Application Engineer in Cambridge

The Challenge

I am working with a process control integrator and machine builder who predominantly work within food and beverages. This company doesn't just build and sell machines; they sell high-performance turnkey integrated solutions.

We are looking for a Mechanically Biased Technical Sales Support Engineer to bridge the gap between a client's vision and a fully functioning production line. The ideal candidate is likely a mechanical mechatronics engineer who wants to work for a company that is serious about defining solutions with the customer and then delivering on that.

You won't just be "supporting" sales; you will be the technical architect behind the proposal, ensuring that every conveyor, platform, and processing unit is physically viable, hygienically designed, and engineered for maximum throughput. The company wants to go from £20m to £40m; you'll be joining a high growth, high performance team that is fully resourced to dominate their target markets.

What are we after?

• Mechanical Mastery: You live in 3D CAD (SolidWorks or Autodesk Inventor). You can take a blank factory floor plan and design a complex, multi-stage processing line that respects both physics and floor-space constraints.
• Project Architecture: Experience managing or supporting the lifecycle of large-scale mechanical installations (from £500k to £5M+). You understand BOMs, process control, fabrication lead times, and how these things all come together.
• Efficient Design: Ideally, you have a background in the food, pharma, or chemical industries.
• The "Technical Liaison": You can talk torque, belt speeds, and pneumatic pressures with the workshop, then pivot to explain the ROI and technical reliability to a Food Factory Manager.
• Safety & Standards: Deep knowledge of the Machinery Directive, PUWER, and CE/UKCA marking from a mechanical and structural perspective.

What You'll Be Doing

• Pre-Sales Engineering: Accompanying Sales Managers to sites to conduct technical surveys and feasibility studies.
• Conceptual Design: Creating high-quality general arrangement (GA) drawings and 3D renders to "wow" the client during the bid process.
• Costing & Risk: Working with production to ensure quotes are accurate and that the proposed mechanical solution is actually buildable.

The Ideal Profile

• Experience: You might be working on the engineering side now for a system integrator / machine builder wanting to have more of a say in how the up-front solution is designed.
• Mindset: You are "mechanically curious and open-minded." You want to know how to solve production challenges for customers.