Sales Engineer

Podium Automation; New York (NY); On-site; USD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Podium Automation, located in New York, is seeking a skilled Sales Engineer to join our commercial team. This role serves as the technical backbone, translating customer specifications into clear proposals and quotes.

The ideal candidate should have over 3 years of experience in sales engineering, strong knowledge of industrial control panels, and excellent communication skills to engage effectively with clients. You'll play a key role in our growing company, helping optimize our internal processes for faster and more accurate quoting.

Qualifications

• 3+ years in a sales engineering or applications engineering role.
• Strong knowledge of industrial control panels, PLCs, VFDs, etc.
• Excellent communication skills for both technical and non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Lead initial calls to scope customer needs and requirements.
• Translate technical documentation into quoting inputs.
• Collaborate with engineering to scope complex builds.
• Manage the quote-to-close workflow.
• Refine software tools for a quicker quoting process.

Skills

Sales engineering

Electrical equipment knowledge

Communication

Customer relationship building

Education

Degree in Electrical Engineering or related field

Job description

Podium Automation is reimagining industrial control panel manufacturing through software-enabled design and automated fabrication. We're building technology to create a new industrial supply chain - reducing lead times for critical electrical equipment from months to days. Backed by top-tier investors including a16z's American Dynamism fund, SV Angel, and Banter Capital, we're growing rapidly and looking for exceptional people to help us scale.

We're hiring a Sales Engineer to join our commercial team and serve as the technical backbone of our sales motion. You'll be the first technical voice customers hear, translating their electrical specifications, single-line diagrams, and project requirements into accurate quotes and clear proposals. This is a high-impact role at the intersection of engineering and commercial teams, where the speed and quality of your work directly shapes how quickly we can deliver critical infrastructure to our customers.

You’ll work closely with our sales, engineering, and operations teams to scope projects, run discovery calls, develop quotes, and shepherd opportunities from first contact through handoff to production. As one of the first members of our commercial team, you’ll also help define the playbooks, tooling, and processes that scale with us.

What You’ll Do

• Lead first calls with prospective customers to understand their control panel needs, project timelines, and technical requirements
• Review customer-provided documentation (single-line diagrams, BOMs, specifications, RFQs) and translate it into standard inputs that drive our quoting process
• Partner with our engineering team to scope complex or non-standard builds
• Own the quote-to-close technical workflow, including follow-ups, clarifications, and revisions
• Build and refine internal software tooling and processes that make our quoting motion faster and more accurate
• Serve as the technical bridge between customers and our internal design and manufacturing teams
• Contribute customer insights back to product and engineering to inform our roadmap

What We’re Looking For

• 3+ years in a sales engineering, applications engineering, or technical pre‑sales role, ideally in industrial automation, electrical equipment, power distribution, or related fields
• Strong working knowledge of industrial control panels, motor controls, PLCs, VFDs, or related electrical equipment. You can read a single-line diagram and ask the right questions
• Excellent written and verbal communication, you can explain technical tradeoffs to both engineers and non-technical buyers
• Customer‑obsessed mindset with a track record of building trust with technical buyers

Nice to Have

• Background in electrical engineering, mechatronics, or a related technical discipline
• Experience selling into industrial end markets (data centers, utilities, manufacturing, energy, water/wastewater)
• Familiarity with UL 508A standards