Technical Applications Specialist (Africa)

Square 1 Recruitment; Randburg; On-site; ZAR 45,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

Square 1 Recruitment is seeking a Technical Applications Specialist for Africa. The role combines hands-on instrumentation knowledge with customer-facing sales, supporting existing SA customers and expanding into African markets with distributors.

Travel to Africa is expected, with multiple trips annually. Candidates from mining/industrial process backgrounds who can translate technical needs into practical solutions are encouraged to apply.

Qualifications

• Strong hands-on instrumentation experience in mining or process environments.
• Ability to understand customer applications and translate into technical solutions.
• Willingness to travel within Africa for commercial and technical support.

Responsibilities

• Manage relationships with South African mining and industrial customers.
• Assess customer processes and recommend instrumentation solutions.
• Identify opportunities to grow equipment, application and service sales.
• Develop new business across African markets with agencies and distributors.
• Conduct site visits, technical assessments and prepare proposals.

Skills

Instrumentation knowledge

Customer engagement

Technical sales

Education

Grade 12 with technical qualification in Instrumentation/Electrical/Electronics/Process Control

Job description

Technical Applications Specialist (Africa)

Randburg, South Africa | Posted on 14/09/2026

Are you an experienced Instrumentation Technician, Instrument Mechanician or technical instrumentation specialist from the mining or process industry who is ready to take your technical knowledge into a customer-facing, commercially focused role?

Our client is an established South African industrial instrumentation and process measurement business with a significant installed base across the local mining and process industries. They are expanding their technical sales team and are looking for three Technical Application Specialists who can combine strong instrumentation knowledge with the ability to understand customer applications, solve technical problems and develop business.

This is not purely a desk-based sales position. You'll work closely with existing South African customers while also helping to develop new business across Africa, primarily through agency and distributor networks. International travel will form an important part of the role, with approximately 10 trips per year, typically lasting 7-10 days, predominantly into West and East Africa.

You do not need to come from an instrumentation sales background. If you've built strong hands‑on instrumentation experience within a mine or processing environment and have the communication skills and commercial aptitude to work directly with customers, we'd like to consider you.

You will:

• Manage and develop relationships with an established base of South African mining and industrial customers.
• Understand customer processes, applications and instrumentation challenges and recommend appropriate technical solutions.
• Identify opportunities to grow equipment, application and service sales within existing accounts.
• Develop new business opportunities across African markets, working with local agencies and distributors.
• Conduct customer site visits, technical assessments and application investigations.
• Specify and select appropriate instrumentation and process measurement solutions.
• Prepare technical proposals, quotations, application reports and supporting documentation.
• Provide technical support during commissioning, fault‑finding and problem resolution where required.
• Deliver product presentations, application support and technical training to customers and channel partners.
• Develop account plans, maintain sales forecasts and manage opportunities through the sales process.
• Work with suppliers and internal technical teams on applications, new technologies and product developments.
• Travel regularly within South Africa and into Africa to support customers and develop new markets.

Requirements

• Grade 12 with a strong technical qualification in Instrumentation, Electrical/Electronics, Process Control or a related discipline.
• Ideally a qualified Instrument Mechanician, Instrumentation Technician, Electrician or similarly experienced technical professional.
• Approximately 5-10 years' relevant industrial instrumentation experience.
• Strong practical exposure to instrumentation within mining, mineral processing or another industrial process environment.
• Experience across any industrial instrumentation technologies will be considered, you do not need previous experience across the client's entire product range.
• Exposure to equipment such as conveyor belt scales/weightometers, density measurement, weigh feeders, level measurement, static weighing, blending and batching, speed sensing, blocked-chute detection, radiation measurement or metal detection would be particularly relevant.
• Additional vendor/product training or certification in instrumentation or process measurement technologies would be highly advantageous.
• Able to understand a customer's process problem and translate it into a practical technical solution.
• Comfortable engaging with customers and able to develop the commercial side of your technical expertise.
• Previous technical sales, applications or business development experience would be advantageous, but is not essential for a technically strong candidate from an operating environment.
• Valid driver's licence and willingness to undertake regular local and international travel.
• Must be comfortable travelling into Africa approximately 10 times per year, generally for periods of 7-10 days at a time.

R50 000 CTC (Negotiable, depending on qualifications, technical capability and overall suitability)

This is an opportunity to move beyond a purely maintenance or plant-based instrumentation career and develop into a technical applications and sales specialist, working with an established South African customer base while gaining significant exposure to developing markets across Africa.