The Applications Engineer plays a pivotal role in helping customers bring innovative products to life by evaluating manufacturing opportunities across CNC machining, 3D printing, injection molding, and sheet metal fabrication. Acting as a trusted technical advisor, this role reviews customer drawings, 3D CAD models, RFQs, and quality requirements to ensure manufacturability, optimize outcomes, and mitigate risk. Working closely with Sales, Operations, and customers, the Applications Engineer delivers expert guidance throughout the quoting and production process, helping customers confidently move from concept to production while showcasing the full value of Protolabs' manufacturing solutions.
What You Will Do:
· Maintain strong customer service support by answering customer phone calls, emails, and chat questions
· Provide pre-sale technical guidance and consultative design support to customers and internal partners
· Support Sales activities and customer meetings including webinars, design reviews, and plant tours for non-strategic customers
· Maintain 4-hour response guidelines set on all customer (internal and external) communications.
· Gain a solid understanding of the customer’s technical requirements, design flexibility, project timeline, and product volume needs to recommend appropriate options within Protolabs factory and network offering.
· Deliver Design for Manufacturability feedback and provide innovative solutions for customer projects
· Thoroughly review and evaluate customer 3D CAD data, technical drawings, and RFQ’s to communicate customer requirements and ensure accurate quote information
· Manage risk by evaluating customer requirements, communicating expectations, and ensuring product fulfillment aligns with the appropriate product offering and manufacturing capabilities of Protolabs factory or network
· Coordinates with cross-functional partners to ensure customer requirements are communicated to downstream stakeholders for accurate order intake and product fulfillment
· Support Sales Enablement in creation and delivery of technical training to Sales
· Assist the customer in working through recommended or required changes to their 3D CAD model to help them take advantage of Protolabs’ services and value.
· Balance the objective of satisfying the customer requests with the potential of downstream risks to deliver acceptable parts on schedule.
· Effectively uses all work instructions and associated documentation when evaluating customer quotes.
· Local trade show support may be require
What You Bring:
· BS in Engineering and 2+ years of related work experience or 5+ years of directly related work experience in an engineering or manufacturing role
· Experience in a technical, customer-facing or sales support role is preferred
· Direct experience in CNC machining, 3D Printing, or Injection molding
· Experience and working knowledge of one or more of the above and Sheet Metal fabrication is a plus
· Technical aptitude with ability to communicate technical information to others at various levels
· Able to read technical engineering drawings and understand fundamental requirements
· Experience with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T) is desirable
· Experience with modeling/revising 3-D solid model in native CAD software is desirable
· Strong customer relationship skills with an ability to build rapport, gain trust, and deliver effective communication
· Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work well within a team and with cross-functional partners
· Strong computer skills (MS Office applications), including experience with a CRM software.
Preferred Qualifications:
What's In It For You:
- We offer a competitive salary and total rewards package
- We offer amazing benefits including but not limited to:
- Health Insurance: Traditional OR High Deductible plan
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Health Savings Account (including employer contributions)
- Dental and Vision
- Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
- Short-Term and Long-Term Disability
- Paid caregiver leave
- You will receive at least 3 weeks of PTO + Wellness + Holiday Pay + Volunteer Hours
- 401k with company match and immediate vest
- Employee Stock Purchase Program at a discounted rate
- Matching grants through Protolabs foundation
- And More!
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering and 2+ years of related work experience, or 5+ years of directly related engineering or manufacturing experience
- Direct experience in CNC machining, 3D printing, or injection molding
- Technical aptitude and ability to communicate technical information to people at various levels
- Ability to read technical engineering drawings and understand fundamental requirements
- Strong customer relationship and communication skills
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work effectively with teams and cross-functional partners
- Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office and CRM software experience
- Experience in a technical, customer-facing, or sales support role
- Experience with sheet metal fabrication
- Experience with geometric dimensioning and tolerancing (GD&T)
- Experience modeling or revising 3D solid models in native CAD software
- Experience working in or with the drone or aviation industry
- Eligibility to work under ITAR restrictions as a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, refugee, or asylee
Protolabs Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Protolabs and has not been reviewed or approved by Protolabs.
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Healthcare Strength — Medical, dental, and vision options are broadly available and described as good to excellent. Additional protections like short- and long-term disability and life insurance bolster the overall package.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — A starting PTO allotment plus paid holidays, along with added wellness and volunteer time, is emphasized, with some roles noting PTO growth over tenure. Paid caregiver leave appears in postings and supports flexibility for life events.
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Retirement Support — A 401(k) with company match and immediate vesting is offered, supporting long-term savings. This foundation is frequently cited alongside core financial benefits as a strong element of total rewards.
Protolabs Insights
What We Do
Protolabs is the world's fastest digital manufacturing source for rapid prototyping and on-demand production. The technology-enabled company produces custom parts and assemblies in as fast as 1 day with automated 3D printing, CNC machining, sheet metal fabrication, and injection molding processes. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables accelerated time to market, reduces development and production costs, and minimizes risk throughout the product life cycle. 3D Printing Our 3D printing service offers a wide selection of materials and technologies to create prototypes and end-use parts with complex geometries and detailed features. With tight process controls, careful design reviews, and extensive quality monitoring, we ensure precise and repeatable 3D-printed parts, every time. CNC Machining We use 3- and 5-axis milling along with turning to machine parts from commercial-grade plastics and metals. Our online quoting system and automated manufacturing process enable us to ship parts within 24 hours, helping customers accelerate development and reduce time to market. Sheet Metal Fabrication Protolabs is an industry leader in quick-turn sheet metal parts for both prototyping and low-volume production. Our digital approach to manufacturing enables us to fabricate sheet metal parts in as fast as 5 days. Additionally, we can support our customers’ development efforts with component assemblies, several finish options, and screen printing. Injection Molding Our injection molding service offers two options—prototyping and on-demand manufacturing—which provide customers a tooling solution that aligns with their project’s requirements. It’s used for quick-turn prototyping, bridge tooling, and low-volume production of up to 10,000+ parts in 15 days or less.
