RFA Engineering (www.rfamec.com) is an engineering service provider dedicated to delivering our clients with timely engineering support and expertise. We are currently supporting one of our clients in the industrial equipment and hydraulics space in their search for a hydraulic systems sales engineer.
This is a direct hire opportunity where the selected candidate will join our client’s engineering team and work closely with both engineering and sales functions to support customer applications and deliver technical solutions.
Sales Engineer - Hydraulic Systems
The hydraulic sales engineer serves as a critical link between customers, sales, and engineering teams, supporting the development and delivery of technical solutions for hydraulic applications. This is a highly customer-facing role that combines technical expertise with sales support and business development, requiring strong communication skills and the ability to understand customer needs and translate them into effective solutions. The ideal candidate enjoys working directly with customers, supporting sales growth, and influencing technical decisions.
Responsibilities
- Support sales team in developing and growing customer accounts
- Serve as a technical resource during customer engagements and solution development
- Work directly with customers to understand application requirements
- Recommend hydraulic system solutions aligned with customer needs
- Provide technical support for quoting, pricing, and proposal development
- Review proposals for technical accuracy and completeness
- Deliver technical presentations and product training
- Support troubleshooting and resolution of customer issues
- Collaborate with engineering teams to ensure successful application execution
- Build and maintain strong customer relationships
- Travel to customer sites as needed (~20% domestic travel)
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- 5+ years of experience in application engineering, sales engineering, or similar roles
- Strong hydraulics experience REQUIRED (components + system applications)
- Proven experience in customer-facing or sales-support roles
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to influence technical decisions and support customer relationships
- Strong problem-solving abilities and business awareness
Desired Attributes
- Experience in construction, agriculture, mining, or off-highway equipment industries
- Experience supporting OEM customers
- CRM experience (Salesforce or similar)
- CAD experience (SolidWorks preferred)
- Familiarity with ISO9001 or quality systems
Additional Details
- Hybrid work environment based in the greater Chicago area
- Candidates should be located near a major airport to support travel requirements
- Primarily domestic travel with potential for occasional international collaboration
- Flexible work schedule with coordination required to support global teams
About the Client
Our client is a global provider of hydraulic components and systems supporting OEMs across industries such as construction, agriculture, and heavy equipment. With a growing presence in North America, the organization is focused on expanding its engineering and customer support capabilities to better serve key accounts.
The company offers a collaborative environment where engineers work closely with customers and internal teams to develop application-specific solutions. This role provides an opportunity to contribute to both technical execution and customer engagement within a rapidly evolving and expanding organization.
Compensation & Benefits
- Competitive base salary ($100,000 – $150,000), commensurate with experience
- Competitive salary
- Bonus opportunity for team and individual performance
- Insurance options include Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability plans
- Employer paid life insurance
- Health Savings option available with employer contribution
- Paid vacation, sick days, and holidays
- Monthly allowances for phone, car, home office use
- 401(k) match - 100% match for 4% salary
- Company credit for work expenses
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering or related field
- 5+ years of experience in application engineering, sales engineering, or similar roles
- Strong hydraulics experience
- Proven experience in customer-facing or sales-support roles
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Ability to influence technical decisions and support customer relationships
- Strong problem-solving abilities and business awareness
What We Do
RFA serves 100's of clients ranging in size from Fortune 500 to entrepreneurial start-ups. We deliver engineering services from our Engineering Center in Eden Prairie, MN and at our client’s own facilities. Regardless of the manner which we deliver services, our goal is to please our clients, through consistent value of services which are aligned to the standards of our clients. We strive to work as a transparent extension of our client’s own engineering staff. We work in all areas of mechanical, software and electrical design, including off-highway mobile equipment and mechanical power transmission, consumer, recreational, industrial, medical products and one-of-a-kind special manufacturing machines. To see a complete listing of our open positions, please go to http://www.rfamec.com/careers/career-opportunities.html
