Proposal Engineer – Industrial Automation

Koester Corporation; Napoleon (OH); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Dental, Health & Vision insurance

Life insurance

Paid time off

Paid vacations

401(k)

Job summary

Koester Corporation in Napoleon, OH is seeking a detail-oriented Proposal Engineer to join our Electrical Engineering department and support our engineering sales team.

You will assemble complete estimates, develop bills of material, and prepare proposals for diverse projects across industries. This role requires a four-year engineering degree or equivalent experience, plus familiarity with Rockwell/Siemens PLCs and panel design. On-site work with occasional travel is expected.

Qualifications

• Four-year Engineering Degree (Electrical, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering Technology), or equivalent experience in controls or panel building.
• At least one year of experience in controls engineering, panel building, estimating, or a related field. Co-op or internship experience encouraged.
• Working understanding of control panel design and electrical schematics.
• Familiarity with Rockwell or Siemens controls equipment and PLCs.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel.
• Co-op or internship experience with a systems integrator or panel shop.

Responsibilities

• Assemble complete estimates using standard building blocks: panel design, PLC programming, HMI/SCADA development, and startup/commissioning.
• Apply standard labor hours and rates to each scope of work.
• Review customer specifications, drawings, and RFQ documents to capture all project requirements.
• Build panel and field device bills of material from the sales engineer’s scope and preliminary designs.
• Request and track vendor and distributor quotes for components, panels, and subcontracted work.
• Maintain current material pricing and lead times.
• Assemble proposal documents including scope of work, clarifications, exclusions, and schedule.
• Maintain the quote log and track the status of open quotes.
• Support the engineering and the sales engineer with quote revisions and customer follow-up.
• Collaborate with project engineers and the panel shop to validate labor estimates and design assumptions.
• Occasionally join site walks with the engineers or sales engineer to gather scope information.
• Compare quoted versus actual hours and materials on completed projects and feed the results back into our estimating standards.
• Help build and maintain our quoting templates and pricing database.

Skills

Control systems understanding

Travel willingness

Education

Engineering degree or equivalent experience

Controls/panel building experience

Tools

Rockwell/Siemens PLCs

Job description

Koester Corporation – Napoleon, OH 43545

Pay:

$60,000 to $90,000/Year plus annual bonus, depending on experience and capabilities

Job Type:

Full-time

Work Location:

On-site/In Person (Napoleon, OH)

About Us:

Koester Corporation, located in Napoleon, OH, has been around for over 50 years, providing engineering services and industry solutions to a wide variety of customers. What started in 1970 building control panels for the foundry industry has grown into a full-service partner with in-house controls engineering, panel building, machining, and fabrication. We are actively seeking a detail-oriented, technically minded Proposal Engineer to join our Electrical Engineering department and support our engineering sales team.

At Koester, we take pride in being a solutions provider. Our customers span material handling, water and wastewater, aerospace, and automotive, so no two projects look the same. As a Proposal Engineer, you will see more of our work than almost anyone in the building, taking each opportunity from customer specs and a sales engineer’s scope to a complete, accurate estimate. This is a great fit for an engineer who enjoys the technical side and wants to learn how projects are won, with a clear path toward sales engineering or project engineering.

Essential Skills and Duties:

• Assemble complete estimates using Koester’s standard building blocks: panel design, PLC programming, HMI/SCADA development, and startup/commissioning.
• Apply standard labor hours and rates to each scope of work.
• Review customer specifications, drawings, and RFQ documents to capture all project requirements.

Develop Bills of Material and Pricing:

• Build panel and field device bills of material from the sales engineer’s scope and preliminary designs.
• Request and track vendor and distributor quotes for components, panels, and subcontracted work.
• Maintain current material pricing and lead times.

Prepare and Track Proposals:

• Assemble proposal documents including scope of work, clarifications, exclusions, and schedule.
• Maintain the quote log and track the status of open quotes.
• Support the engineering and the sales engineer with quote revisions and customer follow-up.

Work with Engineering and Our Panel Shop:

• Collaborate with project engineers and the panel shop to validate labor estimates and design assumptions.
• Occasionally join site walks with the engineers or sales engineer to gather scope information.
• Compare quoted versus actual hours and materials on completed projects and feed the results back into our estimating standards.
• Help build and maintain our quoting templates and pricing database.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Four-year Engineering Degree (Electrical, Mechanical, or Electrical Engineering Technology), or equivalent experience in controls or panel building.
• At least one year of experience in controls engineering, panel building, estimating, or a related field. Recent graduates with relevant co-op or internship experience are encouraged to apply.
• Working understanding of control panel design and electrical schematics.
• Familiarity with Rockwell or Siemens controls equipment and PLCs.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel.
• Co-op or internship experience with a systems integrator or panel shop

Job Type:

Full-time

Salary:

$60,000 – $90,000 per year plus annual performance bonus (Based on level of experience and capability)

• Competitive salary plus annual performance bonus
• Dental, Health, and Vision insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Paid Vacations
• 401(k)

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday, day shift
• In-office position at our Napoleon, OH engineering office
• Occasional travel for site walks (under 10%)