Field Application Engineer

Job Title: Field Application Engineer

Job Description

The Field Application Engineer provides comprehensive technical support for customer circuit design and system development while driving demand creation and revenue growth for a portfolio of electronic components. In this role, you act as a technical consultant to customers, deliver engaging technical presentations and trainings, and collaborate closely with sales and product marketing teams to introduce strategic supplier products and solutions. You combine deep hardware-focused electronics expertise with strong customer-facing skills to guide customers from early system concept through design, development, and troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Provide early system solution consultation to assigned customers, helping them define architectures, select components, and plan their circuit and system designs.
• Offer design guidance and technical recommendations throughout customers' design and development phases, from initial concept through prototyping and validation.
• Diagnose and resolve design issues by providing hands-on troubleshooting, debugging support, and root-cause analysis for hardware and embedded systems.
• Deliver customer presentations and technical seminars that introduce new supplier products, technologies, and solutions in a clear and compelling way.
• Conduct technical sales training for customers and regional sales teams through lunch-and-learn sessions, workshops, webcasts, and other educational forums.
• Collaborate with the Regional Director, Strategic Account Manager, and Product Marketing to develop and execute demand creation programs that drive design wins and sales growth.
• Leverage engineering expertise to build and implement business strategies that promote supplier products to the right engineering design customers and accelerate revenue.
• Provide training and direction on new technologies to sales teams with varying technical backgrounds, ensuring they can effectively identify opportunities and support customers.
• Strengthen and expand relationships with customers and manufacturers by executing market-wide and customer-site seminars, training initiatives, and technical sales programs.
• Act as a trusted technical advisor to customers, translating their requirements into practical design solutions and guiding them toward optimal component selections.
• Communicate complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders in a clear, accessible manner to support sales and decision-making processes.
• Document customer interactions, design activities, and project status thoroughly and accurately using CRM tools.
• Collaborate with local branch leadership to adapt technical and sales strategies to regional market conditions and customer needs.
• Engage in ongoing learning about new electronic components, technologies, and design practices to maintain up-to-date technical expertise.
• Travel locally to customer sites as needed to provide on-site technical support, training, and relationship development, returning home each day.

Essential Skills

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) or Computer Engineering is required.
• Master's degree in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) is preferred.
• 5-8 years of progressive embedded system design experience in at least two of the following areas: 8/16-bit microcontroller hardware/firmware design, 32-bit/ARM MCU/MPU hardware/firmware design, analog signal chain design, or power conversion design (AC/DC and DC/DC).
• Strong technical experience in electronics with a heavy emphasis on hardware design and development.
• Ability to understand and work with a wide range of electronic components, including sensors, connectors, resistors, and related devices.
• Experience working for a manufacturer or supplier of electronic components, particularly in contexts where components were sourced through major distributors.
• Proven experience in customer-facing roles, acting as a technical consultant or advisor to engineering and design teams.
• Ability to communicate complex technical information clearly to non-technical audiences, including sales teams and business stakeholders.
• Strong verbal communication skills and a personable, engaging style that supports frequent interaction with customers and colleagues.
• Demonstrated teachability, with a willingness to learn new technologies, tools, and processes.
• Self-motivated work style with the ability to manage time, prioritize tasks, and drive projects forward with minimal supervision.
• Comfort presenting technical content in group settings such as seminars, workshops, and webcasts.
• Proficiency in documenting customer activities and project progress in CRM or similar systems.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience as an application engineer or similar role with a competitor or technology supplier, especially in customer-facing support positions.
• Hands-on experience in hardware development, including schematic design, board bring-up, and system integration.
• Familiarity with embedded firmware development for microcontrollers and microprocessors.
• Experience supporting design engineers in selecting and integrating electronic components into their systems.
• Ability to align technical solutions with business objectives and revenue goals.
• Comfort working in a hybrid technical and commercial role that bridges engineering and sales.
• Strong interpersonal skills and a confident, outgoing personality that supports building long-term customer and supplier relationships.
• Experience delivering structured technical training or "lunch and learn" sessions to internal teams or customers.
• Organizational skills to manage multiple customer projects and training initiatives simultaneously.
• Interest in continuous professional development in emerging electronics technologies and system architectures.

Work Environment

This role operates in a hybrid work model that combines office collaboration, remote work, and local customer visits. Typically, you spend one day per week in the office-often on Mondays-for collaborative activities such as customer or supplier training sessions and team meetings. The remainder of the week is spent working from home or visiting customers in the local region. Travel is local only, and you return home each day. Branch operations are largely managed at the local level, giving the team flexibility to adapt to regional market conditions and customer needs. The environment emphasizes close collaboration between technical, sales, and leadership teams, supported by modern communication tools and CRM systems. Employees have access to a comprehensive benefits package that includes competitive compensation, medical coverage through a major health plan, telemedicine and virtual visit options, prescription coverage, two dental plan choices, flexible spending accounts, company-paid life insurance and short-term disability, supplemental life insurance, and long-term disability coverage. The culture supports a holistic approach to employee wellness, values collaboration, and encourages a balance between in-person teamwork and the autonomy of remote work.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Linthicum Heights, MD.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $120000.00 - $150000.00/yr.

Why join us Our approach to employee wellness is holistic, which is why alongside competitive salaries, and excellent health and dental benefits, corporate employees have access to: Medical coverage through the United Healthcare Choice Plus Plan Telemedicine and virtual medical visit coverage Prescription coverage through Express Scripts Two dental plan options with Delta Dental of MA Flexible Spending Accounts Company-paid life insurance and short-term disability benefits Supplemental life insurance Long-term disability

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Linthicum Heights,MD.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Jul 23, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email actalentaccommodation@actalentservices.com for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.