Lead Pre-Sales Engineer - CNC Machining

Fathom Digital Manufacturing; Town of Hartland (WI); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Floating Holidays

Volunteer time off

Sick time off

401k Plan

Discounts on products and services

Health benefits

Job summary

Fathom Manufacturing is seeking a customer-facing technical and commercial leader to support the growth of our aerospace and defense business. You will lead Pre-Sales Applications Engineers, guide complex opportunities, and translate customer requirements into competitive, profitable manufacturing proposals.

You will coach teams, partner with Sales, engage customer engineering, own CNC quotation strategy, and drive capital investment cases for tooling and capabilities, delivering robust,

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical or manufacturing engineering, or equivalent precision-manufacturing experience.
• Experience supporting aerospace and defense customers, including technical proposals.
• Deep CNC applications engineering, estimating, or manufacturing engineering with machining methods, GD&T, tooling, and inspection.
• Proven technical selling and business development skills, including presenting solutions and supporting negotiations.
• Strong commercial judgment in manufacturing cost modeling, pricing, margin analysis, NRE development, and capital justification.
• Experience leading engineering teams, managing competing priorities, and maintaining accountability for results.
• Ability to interpret complex drawings and CAD models and communicate effectively with technical and commercial audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop Applications Engineers while setting priorities and ensuring proposal quality.
• Partner with Sales through discovery, opportunity qualification, technical presentations, negotiations, and closing.
• Engage customer engineering and procurement teams to understand requirements, timing, priorities, and challenges.
• Own the technical strategy and completeness of complex CNC quotations, including materials, processes, cycle times, tooling, programming, outside processing, inspection, volumes, and delivery requirements.
• Lead proposal reviews, validate assumptions and risks, and partner with Sales and Finance on pricing, margins, and commercial positioning.
• Develop manufacturing concepts and lead customer-facing DFM discussions based on geometry, materials, tolerances, volume, capability, and execution risk.
• Develop NRE proposals and support capital investment business cases for tooling, engineering, qualification, equipment, and new capabilities.
• Identify quality, documentation, traceability, security, contractual, and customer-specific requirements during qualification and quoting.
• Lead the technical handoff of awarded work and use quote-to-actual results to improve future estimates and proposals.

Skills

CNC applications engineering

Technical selling

Pricing & margins

Leadership

GD&T interpretation

Education

Bachelor's degree in mechanical or manufacturing engineering

Tools

CAD software

Estimating software

Job description

Company History

Fathom is a premier U.S. contract manufacturer with a legacy of manufacturing innovation dating back more than 50 years. Across seven locations and a global sourcing network, we offer 25+ advanced technologies spanning additive manufacturing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, injection molding and more. We serve leading companies across aerospace and defense, medical, robotics, automotive, semiconductor, and data center and energy markets, delivering highly complex parts from concept through production. Our expert-driven approach, white-glove service, and extensive certifications help our customers scale with confidence.

Company History

Fathom is a premier U.S. contract manufacturer with a legacy of manufacturing innovation dating back more than 50 years. Across seven locations and a global sourcing network, we offer 25+ advanced technologies spanning additive manufacturing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, injection molding and more. We serve leading companies across aerospace and defense, medical, robotics, automotive, semiconductor, and data center and energy markets, delivering highly complex parts from concept through production. Our expert-driven approach, white-glove service, and extensive certifications help our customers scale with confidence.

The Opportunity

Fathom Manufacturing is seeking a customer-facing technical and commercial leader to support the growth of our aerospace and defense business. You will lead Pre-Sales Applications Engineers, personally guide complex opportunities, and translate customer requirements into competitive, profitable, and executable manufacturing proposals.

What You Will Do

• Lead, coach, and develop Applications Engineers while setting priorities and ensuring proposal quality, responsiveness, and accountability.
• Partner with Sales throughout discovery, opportunity qualification, technical presentations, negotiations, and closing activities.
• Engage customer engineering and procurement teams to understand requirements, timing, priorities, and manufacturing challenges.
• Own the technical strategy and completeness of complex CNC quotations, including materials, processes, cycle times, tooling, programming, outside processing, inspection, volumes, and delivery requirements.
• Lead proposal reviews, validate assumptions and risks, and partner with Sales and Finance on pricing, margins, and commercial positioning.
• Develop manufacturing concepts and lead customer-facing DFM discussions based on geometry, materials, tolerances, volume, capability, and execution risk.
• Develop NRE proposals and support capital investment business cases for tooling, engineering, qualification, equipment, and new capabilities.
• Identify quality, documentation, traceability, security, contractual, and customer-specific requirements during qualification and quoting.
• Lead the technical handoff of awarded work and use quote-to-actual results to improve future estimates and proposals.

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, manufacturing engineering, or a related field, or equivalent precision-manufacturing experience.
• Experience supporting aerospace and defense customers, including technical proposals and engagement with customer engineering and procurement teams.
• Deep CNC applications engineering, estimating, or manufacturing engineering experience with machining methods, materials, GD&T, tooling, workholding, and inspection.
• Proven technical selling and business development skills, including presenting solutions, addressing objections, and supporting negotiations.
• Strong commercial judgment in manufacturing cost modeling, pricing, margin analysis, NRE development, and capital justification.
• Experience leading engineering teams, managing competing priorities, and maintaining accountability for results.
• Ability to interpret complex drawings and CAD models and communicate effectively with technical and commercial audiences.

Join Fathom Manufacturing

Bring your CNC manufacturing expertise, commercial judgment, and leadership capability to a role where you can shape winning solutions and help turn high-value opportunities into long-term customer programs.

What we offer

Health Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Life insurance, short-term and long-term disability insurance.

Additional Benefits

• Paid time off, Floating Holidays, Volunteer time off, and sick time off (depending on state of employment).
• 401k Plan

Employee Perks

• Discounts on products and services.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled

This employer participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm that you are authorized to work in the U.S. If E-Verify cannot confirm that you are authorized to work, this employer is required to give you written instructions and an opportunity to contact Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or Social Security Administration (SSA) so you can begin to resolve the issue before the employer can take any action against you, including terminating your employment. Employers can only use E-Verify once you have accepted a job offer and completed the Form I-9.