Applications Engineering Manager

Nidec Corporation; Troy (MI); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

The Manager, Application Engineering at Nidec Corporation leads a team delivering application-level engineering support across products and solutions. You translate customer requirements into engineered solutions that support sales, product adoption, and customer success, while guiding technical strategy and ensuring risk management.

Reporting to a senior director, you will collaborate with Sales, Product Management, Manufacturing, and R&D to drive revenue growth, ensure solution feasibility,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or related field) required
• Advanced degree preferred depending on industry complexity
• Prior experience in application engineering, sales engineering, or solutions engineering required
• Previous people-management experience preferred

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Application Engineers
• Set clear performance expectations and conduct regular feedback and performance reviews
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, and succession planning
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and customer focus
• Oversee development of customer-specific application solutions and technical proposals
• Ensure accurate interpretation of customer requirements and operating conditions
• Review and approve technical designs, calculations, and application recommendations
• Serve as escalation point for complex or high-risk technical issues
• Partner with Sales and Commercial teams to support pre-sales and post-sales technical engagement
• Support customer meetings, technical reviews, and solution alignment discussions
• Balance responsiveness with technical rigor to meet customer timelines
• Ensure application solutions support contractual, performance, and safety requirements
• Collaborate with Product Management and R&D to provide application feedback and requirements
• Support product launches and application-readiness activities
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to ensure solution feasibility
• Align application standards with product capabilities and lifecycle considerations
• Establish and maintain application engineering standards, tools, and best practices
• Ensure consistency, quality, and documentation discipline across application work
• Support automation, configuration tools, or digital solution development
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and scalability of application support
• Ensure application solutions comply with engineering standards, regulations, and internal policies
• Review and mitigate technical, operational, or safety risks
• Support resolution of field issues and root-cause analysis as needed
• Ensure proper documentation and knowledge capture for future reference
• Manages a team of Application Engineers across products, customers, or regions

Skills

Technical foundation

Leadership

Communication

Problem solving

Prioritization

Education

Bachelor's in Engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

We begin with dreams. Dreams drive our motivation. Dreams are our future. The world's dreams, people's dreams, our dreams. Our passion creates ideas that make dreams come alive. Technology and products that were only dreams become reality. All for dreams. Dreams challenge and the Nidec-Group will continue to meet the challenge. For the world's and people's tomorrows; the world's first, the world's best technologies and products; we will continue our part in creating a better society.

Job Summary

The Manager, Application Engineering is a mid-level management role that leads a team of Application Engineers who provide technical solutions, product applications support, and customer‑focused engineering expertise. This role ensures effective translation of customer requirements into engineered solutions that support sales, product adoption, and customer success. The Manager, Application Engineering balances people leadership, technical oversight, and cross‑functional collaboration to drive solution quality, responsiveness, and commercial impact.

Job Description

Role Overview

The Manager, Application Engineering oversees the delivery of application‑level engineering support across products, systems, or solutions. The role ensures alignment between engineering capability, customer needs, and commercial strategy. Responsibilities include managing technical resources, setting application standards, resolving escalated technical issues, and partnering with Sales, Product Management, Manufacturing, and R&D. This position plays a critical role in enabling revenue growth, ensuring solution feasibility, and maintaining strong customer relationships through high‑quality technical engagement. The role typically reports to a Director of Engineering, Director of Technical Services, Vice President of Engineering, or Commercial Engineering Leader, depending on organizational structure.

Key Responsibilities

People Leadership & Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of Application Engineers
• Set clear performance expectations and conduct regular feedback and performance reviews
• Support hiring, onboarding, training, and succession planning
• Foster a culture of technical excellence, accountability, and customer focus

Application Engineering & Technical Oversight

• Oversee development of customer‑specific application solutions and technical proposals
• Ensure accurate interpretation of customer requirements and operating conditions
• Review and approve technical designs, calculations, and application recommendations
• Serve as escalation point for complex or high‑risk technical issues

Customer & Sales Enablement

• Partner with Sales and Commercial teams to support pre‑sales and post‑sales technical engagement
• Support customer meetings, technical reviews, and solution alignment discussions
• Balance responsiveness with technical rigor to meet customer timelines
• Ensure application solutions support contractual, performance, and safety requirements

