Customer Support Engineer

About us- Cognex is the largest, most successful and recognized global player in industrial machine vision! We are a financially strong, international company with no debt and have been in business for over 40 years. Using advanced optics, image sensors and artificial intelligence software Cognex vision and ID systems capture an image then analyze it to make sense of what’s being seen. We are deeply committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment, guided by our "Work Hard, Play Hard, Move Fast" culture, which celebrates employee innovation, determination, and dedication in a dynamic, fun, and distinctive atmosphere.

We are working on a hybrid schedule: 3 days in the office, 2 at home.

Your primary responsibility as a Technical Support Engineer will be to provide remote support of Cognex-designed systems and solutions to system integrators or direct end user customers. This role has a high degree of customer interface and is expected to provide a high level of customer service and satisfaction. Typical Industry applications include: parcel and pallet conveyors, sorters, interfacing with in-motion scales, dimensioners, label printer/applicators, scanners and sensors and PLC controls software. Our TSE’s are often the first call that our customers make when they need support. Our TSE’s can solve technical issues remotely, exhibit a Customer First attitude, and Persevere until the job gets done correctly. TSE’s are based in a Cognex Office in different locations globally.

Essential Functions

• Provide expert, front-line product technical support submitted through web or phone call by asking meaningful troubleshooting questions, providing clarification on customer questions, directing customer to useful resources, etc.
• Maintain high customer satisfaction level through timely, attentive, and polite interactions
• Maintain open communication and provide consistent case updates to customer.
• Troubleshooting customer problems over phone or remote assistance tools, reproduce reported issues and resolving or providing suitable workarounds.
• Create, update, and close cases in CRM.
• Maintain complete and coherent case notes, and ensure all relevant data is captured.
• Develop and maintain technical bulletins and knowledge base articles that are easy to understand for non-technical and technical audience both internal and external.
• Interface and coordinate with global technical support group to facilitate troubleshooting and ensure timely resolution.
• Utilize experience to create internal FAQs and share with the Technical Support Team.
• Escalate product issues to engineering and product marketing teams to solve certain topics and report product and manual bugs.
• Respond timely to requests from engineering for additional information or troubleshooting on customer setup
• Participate in required technical trainings to keep skills up to date with current technology, new products and industry standards or trends
• Drive continuous improvement of technical support processes based on employee and customer feedback.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

• Ability to guide customers in how to use Cognex products and explain the cause of trouble in an easy-to-understand manner.
• Understand when and how to react and maintain composure and professionalism when handling different types of customers.
• Understand different types of communication and when to apply them.
• Active listening skills and the ability to gain a full and accurate understanding of the customer point of view.
• Ability to demonstrate empathy and establish a good customer relationship
• Ability to de-escalate customer frustrations and maintain focus on the issue at hand.
• Understand how to set realistic customer expectations.
• General knowledge of image processing, analysis, and deep learning techniques.
• Knowledge of machine vision systems, optics, and lighting techniques for machine vision applications.
• Familiarity with all relevant Cognex products/ technology (DataMan barcode reading, In-Sight platforms, VisionPro, Deep Learning, etc.)
• Knowledge of networking and industrial communication protocols such as TCP, FTP, EIP, Devicenet, Profinet, SLMP, Modbus, etc.
• Ability to replicate setups, reproduce issues, and resolve problems efficiently.
• Understanding when you need more information from the customer and how to ask questions to get appropriate information.
• Knowledge of factory automation process, industrial controls, industrial robotic controls, and PLC ladder logic programming.
• Understanding of software programming and debugging of both script-based and object-oriented applications.
• Ability to read and interpret wire and engineering diagrams
• Ability to read programming documentation.
• Knowledge of specific programming languages in use by Cognex (Javascript, C#, C++, VB)
• Knowledge of electronics, electrical circuits, hardware, and wiring.
• Ability to discern when to escalate a case and what information is relevant to include when escalating to other departments.
• Ability to prioritize, multitask and work under pressure
• Strong note taking and organization skills and the ability to effectively hand-off cases.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in technical field or equivalent work experience.
• 2-4 years related experience in technical support in the electronics, robotics, manufacturing, automation, or IT industries.
• Prior customer service experience preferred.
• Ability to travel internationally as required.
• English language proficiency (spoken and written)
• Ability to speak on the phone for extended periods of time
• Ability to use computer equipment or work in office environment
• Strong attention to detail and communication skills and ability to work within a team