Application Engineer - Equilibar

Application Engineer – Equilibar

Location:              Fletcher, North Carolina

Reports to:          Sales Director, Equilibar

The Position:

The Application Engineer – Equilibar serves as a primary technical resource for customers, sales teams, and channel partners, helping identify and implement effective pressure control and fluid system solutions. This role is responsible for providing application expertise, technical consultation, and product guidance that support customer success, business growth, and the continued adoption of Equilibar technologies across a wide range of industries and applications.

Serving as a defining first impression and key contact between customers and the engineering organization, the Application Engineer approaches customer problems with curiosity and ownership.  They Provide technical sales execution through application analysis, solution development, product configuration, and quotation support. This position works directly with customers to understand process requirements, operating conditions, performance objectives, regulatory considerations, and project constraints to recommend the best products and solutions. This role collaborates closely with Sales, Design Engineering, Operations, and Manufacturing to develop technical recommendations, support custom solutions, and ensure customer requirements are effectively translated into product and application solutions.

In addition to customer-facing responsibilities, this role provides valuable market and application intelligence by identifying emerging industry trends, new application opportunities, and evolving customer requirements. The position supports product management, marketing, and engineering teams by providing feedback that helps guide product development, market expansion, and strategic growth initiatives.

The Applications Engineer serves as a trusted technical advisor and problem solver, balancing customer needs, engineering considerations, and commercial objectives to deliver successful technical outcomes. This role is ideally suited for an engineer who enjoys customer interaction, application problem-solving, and translating complex technical challenges into practical solutions while contributing to the growth of innovative fluid control technologies.

Key Responsibilities

•     Customer Applications & Technical Solutions: Serve as a primary technical resource for customers, providing application expertise and engineering guidance to identify effective pressure control and fluid system solutions. Work directly with customers to understand process requirements, operating conditions, performance objectives, and system constraints, translating technical challenges into practical product recommendations.

Support customers throughout the sales process by evaluating application requirements, providing technical consultation, and ensuring recommended solutions align with customer objectives, industry requirements, and Equilibar product capabilities.

•     Quotation & Opportunity Development: Develop accurate and timely technical quotations by interpreting customer specifications, application requirements, and engineering constraints. Utilize established engineering and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools to configure products, assess feasibility, and support commercial decision-making.

Manage multiple customer opportunities simultaneously, prioritizing activities based on strategic importance, technical complexity, and business impact while maintaining responsiveness and professionalism throughout the customer engagement process.

• Application Engineering & Product Support: Act as the technical liaison between customers, Sales, and Engineering to facilitate the development of custom and application-specific solutions. Gather, document, and communicate technical requirements to engineering teams, ensuring customer needs are clearly understood and effectively translated into product recommendations, modifications, or custom designs.

Support troubleshooting, product performance evaluations, and technical investigations to ensure successful customer outcomes and long-term product satisfaction

•     Market Intelligence & Product Insights: Monitor industry trends, customer challenges, competitive developments, and emerging applications related to valve technologies, fluid control systems, and pressure regulation. Identify opportunities to expand the application of Equilibar products into new industries, technologies, and market segments.

Provide structured feedback to Product Management, Marketing, Engineering, and Commercial teams regarding customer requirements, market needs, and emerging opportunities that may influence future product development and business strategy.

•     Product Adoption & Market Growth: Support the successful introduction and adoption of new products by assisting customers, channel partners, and internal teams with technical positioning, application guidance, and product education. Contribute to efforts that increase market awareness, customer confidence, and the utilization of Equilibar technologies across existing and emerging applications.

Assist with the evaluation of market opportunities and provide technical analysis to support product management decisions, growth initiatives, and long-term portfolio development.

•     Cross-Functional Support: Collaborate with Customer Service, Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, and Sales teams to resolve customer issues and support business objectives. Provide technical assistance for customer support cases, product investigations, and Return Material Authorization (RMA) activities as required.

Support internal initiatives including ISO 9001 quality system activities, ERP configuration and quoting tools, and continuous improvement efforts that enhance customer experience and operational effectiveness.

•     Marketing & Technical Communication: Support marketing and business development activities by contributing technical expertise to product demonstrations, training materials, technical documentation, videos, trade shows, and customer presentations. Work with the Marketing team to communicate complex engineering concepts in a clear and effective manner to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Serve as a technical ambassador for Equilibar products and technologies, helping strengthen the company's reputation for technical excellence and application expertise.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, physics or related technical field.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to present technical information clearly and effectively.
• A solid understanding of fluid dynamics concepts (pressure, flow, density, viscosity) and how they apply to valve performance in practical scenarios.
• A proactive mindset and a drive to take ownership of your projects.
• A willingness to travel (up to ~10%) to meet customers and collaborate with teams.
• Growth mindset to take on challenges and develop new skill sets.

Personal Attributes:

• Curiosity and a customer-first mindset
• Proactive, highly motivated self-starter with a strong sense of ownership and drive to complete projects
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously across various stages of completion
• Strong communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences
• Willing to participate in and contribute to collaborative team projects
• Entrepreneurial spirit

Why Join Us:

• Develop a broad understanding of the process and workflows in a small to midsize business. 
• Collaborative and supportive team environment
• Opportunity to grow in various technical sales, product management, engineering roles
• Make a visible impact in a small fast-paced organization

Company Profile

Richards Industrials, founded in 1961, is a manufacturer of pressure regulators, control valves, and other fluid control products, known by our customers for high-quality products, excellent customer service, and fast & reliable deliveries.  Our products are marketed under a series of distinct brands, each of which is used in unique applications that require precise technical attributes.  The company serves a range of end markets, including pharmaceuticals, food & beverage, chemicals, petrochemicals, and various industrial segments. 

The company has two locations, Cincinnati, OH, and Fletcher, NC, and a global headcount of 190.  Equipped with an experienced, passionate team, our company focuses on driving profitable growth through operational excellence, opening new channels to market, and investing in new products. 

Equilibar, based in Fletcher, NC, manufactures specialized valves that enable pharmaceutical, green energy, and research organizations to solve complex fluid control challenges and bring innovative products to market.

Equilibar has four Core Values:

• Empowerment – Employees are our most valuable asset
• Collaboration – Together we achieve more
• Pioneering Spirit – Curiosity and innovation are our driving forces
• Service Mindset – Never stop advocating for the Customer

And our purpose is to solve tomorrow’s demanding fluid control problems, today. 

Equilibar firmly supports the principle and philosophy of equal opportunity for all individuals. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.