Product & Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Collaborate with Product Management and R&D to provide application feedback and requirements
• Support product launches and application‑readiness activities
• Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, and Supply Chain to ensure solution feasibility
• Align application standards with product capabilities and lifecycle considerations

Process & Standards Development

• Establish and maintain application engineering standards, tools, and best practices
• Ensure consistency, quality, and documentation discipline across application work
• Support automation, configuration tools, or digital solution development
• Identify opportunities to improve efficiency and scalability of application support

Risk, Compliance & Safety

• Ensure application solutions comply with engineering standards, regulations, and internal policies
• Review and mitigate technical, operational, or safety risks
• Support resolution of field issues and root‑cause analysis as needed
• Ensure proper documentation and knowledge capture for future reference

Scope & Impact

• Manages a team of Application Engineers across products, customers, or regions
• Impact is at the functional and commercial‑support level
• Decisions influence revenue enablement, customer satisfaction, and technical risk
• Errors may result in solution failure, customer dissatisfaction, or financial exposure

Qualifications

Education & Experience

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Industrial, or related field) required

Advanced degree preferred depending on industry complexity

Prior experience in application engineering, sales engineering, or solutions engineering required

Previous people‑management experience preferred

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Strong technical foundation in product applications and systems engineering
• Proven people‑leadership and coaching skills
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts into practical solutions
• Strong customer‑facing communication and stakeholder‑management skills
• Sound engineering judgment and problem‑solving capability
• Ability to balance technical, commercial, and operational priorities

Additional Job Details

Management – M2 Organizational Impact

• Works to achieve operational, functional, and/or business targets within team with direct impact on departmental or job family results
• Delivers operational results that have impact on the immediate or short-term results (e.g., less than 1 year) for the department and/or job family group
• Plans and establishes goals and objectives for a team typically comprising of intermediate-level professionals and entry level professionals

Communication & Influence

• Communicates with parties within and occasionally outside of own department or job family, which may include external clients or partners depending upon the job area
• Requires ability to influence others outside of own job area on policies, practices and procedures

Innovation & Complexity

• Responsible for making moderate improvements of processes, systems, or products to enhance performance of the job area
• Problems are difficult and moderately complex and typically impact multiple departments or job family
• Problems are typically solved through drawing from prior experience and analysis of issues

Leadership & Talent Management

• Manages a team typically comprising of intermediate-level professionals and entry level professionals
• Leads, directs and reviews the work of team members in order to accomplish operational plans and results
• Typically has hiring, firing, promotion, and reward authority within own area, in accordance with manager review and approval

Knowledge & Experience

• Requires practical knowledge in leading and managing the execution of processes, projects and tactics within one job area
• Typically has advanced knowledge and skills within a specific technical or professional discipline with understanding of the impact of work on other areas of the organization
• Typically has a bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional certification and 5 years of prior relevant experience

Equal Employment Opportunity and Aff… Nidec is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) andAffirmative Action Employer encouraging diversity in the workplace. All qualified applicants receive consideration for employment without regard to their age, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, genetic information, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information regarding your (EEO) rights as an applicant, please visit the following website: http://www1.eeoc.gov/employers/upload/eeoc_self_print_poster.pdf

Work Shift Schedule No Soliciting Nidec will not accept unsolicited resumes from individual recruiters or third party recruiting agencies in response to Nidec job postings. No fee will be paid to third parties who submit unsolicited candidates directly to our hiring managers. Pre‑approval from the Nidec Talent Acquisition team is required before any external candidate can be submitted and such candidate must be submitted to the Nidec Talent Acquisition team.

Nidec has worked its way up to become the world's No.1 manufacturer of small precision motors. In the process, Nidec has gradually expanded its product lineup to include a variety of small to large motors, application products for machinery, and electronic and optical components. At present, its products are used in a wide range of fields and devices including information and telecommunications equipment, office equipment, home appliances, automobiles, industrial equipment, and environmental energy. "For Everything that Spins and Moves", the Group is creating next‑generation drive technologies to meet the needs of the society.