Senior Applications Engineer

OtterBase; Romeo (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

OtterBase, located in Romeo, Michigan, seeks a Senior Technical Role focused on advanced composites. This position requires a Bachelor's degree in engineering and over 10 years of experience in sales or application engineering within aerospace, industrial, or sporting goods markets.

The ideal candidate will serve as the lead technical partner for business development, translating customer needs into manufacturable products, all while collaborating closely with engineering and commercial teams to achieve profitable growth.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of sales/application engineering experience in a product-focused environment.
• Experience with customers in aerospace, industrial, or sporting goods applications.
• Strong attention to detail and financial acumen related to pricing.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical partner to business development, translating customer requirements into composite solutions.
• Support pricing activities by assessing technical feasibility and establishing costs.
• Develop and present technical value propositions to customers.
• Collaborate with product development to validate prototypes against specifications.
• Identify customer needs to inform market and product strategy.

Skills

Sales/application engineering

Technical customer-facing experience

Advanced composites

Communication

Collaboration

Relationship-building

Negotiation

Organizational skills

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or relevant discipline

Job description

Description

Our client is a global, innovation-driven materials company that develops advanced composite solutions for demanding applications in aerospace, industrial, and sporting goods markets. In this senior technical role, you will act as a key partner to business development, translating customer needs into manufacturable, cost-effective composite products while collaborating closely with engineering, operations, and commercial teams. The environment is highly collaborative, growth-oriented, and focused on long-term customer relationships and high-performance materials.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead technical partner to business development, evaluating new opportunities and translating customer requirements into feasible composite solutions from concept through launch.
• Support quoting and pricing activities by assessing technical feasibility, defining assumptions, and helping to establish costs and target pricing for profitable growth.
• Work directly with customers to develop and present clear technical value propositions, build strong relationships, and obtain commitments on new programs.
• Collaborate with R&D and product development to test and validate prototypes against customer specifications and support internal gate reviews for new programs.
• Contribute to market and product strategy by identifying customer needs, gathering competitive insights, and sharing feedback that informs future composite technologies.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or a technically relevant discipline, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Approximately 10+ years of sales/application engineering or technical customer-facing experience in a product-focused environment.
• Experience working with advanced composites and supporting customers in one or more of the following: aerospace, industrial, or sporting goods applications.
• Proven track record as a proactive communicator and collaborator, with strong presentation, relationship-building, and negotiation skills.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail, financial acumen related to pricing and profitability, and the ability to travel to customer and internal sites as needed.