Lead Applications Engineer

Eaton; Southfield (MI); Hybrid; USD 97,000 - 143,000; Full time

Job summary

Eaton’s IS VEH VGNA division is seeking a Lead Applications Engineer with a focus on New Spaces. Based in Southfield, MI, this role offers a hybrid schedule and involves leading technical efforts across power connections for high-growth markets like AI data centers and energy storage.

You’ll work with customers and internal teams to translate requirements into robust, manufacturable solutions, guide product validation, and support design-in activities across the power distribution spectrum.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering from an accredited institution.
• Minimum five years of engineering experience in electrical systems and power distribution.
• Minimum three years in customer-facing engineering roles.
• Proven experience collaborating with customers during product development, validation, or launch.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership of Power Connections products for New Spaces and coordinate with sales, strategy, and engineering teams.
• Lead customer-facing engineering activities from concept development through product launch.
• Analyze customer specifications and architectures to develop robust, manufacturable solutions.
• Collaborate with customers and product teams to define requirements and support design reviews.
• Support installation, performance validation, and application of Eaton power connection solutions.
• Lead root-cause investigations, corrective actions, testing, and qualification activities.
• Assist pursuits by evaluating requirements and developing application-specific solutions.
• Coordinate cross-functional activities to support releases, changes, and launches.
• Monitor market trends in data centers, electrification, and power distribution to identify opportunities.

Job description

Eaton’s IS VEH VGNA division is currently seeking a Lead Applications Engineer. The expected annual salary range for this role is $97000 - $143000 a year.

Please note the salary information shown above is a general guideline only. Salaries are based upon candidate skills, experience, and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.

What You’ll Do

Eaton’s Mobility Group division is currently seeking a Lead Application Engineer – New Spaces. This role is based at our Southfield, MI facility and offers a hybrid working schedule.

Eaton's New Spaces team develops power connection solutions for emerging high-growth markets including AI data centers, electrification infrastructure, energy storage, and industrial power applications. Working closely with key customers and internal design engineering teams, the Lead Product Sales Engineer helps define next-generation power distribution architectures through innovative connector, contact system, and busbar solutions

• You will report to the Global Product Line Director and will be responsible for providing technical leadership of Power Connections products and solutions for New Spaces. You will work together with entire Power Connections sales, strategy, and engineering teams to drive maximum penetration of Power Connections products.serve as the primary technical liaison between customer engineering organizations and Eaton Power Connections engineering, product management, manufacturing, quality, and commercial teams for New Spaces applications, including AI data centers, energy storage, electrification infrastructure, and industrial power systems.
• Lead customer-facing engineering activities from concept development through product launch, ensuring customer requirements are translated into robust, manufacturable, and cost-effective connector, contact system, and busbar solutions.
• Analyze customer specifications, electrical architectures, standards, and application requirements to develop optimized technical solutions for high-current and high-voltage power distribution systems.
• Collaborate with customer engineers and Eaton product development teams to define requirements, evaluate design concepts, support design reviews, and guide product validation and qualification activities.
• Support customer integration activities by providing technical guidance related to installation, performance, qualification, and application of Eaton power connection solutions.
• Lead technical investigations and support customer issue resolution through root cause analysis, corrective actions, testing, and validation activities.
• Support technical aspects of customer pursuits, RFQs, and design-in opportunities by evaluating requirements, assessing feasibility, and developing application-specific solutions.
• Coordinate cross-functional engineering activities to support product releases, engineering changes, technical documentation, and successful customer launches.
• Monitor emerging data center, power distribution, electrification, and connectivity technologies to identify customer needs, application trends, and future growth opportunities.
• Provide technical market insights, customer feedback, and application learnings to support product improvements, technology development, and roadmap planning.
• Travel to customer locations, technical reviews, validation events, and industry conferences to support customer engagement and business growth.

Required (Basic) Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Systems Engineering, or a related engineering discipline from an accredited institution.
• Minimum five (5) years of engineering experience in electrical systems, power distribution, application engineering, product engineering, systems engineering, or related technical disciplines.
• Minimum three (3) years of experience in customer-facing engineering roles, including application engineering, product engineering, systems engineering, resident engineering, sales engineering, or similar technical positions.
• Proven experience working directly with customers throughout product development, validation, qualification, or launch activities.
• Strong ability to communicate technical concepts and recommendations to engineering, commercial, and leadership stakeholders.
• Must be able to work in the United States without corporate sponsorship now and within the future
• No relocation assistance is offered for this position. Only candidates currently residing within a 50-mile radius of the work location (Southfield, MI) will be considered. Active-Duty Military are exempt from this geographical limitation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience working in automotive electrical power distribution, data center power infrastructure, or other high-power electrical infrastructure
• Experience with connectors, busbars, contact systems, power interconnects, or related electrical distribution products.
• Experience supporting customer design reviews, product qualification, validation, and design-in activities.
• Demonstrated ability to translate customer requirements into product recommendations and development opportunities.
• Experience supporting new product introductions, new market development, or strategic growth initiatives.

Skills

• Proficiency reviewing and interpreting engineering drawings, 3D models, specifications, validation reports, and technical documentation.
• Familiarity with CAD platforms such as Creo, SolidWorks, CATIA, NX, or equivalent engineering tools.
• Strong analytical and technical problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to evaluate electrical, thermal, mechanical, and reliability performance data to support engineering decisions and customer applications.
• Strong project leadership and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple technical activities simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate cross-functionally and influence decisions without direct authority.
• Strong verbal, written, and presentation skills with the ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Excel and related tools for technical analysis, customer requirements management, and project coordination.

All positions may require participation in video and in-person interviews as part of the hiring process. All candidates will be evaluated based on job-related competencies, and all candidates’ privacy rights and data security will be protected in accordance with applicable laws.

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Eaton believes in second chance employment. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction history will be considered regardless of their arrest or conviction history, consistent with the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance, the California Fair Chance Act and other local laws.

You do not need to disclose your conviction history or participate in a background check until a conditional job offer is made to you. After making a conditional offer and running a background check, if Eaton is concerned about conviction that is directly related to the job, you will be given the chance to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide mitigating evidence, or challenge the accuracy of the background report.

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We know that good benefit programs are important to employees and their families. Eaton provides various Health and Welfare benefits as well as Retirement benefits, and several programs that provide for paid and unpaid time away from work. Click here for more detail: Eaton Benefits Overview. Please note that specific programs and options available to an employee may depend on eligibility factors such as geographic location, date of hire, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreements.