Field Application Engineer

Apera AI Inc; Germany (OH); On-site; USD 74,841 - 109,383; Full time

Job summary

Apera AI Inc. seeks a Field Application Engineer to support customers across Europe, planning, simulating, and deploying vision-guided robotics. You will troubleshoot calibration issues, lead capability workshops, and mentor under the European Technical Lead on multi-country projects.

Expect substantial travel (up to 75% on-site in Europe) and a role focused on education, deployment, and customer success, with mentorship and growth opportunities in a cutting-edge robotics environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in robotics or machine vision on production floors.
• Strong communication across technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Fluency in German and English; multi-language is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead on-site deployments and commissioning of vision software across European sites.
• Deliver hands-on training and enable customers to maximize ROI.
• Provide consultative guidance to plant managers and engineers.

Skills

Robotics knowledge

Machine vision

Customer communication

Cross-cultural collaboration

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's or Diplom- Ingenieur in engineering

Tools

FANUC

KUKA

ABB

Job description

Apera is an innovative, Vancouver-based company at the forefront of robotics, AI, and machine vision — recognized with the 2025 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Leadership Award and the 2024 BC Tech "Company of the Year, Growth" award. We're on a mission to redefine AI-driven robotic vision.

Apera AI helps manufacturers make their factories more flexible and productive. Robots enhanced with Apera's software have 4D Vision — the ability to see and grasp objects with human-like capability. Challenging applications such as bin picking, sorting, packaging, and assembly are now open to fast, precise, and reliable automation. We work with the world's leading automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers.

Our portfolio spans Vue (our 4D Vision software), Forge (a no-code simulation and AI training studio where customers build, validate, and de-risk robotic cells before any hardware is bought), and VuePod, our new turnkey, productized bin-picking cell.

The Role

As a Field Application Engineer, you'll work directly with customers across Europe to plan, simulate, and deploy vision guided robotics applications. You'll be a consultant and educator, guiding them toward getting the most out of their investment.

You'll be the expert who can troubleshoot a calibration issue in the morning and lead a capability workshop in the afternoon. Your success is measured not just by deployments completed, but by customers who genuinely understand and expand what Apera's technology can do for them.

You'll be supported in this role with direct mentorship and oversight from our European Technical Lead — giving you a strong foundation to grow from as you build your own expertise and customer relationships across the region.

Travel is a core part of this role. You should expect to be on-site across Europe up to 75% of the time in some months, and will be asked to travel to Canada or the US for training in your first month on the team.

What You'll Do

Deployment & CommissioningYou'll lead on-site installations and commissioning of Apera's vision software — running site assessments, configuring systems, calibrating for production environments, and seeing deployments through to customer sign-off. You bring both technical rigor and a calm, confident presence on the plant floor.

Customer Enablement & EducationYou believe that a customer who truly understands the technology gets more out of it — and you act on that belief. You'll deliver hands‑on training, build familiarity with the software across customer teams, and develop the kind of trusted relationships that make customers reach out to you first when they're thinking about expanding.

Consultative GuidanceYou're not just executing a deployment plan — you're helping customers see what's possible. You'll engage with plant managers, automation engineers, and operations leads to understand their processes, identify where Apera's technology creates value, and guide them toward applications they may not have considered on their own.

Field Support & Issue ResolutionWhen issues arise post-install, you're responsive and thorough. You diagnose problems systematically, coordinate with internal teams when needed, and drive resolution without letting things linger. Customers trust you to close what you open.

Product Feedback & DocumentationYou contribute to how Apera improves. You document what you see in the field — recurring challenges, customer questions, application patterns — and feed that back in ways that help the product and the broader team get better. When you solve a new problem, you capture it so it can be repeated.

What We're Looking For

• Experience in robotics, machine vision, industrial automation, or a closely related technical field — you're comfortable on production floors and with the people who run them
• A natural communicator who can adapt register fluidly — equally at ease in a technical calibration session and a consultative conversation with a plant manager
• Genuine interest in customer empowerment, not just task completion — you care whether the customer actually understands and adopts what you've deployed
• Fluency in both German and English is required; additional European languages are an asset
• Self‑directed and organized — you manage your own schedule, travel, and priorities across a multi‑country territory
• Enthusiasm for a role that is primarily field‑based and travel‑heavy

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or Diplom‑Ingenieur (Dipl.-Ing.) in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, mechatronics, or a related discipline
• Hands‑on experience with FANUC, KUKA, ABB, or other industrial robot platforms
• Prior experience in a customer‑facing field role — FAE, application specialist, systems integrator, or similar
• Based in Germany; candidates based elsewhere in the EU will also be considered

Compensation & Employment

This role is employed through an Employer of Record arrangement, providing full local employment compliance, benefits, and payroll in your country of residence. Compensation includes a competitive base salary, a performance‑based variable component, and equity participation — because every Apera employee is an owner.

Specific compensation details will be discussed during the interview process.

Why This Role

You'll be embedded in some of Europe's most sophisticated manufacturing environments, guided by a senior technical mentor, and backed by software that's genuinely changing what's possible on the factory floor. If you want a role where technical depth and human connection are equally valued — and where your work directly expands what your customers believe automation can do for them — this is it.