Applications Sales Engineer – Asia

Job description

Position Overview
We are seeking a highly skilled and commercially minded Applications Sales Engineer to support our Asia sales efforts. This role bridges deep technical expertise with customer-facing engagement, working closely with the VP, Sales to drive revenue growth, accelerate customer adoption, and position our high purity alumina (HPA) solutions in advanced manufacturing markets.

The Applications Sales Engineer will play a critical role in translating complex material science into customer value - supporting technical sales discussions, leading application development conversations, and partnering directly with customers on qualification and integration of our products.

The ideal candidate brings a strong foundation in ceramics and semiconductor-related applications, combined with the ability to engage customers, solve real- world problems, and influence technical buying decisions.

Key Responsibilities:
Customer-Facing Technical Sales Support

• Partner with the VP, Sales on customer visits across Asia, providing in-depth technical expertise throughout the sales cycle
• Translate customer requirements into technical solutions and product fit
• Lead technical discussions with customer engineering, R&D, and procurement teams
• Deliver technical presentations, product demonstrations, and application-specific insights
  
  

Application Development & Customer Integration

• Collaborate with customers on application development, product qualification, and performance optimization
• Support joint development projects (JDPs) with key strategic customers
• Provide guidance on material selection, processing conditions, and performance trade-offs
• Act as the technical liaison between customers and internal R&D/engineering teams
  
  

Pre-Sales & Post-Sales Technical Enablement

• Support the sales team in RFQs, technical proposals, and product positioning
• Troubleshoot customer issues and provide hands-on problem solving
• Ensure successful product adoption and scale-up within customer environments
• Contribute to building technical sales tools, case studies, and application notes
  
  

Market & Product Insight

• Gather and synthesize voice-of-customer insights to inform product roadmap and innovation priorities
• Track industry trends, competitive positioning, and emerging applications
• Support definition of market requirements and product specifications
  
  

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with R&D, manufacturing, and quality teams to align on customer needs and technical solutions
• Contribute to internal knowledge sharing on applications, customer use cases, and industry developments
  
  

Technical Scope / Domain Expertise:
Strong preference for experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Semiconductor and advanced materials applications
• Ceramics and high purity alumina (HPA)
• CMP (Chemical Mechanical Planarization) / slurry systems
• Thermal Interface Materials (TIM)
• Battery materials and advanced energy applications
• Substrates, sapphire, or related advanced ceramics applications
  
  

Qualifications

• PhD or Master’s degree in Ceramics Engineering, Materials Science, Chemical Engineering, or a related field
• OR Bachelor’s degree with significant industry experience (10+ years) in relevant applications
• Strong understanding of:
• Ceramic materials and processing (sintering, calcination, milling, formulation)
• Material characterization techniques (e.g., SEM, XRD, ICP-MS, BET, particle size analysis)
• Structure-property-performance relationships in advanced materials
• Experience in customer-facing roles (Applications Engineering, Field Engineering, Technical Sales, or similar)
• Proven ability to:
• Translate technical concepts into commercial value propositions
• Influence and support technical buying decisions
• Present confidently to engineering and executive audiences
• Experience working with Asia-based customers and markets is strongly preferred
  
  

Key Competencies

• Strong commercial acumen with a customer-first mindset
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Ability to operate in ambiguous, fast-paced, scale-up environments
• Highly collaborative with strong cross-functional influence
• Self-starter with a bias for action and results
  
  

Travel Requirements

• Frequent travel across Asia to support customer engagement and business development
• Willingness to travel internationally as required
  
  

Why This Role Matters
This role is a critical growth enabler for our Asia expansion—bringing together technical depth and commercial execution. You will be directly involved in winning business, shaping customer solutions, and accelerating adoption in some of the most advanced manufacturing sectors globally.

Hiring Process Transparency:
We do not use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assess or evaluate candidates.