Sales Engineer

FORTNA; Parma; Hybrid; EUR 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Fortna in Parma, Italy is seeking a Sales Engineer to work with international customers, translating their needs into tailored material handling solutions using our 3D design tools and leading the technical and cost-engineering effort of bids.

The role requires a technical degree and at least 3 years in material handling or intralogistics, strong analytics, and excellent English; you will collaborate with Sales, Purchasing, and Operations and occasionally travel within the EU on hybrid projects.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a technical field.
• At least 3 years of experience in material handling, intralogistics or a related industry.
• Fluent English (C1) is essential for daily communication with international colleagues.
• Experience with customer specifications, layouts, and technical solutions.
• Consultative approach and confidence engaging with customers.
• Cost awareness and ability to identify opportunities to improve competitiveness.
• Strong communication, organisation and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage several complex bid processes simultaneously.

Responsibilities

• Engage with customers to understand needs, challenges and decision criteria.
• Translate requirements into functional requirements, solution concepts and layouts.
• Design tailored material handling solutions balancing value, feasibility, cost and delivery risk.
• Calculate project cost prices and prepare technical quotation documentation for complex projects.
• Identify cost-saving opportunities with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Develop RFQ documents and evaluate supplier proposals.
• Lead the technical and cost-engineering workstream across bid processes.
• Coordinate internal stakeholders and safeguard quality, cost basis and progress of each bid.
• Provide technical scope, cost, value proposition and risk insights to support pricing and negotiations.
• Present and explain concepts to technical and operational stakeholders.
• Identify risks and propose mitigation measures.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Consultative selling

Strong communication

Presentation skills

Cost awareness

Team collaboration

Bid management

Fluent English (C1)

Education

Bachelor’s degree in a technical field

Tools

3D design tools

Job description

Do you want to help deliver material handling solutions that enable millions of parcels to reach happy customers?

As a Sales Engineer, you work with international customers and turn their operational challenges into practical, high-value solutions.

Your Mission

As a Sales Engineer, you engage directly with customers to understand their needs, operational challenges and decision criteria. You translate these insights into tailored material handling solutions that are technically feasible, cost-effective and deliverable by FORTNA.

Throughout the bid process, which may span several weeks or months, you analyse customer documentation, specifications and operations. You use our 3D design tools to develop solution concepts and layouts that address the customer’s real needs.

You lead the technical and cost-engineering side of the bid process. In close partnership with the Sales Manager, suppliers and internal stakeholders, you develop a solution that balances customer value, technical feasibility, cost and delivery risk. The Sales Manager is responsible for commercial conditions and contract negotiations; you provide the technical scope, cost basis and solution rationale that support a competitive proposal.

You work closely with Purchasing, Project Engineering, Detail Engineering, Field Operations and Project Management. Your expertise and coordination ensure that the proposed solution can be delivered successfully.

Core Tasks

• Engage with customers to understand their needs, operational challenges and decision criteria.
• Translate customer requirements into clear functional requirements, solution concepts and layouts.
• Design tailored material handling solutions that balance customer value, technical feasibility, cost and delivery risk.
• Calculate project cost prices and prepare technical quotation documentation for complex, multimillion-euro projects
• Identify cost-saving and value-enhancing opportunities with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Develop RFQ documents for suppliers and evaluate their proposals.
• Lead the technical and cost-engineering workstream throughout multiple bid processes.
• Coordinate internal stakeholders and safeguard the quality, cost basis and progress of each bid.
• Provide the Sales Manager with clear technical scope, cost, value proposition and risk insights to support pricing and commercial negotiations.
• Present and explain solution concepts to technical and operational customer stakeholders.
• Identify technical and commercial risks and propose appropriate mitigation measures.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a technical field.
• At least 3 years of experience in material handling, intralogistics or a related industry. Experience as a Sales Engineer or in a comparable solution-engineering role in another industry is also valued.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to turn customer needs into practical solution concepts.
• Experience working with customer specifications, layouts and technical solutions.
• A consultative approach and the confidence to engage directly with customers.
• Cost awareness and the ability to identify opportunities that improve solution competitiveness.
• Strong communication, organisation and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage several complex bid processes at the same time.
• Fluent English (C1 level or equivalent) is essential. This role requires daily communication in English with an English-speaking manager and international colleagues. Candidates must be comfortable discussing complex technical topics, presenting engineering solutions, participating in meetings and communicating effectively in both written and spoken English.

Additional Information

• Hybrid working environment.
• Current focus on mid-sized projects, with opportunities to work on larger projects in the future.
• Travel within the EU is required approximately once a month.
• Opportunity to contribute to the strategy development for Sortation Systems.
• Collaboration with international hubs across Europe and worldwide.
• Are you ready to make an impact?