Senior Applications Engineer

Safran; City of Rochester (NY); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Safran Federal Systems seeks a Senior Applications Engineer to lead technical sales support for R-PNT and GNSS simulation products. You will mentor Applications Engineers, drive system integrations, and coordinate complex deployments nationwide while ensuring customer success.

The role emphasizes deep technical leadership in simulation, timing, and navigation, with opportunities to influence roadmaps and best practices across teams. Travel nationwide is required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a customer-facing technical role in defense or high-reliability environment.
• Proven proficiency in GPS/GNSS receivers, simulators, inertial navigation fundamentals, or oscillator holdover timing.
• Strong background in conceptualizing, planning, and delivering technical solutions.
• Demonstrates strong technical judgment and decision-making under pressure to support mission-critical systems.
• Collaborative, proactive mindset bridging applications, engineering, programming and product teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical assistance for sales activities including identifying current and future customer requirements.
• Provide prompt product, service, and technical information in response to customer inquiries.
• Collaborate with Sales & Program Management to grow the business while ensuring high customer satisfaction.
• Capture and relay customer insights to Engineering and Product Management to influence roadmap decisions and design improvements.
• Organize and deliver pre-sales product demonstrations and training sessions on systems understanding.

Skills

GPS/GNSS receivers

Simulators

Inertial navigation fundamentals

Oscillator holdover timing

Technical leadership

Customer-facing technical role

Strong communication

Team collaboration

Willingness to travel

Education

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or related field

Job description

The Opportunity:

The Senior Applications Engineer role is an opportunity to serve as a technical leader and subject matter expert, supporting advanced defense systems with a specialization in simulation, timing, or navigation. This role is pivotal in driving our success in selling, implementing, and supporting our R-PNT and GNSS simulation products. This role extends to leading product integrations, complex product planning & deployments, supporting customers nationwide while also mentoring Applications Engineers. The ideal candidate will be an experienced engineer who wants to deepen technical impact, influence best practices and help grow a generation of technical experts.

Our Technology:

Safran Federal Systems provides Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (R-PNT) solutions and custom engineering services to U.S. Government agencies, defense organizations and their contractors. Safran Federal Systems is authorized to work on the full spectrum of U.S. Government classified and unclassified projects, in addition to supporting strategic partnerships for key defense PNT technologies.

How you will contribute:

• Provide technical assistance for sales activities including identifying current and future customer requirements through interactive discussions, implementations and configuration support
• Provide prompt product, service, and technical information in response to customer inquiries.
• Collaborate with Sales & Program Management to grow the business while ensuring high customer satisfaction
• Capture and relay customer insights to Engineering and Product Management to ensure seamless deployments and timely resolution of complex challenges as well influence future roadmap decisions and design improvements
• Organize and deliver pre-sales product demonstrations and training sessions on systems understanding & performance, proper system operation, maintenance and safety protocols for current and prospective customers, as well as sales and new team members
• Perform on-site demonstrations, training, evaluations, testing, installation, troubleshooting, and system integration.
• Diagnose complex technical issues and develop solutions to maintain system uptime and reliability
• Oversee the development of technical assets, such as demo environments, Proof of Concept initiatives, and enablement materials, to enhance internal and customer-facing resources
• Collaborate closely with the local & remote Applications Engineering team to support advanced integration and testing, leading hands-on integration and testing efforts with software and hardware designs to verify system performance, reliability, and compliance
• Serve as a primary escalation point for critical/high-visibility technical engagements, such as complex customer infrastructure, complex troubleshooting, Proof of Concept initiatives, pre-deployment planning and high-stakes demonstrations
• Contributes to process improvement and helping define standards, documentation, and training materials for Applications team
• Provide advanced technical training and support to local & field Applications Engineers, enabling them to train additional technical experts
• Serves as an informal leader and mentor within Applications, supporting technical growth and knowledge development across the team
• Travel nationwide to provide onsite support and execution, not limited to a single region
• Acts as the Technical Subject Matter Expert (SME) for assigned products/technologies (e.g., simulation, timing, and navigation)
• Document testing & field activities, prepare reports, and maintain accurate records for compliance and quality assurance.

What you bring to Safran Federal Systems:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, computer science, or a related field preferred. A combination of education and experience will be considered.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a customer-facing technical role (e.g., Applications Engineering, Sales Engineering, Field Support), within a defense or high-reliability environment is preferred
• Proven proficiency in GPS/GNSS receivers, simulators, inertial navigation fundamentals, or oscillator holdover timing
• Strong background in conceptualizing, planning, and delivering technical solutions
• Demonstrates strong technical judgment and decision-making in high-pressure environments, ensuring mission-critical systems are supported effectively
• Brings a collaborative, proactive mindset, bridging, applications, engineering, programming and product teams to deliver reliable customer outcomes

• Prior military experience or intimate knowledge of US Defense industry preferred

• Experience with lab environments, hardware testing, and multi-sensor PNT integration
• Ability to innovate, be agile, independently manage tasks, and collaborate effectively in a team setting
• Excellent communication skills for interfacing with diverse audiences and driving technical discussions
• Demonstrated track record of progressive leadership.
• Ability to obtain and maintain a secret level security clearance. An active clearance is preferred but not required.
• Ability & willingness to travel, up to 25% within the USA, to support on-site demonstrations, integrations, trade shows, and customer engagements as needed
• Demonstrated track record utilizing superior customer service skills to advance sales capabilities to external customers
• Ability to handle complex problems with analytical thinking skills and engage with

About Safran Federal Systems:

Safran Federal Systems has been awarded as a Winner of the USA Today and Rochester Metro Area Top Workplaces 2026 Award. In 2022, Safran acquired Orolia, now Safran Trusted 4D, the world leader in Resilient PNT. At the intersection of critical infrastructure and national defense, Safran Trusted 4D solutions govern and protect the integrity of systems that shape the world. In early 2019, Orolia Defense & Security spun off as a separate entity from its parent company Orolia, with the mission of providing resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions and custom engineering services to U.S. Government agencies, U.S. Defense organizations, and their contractors.

In August of 2019, Orolia Defense & Security acquired Talen‑X, a U.S. company specializing in advanced GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) Simulation solutions and Interference, Detection, and Mitigation (IDM) technologies. Talen‑X's portfolio was an ideal fit and has helped to enhance Safran FS's overall offerings. The acquisition enabled Talen‑X's existing resources, operations, and capabilities to be scaled and accelerated to better support the warfighter. Read the press release here.

Safran Federal Systems operates as a proxy‑regulated company, Free of Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI). As such, Safran FS Defense & Security is approved to work on the full spectrum of U.S. Government classified and unclassified projects and is positioned to support strategic partnerships in the development of key PNT technologies for the defense market.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.