Technical Development Specialist

AAON, Inc.; Tulsa (OK); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

AAON, Inc. is seeking a Technical Development Specialist to provide technical leadership within the Technical Support team. You will coordinate advanced product support, warranty activities, field issue resolution, and continuous improvement across engineering, manufacturing, and product management.

You will mentor technicians, guide complex investigations, and support major accounts with elevated technical expertise while traveling to field locations as needed.

Qualifications

• Requires high school diploma or equivalent.
• 8+ years in HVAC, refrigeration, controls, field service, technical support, commissioning, warranty administration, or related technical environment.
• Associate degree in a related technical field preferred.
• Industry-recognized HVAC, controls, refrigeration, or technical certifications preferred.
• Prior experience as a technical mentor, project lead, or SME preferred.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead technical resource for escalated customer, service, warranty, and field support issues.
• Provide day-to-day guidance and technical assistance to Technical Support Specialists and other service personnel.
• Coordinate workload distribution and prioritization of technical support activities.
• Lead investigations of complex equipment failures and field issues.
• Analyze warranty trends and field data to identify improvements.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Product Management, Sales, and Service teams to implement corrective actions.
• Review and approve complex warranty claims and service requests within guidelines.
• Support field service personnel and customers with advanced troubleshooting.
• Assist with major accounts and high-priority projects requiring elevated technical support.
• Conduct field visits for inspections, startup support, and root cause investigations.

Skills

HVAC expertise

Root cause analysis

Cross-functional coordination

Mentoring

Customer service

Education

Associate degree

Engineering Technology

HVAC Certifications

Tools

ERP systems

Service management systems

Reporting tools

Job description

Job Description

The Technical Development Specialist is responsible for providing technical leadership and coordination within the Technical Support team while serving as an expert resource for advanced product support, warranty administration, and field issue resolution. This role contributes to organizational objectives by improving service quality, supporting team development, resolving complex customer issues, and ensuring consistent execution of technical support processes. The position acts as a bridge between frontline Technical Support Specialists, Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Product Management, and leadership teams to drive issue resolution and continuous improvement initiatives. This role provides functional leadership and day-to-day guidance but does not typically have direct supervisory responsibility.

Primary Duties

• Serve as the lead technical resource for escalated customer, service, warranty, and field support issues.

• Provide day-to-day guidance, coaching, and technical assistance to Technical Support Specialists and other service personnel.

• Assist management in coordinating workload distribution and prioritization of technical support activities.

• Lead investigations of complex equipment failures, recurring field issues, and critical customer concerns.

• Analyze warranty trends, service reports, field performance metrics, and customer feedback to identify opportunities for product and process improvements.

• Collaborate with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Product Management, Sales, and Service teams to develop and implement corrective actions.

• Review and approve complex warranty claims, repair authorizations, replacement recommendations, and service requests within established guidelines.

• Support field service personnel, contractors, customers, and sales representatives with advanced troubleshooting and technical consultation.

• Assist with major customer accounts and high-priority projects requiring elevated technical support.

• Conduct field visits for equipment inspections, startup support, commissioning activities, root cause investigations, and customer issue resolution.

• Develop and maintain technical support resources including troubleshooting procedures, service bulletins, knowledge base articles, and training materials.

• Monitor support team performance metrics and identify opportunities to improve responsiveness, service quality, and customer satisfaction.

• Facilitate communication between technical support personnel and other departments to ensure timely resolution of customer issues.

• Support product launches, engineering changes, and service readiness initiatives.

Primary Duties May Include, But Are Not Limited To:

• Deliver technical training programs for customers, contractors, distributors, service providers, and internal employees.

• Participate in product development reviews and provide field-service perspective on design improvements.

• Assist management in developing technical support policies, procedures, and service standards.

• Support hiring, onboarding, and training of new technical support personnel.

• Lead continuous improvement projects focused on warranty reduction, service effectiveness, and customer experience.

• Represent the organization at industry events, customer meetings, and technical training sessions.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements

Education and Experience Requirements:

• Requires a high school diploma or equivalent.
• Requires 8+ years of experience in HVAC, refrigeration, controls, field service, technical support, commissioning, warranty administration, or a related technical environment.
• Or any combination of education and experience which would provide an equivalent background.
• Associate degree in Applied Science, Engineering Technology, HVAC Technology, Electronics, Mechanical Technology, or a related technical field preferred.
• Industry-recognized HVAC, controls, refrigeration, or technical certifications preferred.
• Prior experience serving as a technical mentor, project lead, or subject matter expert preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Expert knowledge of HVAC equipment, refrigeration systems, controls, electrical systems, and mechanical systems.
• Advanced troubleshooting and root cause analysis capabilities.
• Strong understanding of field service operations, warranty administration, startup procedures, and commissioning processes.
• Ability to lead technical investigations and coordinate cross-functional problem-solving efforts.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, specifications, control logic, wiring diagrams, and technical manuals.
• Strong leadership, coaching, and mentoring skills.
• Excellent customer service, communication, and relationship management abilities.
• Strong organizational and project coordination capabilities.
• Ability to influence teams and drive resolution without direct authority.
• Proficiency with service management systems, ERP platforms, reporting tools, and standard business software applications.

Essential and Physical Functions:

• Ability to analyze and resolve highly complex technical problems.
• Strong decision-making, leadership, and critical-thinking capabilities.
• Ability to effectively communicate technical information to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to coordinate multiple priorities and support activities simultaneously.
• Ability to maintain professionalism during high-pressure customer situations and critical equipment failures.
• Ability to sit, stand, walk, bend, climb, crawl, and reach throughout the workday.
• Ability to access rooftops, mechanical rooms, manufacturing facilities, and customer project sites safely.
• Ability to lift and move materials weighing up to 50 lbs.
• Ability to travel regularly to support customer locations, service investigations, training activities, and operational needs.
• Ability to wear required personal protective equipment (PPE).

Work Environment:

• Work is performed in a combination of office, manufacturing, warehouse, construction, and customer-site environments.
• Frequent interaction with customers, contractors, distributors, service providers, engineers, and internal cross-functional teams.
• Regular exposure to operational HVAC equipment, electrical systems, moving machinery, and industrial environments.
• Exposure to varying weather conditions, seasonal temperatures, heights, noise, dust, and mechanical hazards during field visits.
• Periodic travel is required to support customer needs, training events, startup activities, warranty investigations, and service initiatives.
• Compliance with all company policies and procedures to maintain a safe working environment.
• Use of personal protective equipment (PPE) as required.
• This role is classified as a Safety Sensitive Position, requiring heightened awareness and adherence to all safety protocols to prevent accidents and ensure a secure work environment.

Disclaimer:

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at a time with or without notice. This job description is not an exhaustive list of all functions that the employee may be required to perform, and the employee may be required to perform additional functions. The company reserves the right to revise this job description at any time. The employee must be able to perform the essential functions of the position satisfactorily. If requested, reasonable accommodations may be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job, absent undue hardship.