Technical Sales Engineer

For this position, we are hiring in the Shanghai/Haiyan region of China

ABOUT OVERVIEW.AI

Overview.ai is bringing the cutting edge of AI computer vision to manufacturing, solving inspection problems that were previously not solvable with traditional machine vision. We're a full-stack company: we deploy GPU-powered cameras on production lines, run inference on the edge, and operate a platform that supports large fleets of devices deployed across the world.

We're growing extremely fast. Our customers love the product because it works: high accuracy, fast deployment, and an operator-friendly experience that makes real factory roll-outs possible, not just pilots.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Overview.ai is expanding fast across China's electronics, connector, and precision-manufacturing plants, and every new project starts the same way: a customer shows us an inspection their current system cannot do, and someone has to prove, on real parts and a real line, that we can. That someone is you. As Technical Sales Engineer you are the technical half of a two-person account team with Sales: you run technical discovery, form the imaging strategy, validate it in the field, and write the report that wins the purchase order. You own the Validation phase end to end and hand a proven setup to the Application Engineer at kickoff.

This role carries no sales quota and no account ownership, and it does not own implementation after kickoff. Your job is to make the answer "yes, and here is the proof" as fast and as often as possible.

WHY THIS ROLE IS EXCITING

- You are the decision point between a lead and a factory deployment. Every inspection you prove out becomes cameras on a production line; your work shows up directly in the company's China growth.

- The hardest vision problems, at speed. Reflective metal, transparent plastic, tight geometry, high-speed presentation: problems that break traditional machine vision, solved in days of iteration rather than quarters.

- The expert in the room. You decide go or no-go, you own the imaging strategy, and customer engineers look to you for the answer, with a global engineering and product team behind you.

- New lines, new parts, new phenomena. Regional travel across the most advanced plants in your region; no two weeks look the same.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN

- Technical discovery: Lead technical discussions with Sales on first visits; clarify defect definitions, minimum defect size, cycle time, part presentation and variation; agree on test scope and acceptance criteria; and drive the internal go or no-go decision.

- Imaging strategy: Choose the lens, lighting, and camera configuration from the part and its environment (field of view, resolution, working distance, exposure, image stability), then validate it on samples and in the field.

- Feasibility validation: Run bench tests and on-site trials: mount the camera, wire basic trigger and input/output signals, build the inspection recipe, implement the pass/fail logic, and prove it under representative production conditions, bringing in the Application Engineer for deeper controls or network work.

- AI inspection validation: Collect representative good and defective samples, align labels with the customer's defect definitions, keep validation samples separate from setup data, and identify whether gaps come from imaging, sample coverage, or the model.

- Validation report: Write the English report with sample counts and defect coverage, missed defects (false accepts), false rejects, measured cycle time with defined boundaries, test conditions and limitations, and a conclusion of feasible, feasible with conditions, or not currently feasible against the agreed acceptance criteria; this is the document Sales uses to secure the purchase order.

- Win support and competitive positioning: Deliver demos, address technical objections, and compare Overview.ai with alternatives on application fit and measured evidence so Sales can secure the customer's technical acceptance.

- Kickoff hand-over: Review the validated setup with the Application Engineer (golden configuration, bill of materials, sample and validation data, acceptance criteria, known risks, open actions); the Application Engineer owns implementation within the validated scope, and when the imaging approach changes or a new item comes in, it returns to you as a new validation.

- Opportunity coordination and market feedback: Keep Sales and the internal team informed of test progress, blockers, and next steps across your opportunities, and feed new use cases, customer objections, and evidence-based competitive insights back to the product and go-to-market teams.

WHO YOU ARE

Required

- Hands-on machine vision experience (typically 3 or more years) with a heavy emphasis on lighting and optics, not just camera setup.

- Hands-on with advanced optical methods (telecentric, polarization, structured light, multi-angle illumination, spectral techniques), applied on real inspections.

- Track record proving difficult inspections in production environments: reflective or transparent surfaces, tight geometry, high speed, variable presentation.

- Able to set up a line trial by yourself: camera mounting, basic trigger and input/output wiring to a programmable logic controller or sensor, an inspection recipe, and pass/fail logic in a flow-based tool or basic scripting; willing to learn the Overview platform and Node-RED during onboarding.

- Writes clear, data-backed technical reports and reads documentation in English; can explain missed defects, false rejects, sample coverage, measured cycle time, and test limitations.

- Mandarin native or near-native; leads customer technical discussions independently and agrees on next steps with engineers, quality and production managers, Sales, and the internal team.

- Works in fast, structured iterations; resourceful when the problem is hard, does not give up on a difficult part, and knows when to escalate or recommend stopping.

- Based in the hiring region (Shenzhen or Xiamen for South China; Shanghai / Haiyan region, preferably Suzhou or Kunshan, for East China), willing to travel 50 to 70 percent within the region.

Strong Preferences

- Working knowledge of machine vision platforms (Cognex, Keyence, HALCON/MVTec, Hikrobot) or AI-based inspection tools, including their strengths, limitations, and application fit.

- Background in electronics, connector, automotive, or battery manufacturing.

- Spoken English fluency.

- Prior pre-sales or field application experience supporting a sales cycle, particularly as a Vision Engineer or Application Engineer at a machine vision system integrator or equipment manufacturer.

WHY OVERVIEW.AI

- Extreme growth and real-world impact: We're not building demos. We're deploying AI systems on real production lines, at scale.

- Talent density: You'll work with world-class engineers and operators across AI, embedded systems, and enterprise deployment.

- Front-row seat to the AI manufacturing wave: One of the biggest transformations happening in industry right now.

- Ownership: Your work directly changes the trajectory of the company.

- Global exposure: You'll work with the most advanced customers and factories in the world.