Job Description

About the Role

Pinnacle Partners is recruiting for an Applications Engineer in Lebanon, IN. This is a technical and customer-facing engineering position supporting advanced surface treatment and coating applications within a manufacturing environment. The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, along with 3–5+ years of industrial or manufacturing experience. This role will combine customer communication, quoting, project management, process development, troubleshooting, and engineering design, with opportunities to work hands-on with advanced coating technologies including PVD, DLC, plasma spray, and nitriding.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop a strong understanding of advanced surface treatment and coating processes to effectively support customers and internal teams.
• Learn and understand technical aspects of PVD, DLC coatings, ion plasma nitriding, thermal spray, and other surface treatment technologies.
• Serve as a technical resource for customers and internal teams regarding coating processes, capabilities, and applications.
• Respond to customer Requests for Quote (RFQs) and other technical inquiries.
• Review customer requirements and determine appropriate technical solutions and manufacturing approaches.
• Communicate directly with customers regarding technical requirements, project scope, quotes, and application questions.
• Follow up with customers by phone and email to clarify technical requirements and provide project updates.
• Meet with customers to discuss larger projects and technical applications.
• Develop quotes and technical responses based on customer requirements.
• Manage customer projects from initial inquiry through trials, scale-up, and transition into production.
• Support small-scale coating trials and evaluate results.
• Assist with scaling successful trials into production.
• Develop, optimize, and maintain processes for existing production applications and new customer applications.
• Troubleshoot coating, equipment, and process issues to improve quality, consistency, and production performance.
• Work closely with Process Engineering and Operations to resolve technical challenges.
• Utilize SolidWorks to create tooling, fixtures, and other components required to support incoming customer work.
• Design or assist with the design of fixtures and tooling based on customer and production requirements.
• Read and interpret blueprints, technical drawings, schematics, and computer-generated reports.
• Support engineering projects related to new applications and product development.
• Assist with technical contract review when incoming customer parts are received.
• Coordinate with the Plant Manager to schedule and implement new customer projects into production.
• Support the development and implementation of new processes and customer applications.
• Understand and apply technical concepts related to gas flow, temperature, bias voltage, deposition rates, arc currents, and other coating process variables.
• Apply knowledge of materials science and surface treatment principles to solve customer and manufacturing challenges.
• Assist with process optimization and continuous improvement activities.
• Prepare technical documentation, reports, forecasts, and project updates for management.
• Develop and maintain technical documentation such as control plans, test results, work instructions, and other engineering records.
• Support the Business Development team in growing existing customer relationships and identifying new opportunities.
• Participate in sales support activities including website requests, referrals, targeted marketing campaigns, and customer follow-up.
• Support and attend trade shows, conferences, and other industry events.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Operations, Quality, Business Development, and leadership to achieve customer and production objectives.
• Serve as a technical resource and subject matter expert for assigned coating processes and customer applications.
• Maintain strong organization and responsiveness across multiple customer and engineering projects.
• Complete additional engineering and technical projects as assigned.
• Travel as needed for customer visits, trade shows, conferences, and other business activities, generally less than 20%.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.
• 3–5+ years of industrial or manufacturing engineering experience.
• Strong customer-facing communication skills.
• Ability to communicate technical information clearly through email, phone conversations, presentations, and technical documentation.
• Experience working directly with customers or other external stakeholders.
• Strong organizational and project management skills.
• SolidWorks experience, particularly for designing tooling and fixtures.
• Ability to read and interpret blueprints, technical drawings, and schematics.
• Ability to design or assist with the design of fixtures and tooling.
• Desire to work hands-on in a manufacturing environment.
• Ability to troubleshoot manufacturing processes, equipment, and technical issues.
• Strong problem-solving and analytical skills.
• Ability to understand and apply engineering and materials science principles.
• Ability to learn new coating technologies, processes, equipment, and applications.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and customer requests simultaneously.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work effectively with Engineering, Operations, Business Development, Quality, and customers.
• Ability to travel up to approximately 20% as needed.
• Must be eligible to work on ITAR-related projects and be a U.S. citizen.
• Ability to work Monday through Friday, generally on a 6:00 AM–2:00 PM or 7:00 AM–3:00 PM schedule.

Preferred:

• Experience with surface coatings or advanced surface treatment processes.
• Experience with PVD or Physical Vapor Deposition.
• Experience with DLC coatings.
• Experience with plasma spray.
• Experience with HVOF (High Velocity Oxygen Fuel).
• Experience with flame spray.
• Experience with twin wire arc spray systems.
• Experience with ion plasma nitriding.
• Experience with thermal diffusion, carburizing, or other surface treatment technologies.
• Working knowledge of materials science principles and coating characterization methods.
• Aerospace or Department of Defense experience.
• Experience supporting Navy, Air Force, or other DOD customers.
• Former military experience.
• Experience with continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience with project management.
• Experience developing technical documentation, including control plans, test results, work instructions, and process documentation.
• Experience with customer quoting and RFQ processes.
• Experience supporting new product or application development.
• Experience with process development and optimization.
• Experience scaling laboratory or trial processes into production.
• Experience with manufacturing process troubleshooting.
• Experience designing manufacturing tooling and fixtures.
• Experience working in a regulated or highly technical manufacturing environment.
• Experience supporting trade shows, conferences, or technical customer presentations.

Benefits Overview:

• $75K–$85K target base salary depending on experience and qualifications.
• Annual performance bonus.
• 4% 401(k) contribution.
• 7 paid holidays.
• Monday–Friday schedule, generally 6:00 AM–2:00 PM or 7:00 AM–3:00 PM.
• Temperature-controlled, well-lit, and well-maintained manufacturing environment.
• Newer facility and equipment.

Explore More Engineering Opportunities

This role falls within our Engineering/Manufacturing division, where we specialize in placing professionals in areas such as:

• Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
• Manufacturing/Process Engineering
• Controls Engineering
• Project Engineering
• Technical Sales
• Operations / Plant Engineering

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