Senior Hydraulic Applications Manager — Lead & Grow

HYDAC International; Schaumburg (IL); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical/dental/vision coverage

401k with company matching

Paid holidays and PTO

Life insurance

Pet insurance

Job summary

HYDAC International is seeking an Application Engineering Manager to lead the Hydraulic Division team, ensuring technical excellence and strong customer engagement. You will review concepts, size systems, and approve product selections before customer delivery, while building relationships with customers and channel partners.

The role requires 8+ years in application engineering or hydraulic design, with travel 30-50% and a strong leadership track record.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or related field; Master's preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in application engineering, technical sales support or hydraulic design.
• Demonstrated leadership experience in formal or mentoring roles.
• Deep expertise in hydraulic technologies and system integration; ability to approve architectures.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and mentor Hydraulic Division Application Engineers.
• Review and approve application concepts, sizing, and product selections.
• Drive customer engagement, technical negotiations and proposals.
• Visit customers and partners to understand applications and grow business.
• Collaborate with US & German HYDAC entities to standardize solutions.

Skills

Leadership experience

Communication skills

Hydraulic systems knowledge

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree preferred

Job description

Description

HYDAC is a family-owned and operated business with a vibrant and rewarding working environment for our employees across the country. Our goal is to provide quality products, components and services that meet our customer expectations while being committed to the protection and preservation of our environment. HYDAC’s passionate team designs and manufactures a comprehensive line of innovative and reliable solutions optimized for any demand our customers require.

The Application Engineering Manager leads the Hydraulic Division application engineering team, combining hands-on technical authority with people leadership. The role owns the quality and commercial soundness of every application HYDAC quotes in the division: reviewing and approving application concepts, sizing and product selection before they reach the customer, while developing the engineers who create them. The manager is also HYDAC's senior application-facing presence in the field, visiting customers and channel partners to build relationships, understand their systems, and convert application expertise into new business growth.

You will make an impact in this role by:

Lead and Develop the Application Engineering Team

• Lead, coach and mentor the Hydraulic Division Application Engineers, including Senior and Principal Application Engineers, fostering technical excellence across the team.
• Set individual objectives, conduct development conversations, and build career paths from Application Engineer through Senior and Principal levels.
• Balance workload and assign application projects across the team based on technical complexity, customer priority and development opportunity.
• Establish and maintain application engineering best practices, standards, calculation methods and training programs for the division.
• Recruit, onboard and retain application engineering talent, and identify skill gaps against the division's technology roadmap.

Check and Approve Applications

• Review and approve application concepts, system sizing, calculations and product selections before they are released to the customer or to Operations.
• Serve as the division's technical approval authority, confirming that each application meets internal technical, quality and commercial requirements and that risk is understood before commitment.
• Lead and participate in design reviews, System and Design FMEAs, and concept, design and launch reviews with Engineering, Manufacturing, Sales and Materials.
• Coordinate with Operations and Purchasing to confirm that quoted solutions are manufacturable, sourceable and deliverable.
• Drive resolution of critical or escalated application issues, and lead root-cause analysis and performance optimization with the development and lab teams.
• Ensure customer interactions, technical issues and approved solutions are documented in the supporting databases.

Customer Engagement and Business Growth

• Visit customers and channel partners regularly, alongside the HYDAC sales teams, to understand applications first-hand and to strengthen relationships with customer engineering and engineering management.
• Lead application engineering discussions and technical negotiations, and deliver presentations, demonstrations and proposals that carry the HYDAC value proposition.
• Support the pre-sales process as the senior technical voice, translating customer requirements into system and product requirements.
• Deliver training to customers, channel partners and internal HYDAC teams on hydraulic products and solutions.
• Track industry and application trends and feed them back into product roadmap and technology investment discussions.
• Collaborate with US and German HYDAC entities to develop and standardize solutions for the division.

Requirements

To be considered for the Application Engineering Manager role, you must have the following minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering or a related field (industry experience will be considered in lieu of a formal degree); Master's preferred.
• 8+ years of experience in application engineering, technical sales support or hydraulic system design.
• Demonstrated leadership experience — formal people management, or proven mentoring and project leadership at Senior or Principal Application Engineer level.
• Deep expertise in hydraulic technologies and system integration, with the judgment to approve system architectures and product selections.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical and senior-level audiences.
• Willingness to travel 30–50% of the time for customer visits and internal engagements.

The budgeted salary for this role is between $130,000-$140,000. HYDAC offers employees a comprehensive medical/dental/vision plan, paid holidays, PTO, 401k with company matching, FSA account, short term disability and life insurance, and pet insurance.

Click the “apply” button to be considered for this opening!

HYDAC is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.

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