Applications Engineer
The Woodlands, TX, US, 77380
Job Summary:
The Applications Engineer is responsible for developing technical and commercial proposals for industrial and municipal water and wastewater treatment projects. This role supports business development efforts by evaluating customer requirements, developing treatment solutions, performing process calculations, selecting equipment, estimating costs, and preparing high-quality technical and commercial proposals.
The successful candidate will have experience with membrane technologies including Reverse Osmosis (RO), Ultrafiltration (UF), Nanofiltration (NF), Membrane Bioreactors (MBR), and associated water treatment processes. The Applications Engineer will collaborate closely with sales, process engineering, project management, procurement, fabrication, and operations teams to deliver technically sound, commercially competitive, and executable solutions.
This position serves as a key technical resource throughout the sales cycle, from opportunity qualification through proposal submission, contract award, project handoff, startup support, and customer follow-up.
Responsibilities:
- Lead technical proposal development for industrial and municipal water treatment projects, including review of RFPs, specifications, water analyses, and customer requirements.
- Develop treatment concepts, process designs, equipment selections, scopes of supply, and technical/commercial proposals.
- Perform process engineering calculations, including mass balances, hydraulic calculations, membrane projections, and water chemistry evaluations.
- Develop and review process documentation, including PFDs, HFDs, preliminary P&IDs, and equipment sizing requirements.
- Prepare capital and operating cost estimates, lifecycle cost analyses, and support proposal margin reviews.
- Coordinate with suppliers, subcontractors, procurement, and internal stakeholders to obtain pricing and ensure proposal accuracy.
- Support customer meetings, site visits, technical presentations, and respond to technical inquiries throughout the sales process.
- Participate in proposal risk assessments, value engineering activities, contract reviews, and project award negotiations.
- Provide technical support during project execution, including detailed design reviews, testing, commissioning, startup, and troubleshooting.
- Ensure all proposed solutions comply with applicable safety, environmental, regulatory, and customer requirements.
Qualifications:
- Minimum 5 years of experience in water treatment engineering, process engineering, applications engineering, or proposal development.
- Experience designing and proposing industrial and/or municipal water and wastewater treatment systems.
- Produced water / reuse experience.
- Strong knowledge of membrane technologies, including Reverse Osmosis (RO), Ultrafiltration (UF), Nanofiltration (NF), and related treatment processes.
- Complete system solution development (not just membrane skids).
- Experience performing process calculations, equipment sizing, water chemistry analysis, and treatment system design.
- Proven ability to develop technical proposals, cost estimates, and customer-facing documentation.
- Experience working directly with customers, engineering firms, contractors, suppliers, or OEMs.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and water treatment design/modeling software (e.g., WAVE, ROSA, IMSDesign, Winflows) with strong technical communication skills.
- High-recovery and semi-batch RO experience.
- Commercial decision-making capability.
Education:
- Bachelor's degree in Chemical, Environmental, Civil, or Mechanical Engineering (with water treatment experience)
Relocation:
- This position is eligible for relocation
Travel Requirements:
- The percentage of travel required for this position is up to 25%
Work Schedule:
- This position follows a hybrid schedule working in office Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and working remote Wednesday and Friday. Monday-Thursday are 9 hours and Fridays are 4 hours.
Nearest Major Market: Houston