Senior Application Engineer

Hardware FYI; Texas; Remote; USD 124,000 - 152,000; Full time

Job summary

3M in the Western United States is seeking a Senior Application Engineer to support automotive OEMs and Tier customers across the West and Southwest regions. You will provide technical application expertise, customer-facing engineering support, and drive adoption of 3M automotive technologies in design, manufacturing, assembly, and performance applications.

You will collaborate with sales, laboratories, product development, and technical service teams to understand customer requirements,

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering or science (completed and verified prior to start).
• Four (4) years of experience providing technical support for vehicle applications with automotive OEMs, Tier suppliers, or in automotive manufacturing environments.
• Experience in an engineering, application engineering, technical service, product development, manufacturing, or customer-facing technical role.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings and validation requirements.
• Ability to travel within the assigned territory, including customer site visits across Western/Southwest United States.
• Experience with automotive materials, adhesives, tapes, films, abrasives, coatings, sealants, surface protection, bonding, masking, thermal management, acoustic solutions, or related technologies.
• Familiarity with automotive product development cycles, platform launches, validation processes, and supplier qualification requirements.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes such as assembly, paint, body-in-white, trim, battery/electrification systems, repair, or component production.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot technical issues in customer production or application environments.
• Experience supporting both OEM and Tier customer accounts.
• Ability to work independently in a field-based role while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple customer priorities and technical initiatives.
• Proficiency with CRM systems, technical documentation, and standard business software tools.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and presenting skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead as the 3M technical lead to automotive key account customers in West Coast and Southwest United States.
• Engage with OEMs & Tier suppliers to understand requirements and recommend suitable solutions.
• Visit customer production facilities to support in line assessments and identify 3M solution needs as well as advise on best application practices.
• Coordinate test validation activities to ensure approvals are achieved, meeting customer timelines.
• Understand customers’ technology roadmaps, upcoming design needs and challenges, and communicate insights to Product Development for new product introductions.
• Provide hands-on technical guidance, troubleshooting, and performance analysis for customers.
• Actively seek out new business opportunities while engaging with customers.
• Lead internal cross-functional teams to drive actions relating to high-impact customer needs.
• Travel regularly across Western and Southwest United States to support customer engagements.

Skills

Engineering degree

Automotive experience

Customer-facing

Technical problem-solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering or science

Tools

CRM systems

Product development tools

Job description

Job Description: Senior Application Engineer

Collaborate with Innovative 3Mers Around the World

Choosing where to grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it’s equally important you know that the company that you choose to work at, and be confident that its leaders will support and guide you. With a diversity of people, global locations, technologies and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate and grow with other curious, creative 3Mers.

The Impact You’ll Make in this Role

3M is seeking a Senior Application Engineer to support automotive OEM and Tier customers across Western & Southwest United States. This role will provide technical application expertise, customer-facing engineering support, and solution development for 3M automotive technologies used in vehicle design, manufacturing, assembly, repair, and performance applications.

The Senior Application Engineer will work closely with sales, marketing, laboratory, product development, and technical service teams to understand customer requirements, recommend appropriate 3M solutions, support product trials, and help drive adoption of 3M technologies within automotive platforms and production environments. Additionally, innovation needs and ideas are to be extracted from customer engagements to direct 3M’s product development innovation roadmap.

This position is ideal for an engineer with strong technical problem-solving skills, customer engagement experience, and a solid understanding of automotive materials, manufacturing processes, and supplier/OEM development cycles.

Here, you will make an impact by:

• Establishing yourself as the 3M technical lead to automotive key account customers in West Coast and Southwest United States.
• Engaging with OEMs & Tier suppliers to understand requirements and recommend suitable solutions.
• Visiting customer production facilities to support in line assessments and identify 3M solution needs as well as advise on best application practices
• Coordinating test validation activities to ensure approvals are achieved, meeting customer timelines.
• Understanding customers’ technology roadmaps, upcoming design needs and challenges, effectively communicating those insights to the Product Development team for new product introduction proposals.
• Providing hands-on technical guidance, troubleshooting, and performance analysis for customers.
• Actively seeking out new business opportunities while engaging with customers.
• Lead internal cross-functional teams to drive and support actions relating to high-impact customer needs.
• Travel regularly across Western and Southwest United States to support customer engagements.

Your Skills and Expertise

To set you up for success in this role from day one, 3M is looking for candidates who meet the following minimum requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in engineering or science (completed and verified prior to start)
• Four (4) years of experience providing technical support for vehicle applications with automotive OEMs, Tier suppliers, or in automotive manufacturing environments.

Additional qualifications that could help you succeed even further in this role include:

• Experience in an engineering, application engineering, technical service, product development, manufacturing, or customer-facing technical role.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings and validation requirements.
• Ability to travel within the assigned territory, including customer site visits across Western/Southwest United States.
• Experience with automotive materials, adhesives, tapes, films, abrasives, coatings, sealants, surface protection, bonding, masking, thermal management, acoustic solutions, or related technologies.
• Familiarity with automotive product development cycles, platform launches, validation processes, and supplier qualification requirements.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes such as assembly, paint, body-in-white, trim, battery/electrification systems, repair, or component production.
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot technical issues in customer production or application environments.
• Experience supporting both OEM and Tier customer accounts.
• Ability to work independently in a field-based role while collaborating effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple customer priorities and technical initiatives.
• Proficiency with CRM systems, technical documentation, and standard business software tools.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, and presenting skills.

Work location: Central Texas (remote)

Travel: May include up to 40% domestic/local travel

Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H1B status).

Supporting Your Well-being

3M offers many programs to help you live your best life – both physically and financially. To ensure competitive pay and benefits, 3M regularly benchmarks with other companies that are comparable in size and scope.

Applicable to US Applicants Only:The expected compensation range for this position is $124,127 - $151,710, which includes base pay plus variable incentive pay, if eligible. This range represents a good faith estimate for this position. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may vary based on factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s relevant knowledge, training, skills, work location, and/or experience. In addition, this position may be eligible for a range of benefits (e.g., Medical, Dental & Vision, Health Savings Accounts, Health Care & Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts, Disability Benefits, Life Insurance, Voluntary Benefits, Paid Absences and Retirement Benefits, etc.). Additional information is available at: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/working-at-3m/benefits/.

All US-based 3M full time employees will need to sign an employee agreement as a condition of employment with 3M. This agreement lays out key terms on using 3M Confidential Information and Trade Secrets. It also has provisions discussing conflicts of interest and how inventions are assigned. Employees that are Job Grade 7 or equivalent and above may also have obligations to not compete against 3M or solicit its employees or customers, both during their employment, and for a period after they leave 3M.

Learn more about 3M’s creative solutions to the world’s problems at www.3M.com or on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn @3M.

Responsibilities of this position include that corporate policies, procedures and security standards are complied with while performing assigned duties.

Safety is a core value at 3M. All employees are expected to contribute to a strong Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) culture by following safety policies, identifying hazards, and engaging in continuous improvement.

Pay & Benefits Overview: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/careers-us/working-at-3m/benefits/

3M does not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Please note: your application may not be considered if you do not provide your education and work history, either by: 1) uploading a resume, or 2) entering the information into the application fields directly.

3M Global Terms of Use and Privacy Statement

Carefully read these Terms of Use before using this website. Your access to and use of this website and application for a job at 3M are conditioned on your acceptance and compliance with these terms.

Terms of Use (link here) and Privacy Policy (link here).