience with continuous improvement methodologies. Experience with project management. Experience developing technical documentation, including control plans, test results, work instructions, and process documentation. Experience with customer quoting and RFQ processes. Experience supporting new product or application development. Experience with process development and optimization. Experience scaling laboratory or trial processes into production. Experience with manufacturing process troubleshooting. Experience designing manufacturing tooling and fixtures. Experience working in a regulated or highly technical manufacturing environment. Experience supporting trade shows, conferences, or technical customer presentations.

Benefits Overview: $75K-$85K target base salary depending on experience and qualifications. Annual performance bonus.4% 401(k) contribution.7 paid holidays. Monday-Friday schedule, generally 6:00 AM-2:00 PM or 7:00 AM-3:00 PM.Temperature-controlled, well-lit, and well-maintained manufacturing environment. Newer facility and equipment.

Explore More Engineering Opportunities: This role falls within our Engineering/Manufacturing division, where we specialize in placing professionals in areas such as:

• Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
• Manufacturing/Process Engineering
• Controls Engineering
• Project Engineering
• Technical Sales
• Operations / Plant Engineering
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