Applications Engineering Manager - Data Center Cooling
Job Description
POSITION SUMMARY
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The Applications Engineering Manager will lead, develop, and grow the PowerOne Applications Engineering organization in support of AIRSYS’s rapidly expanding data center cooling business. This role will be responsible for building a high-performing applications team that delivers accurate, competitive, and timely equipment selections, performance data, submittals, technical proposals, and application support across AIRSYS’s air- and liquid-cooling portfolio.
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The Applications Engineering Manager will serve as the primary technical partner to Sales, manufacturers’ representatives, customers, consulting engineers, and internal engineering and product teams, ensuring that PowerOne solutions are properly selected, positioned, and supported throughout the sales and project lifecycle.
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This is a hands-on leadership role. In addition to managing and developing the Applications Engineering team, the manager will personally support complex and strategic opportunities, resolve technical escalations, improve application processes and tools, and establish standards that enable the organization to scale effectively.
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The successful candidate will combine strong technical expertise in HVAC, refrigeration, chillers, and data center cooling with proven people leadership, customer-facing communication, and commercial awareness. The goal of the role is to make AIRSYS one of the easiest and most technically responsive cooling manufacturers for customers, consulting engineers, contractors, and channel partners to do business with.
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POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES – ESSENTIAL
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The essential responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:
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1. Lead and Develop the Applications Engineering Team
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• Lead, coach, and develop the Applications Engineering team to build a high-performing, accountable organization.
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• Establish clear performance expectations, priorities, and development plans for team members.
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• Recruit, onboard, and develop additional Applications Engineers as the business grows.
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• Allocate resources and balance workload based on sales priorities, project requirements, and deadlines.
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• Build organizational depth and succession plans to reduce dependency on individual team members.
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2. Own Applications Engineering Execution and Quality
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• Own the accuracy, completeness, competitiveness, and timely delivery of equipment selections, sizing, performance calculations, technical proposals, drawings, schedules, and submittals.
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• Establish and manage standard turnaround times for selections, budget pricing support, and submittals.
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• Review and approve technical deliverables before they are released to customers, consulting engineers, contractors, and representatives.
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• Establish consistent engineering processes, review procedures, and quality controls across the team.
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3. Provide Technical Leadership
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• Personally lead the most complex, strategic, and high-risk applications.
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• Provide technical guidance on chillers, heat rejection, CRAH/FanWall systems, liquid cooling, CDUs, hydronics, controls, and other PowerOne solutions.
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• Support non-standard operating conditions, system configurations, redundancy strategies, and application challenges.
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• Serve as the escalation point for complex technical issues.
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4. Partner with Sales and Channel
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• Serve as the primary technical resource for the Sales organization and manufacturers’ representatives.
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• Support opportunity development through selections, system design guidance, competitive comparisons, technical presentations, and value-engineering responses.
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• Participate in customer and consulting-engineer meetings to establish AIRSYS technical credibility and support specifications.
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• Provide training to Sales and channel partners so routine technical questions can be addressed effectively in the field.
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5. Improve Tools, Processes, and Scalability
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• Develop and continuously improve selection tools, calculation methods, performance databases, templates, and standard technical details.
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• Establish standardized processes that allow Applications Engineering to support increasing sales volume without sacrificing quality or turnaround.
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• Implement appropriate document control and version management so the organization operates from a single source of accurate technical information.
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6. Cross-Functional Technical Leadership
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• Work closely with Product Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Supply Chain, and Service to resolve technical, configuration, capacity, quality, and lead-time issues.
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• Provide market and customer feedback to Product Management and Engineering to influence product development and roadmap priorities.
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• Support new product introductions by ensuring selections, performance data, submittals, training, and application tools are ready at launch.
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7. Governance and Standards
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• Ensure applications work comply with applicable industry standards, certification programs, and rating methods, and that published performance claims are substantiated and defensible.
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• Support the vertical’s effort to establish and advance industry-level performance metrics through sound data and technical substantiation.
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• Maintain records, calculations, and issued documentation so that any released selection can be reconstructed and defended.
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• Uphold Company policy, the Airsys Code of Conduct, export and trade compliance, and all applicable safety and ethical standards.
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Perform other related duties as assigned.
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QUALIFICATIONS
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Required Qualifications
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• Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering or a closely related engineering discipline, or an equivalent combination of technical education and directly relevant applications engineering experience.
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• At least eight years of applications, sales, or systems engineering experience with HVAC, refrigeration, precision cooling, or thermal equipment, including direct experience with chillers and heat rejection equipment.
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• Demonstrated command in precision cooling applications, including capacity and efficiency ratings, part-load and ambient performance, fluid and glycol considerations, refrigerant circuits, redundancy configurations, hydronics, and controls interfaces.
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• Experience preparing and defending submittal packages, equipment schedules, and technical responses to consulting engineers, contractors, and end users.
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• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, or formally supervise technical staff, or clear readiness to take on first-line people management.
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• Working knowledge of applicable industry standards and rating methods, and the ability to substantiate published performance claims.
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• Ability to communicate technical content clearly in writing and in person to engineers, contractors, sales professionals, and non-technical customers.
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• Ability to work on site at the Company’s South Carolina facility. This is an in-office position and is not eligible for remote work.
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• Willingness and ability to travel to customer, consulting engineer, representative, and project sites as required, approximately fifteen to twenty-five percent.
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Preferred Qualifications
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• Professional Engineer license, Certified Energy Manager credential, or comparable professional certification.
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• Direct experience with data center cooling applications, including hyperscale, colocation, or enterprise facilities.
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• Experience with liquid cooling, coolant distribution units, fan walls, rack-level thermal products, or heat-reuse applications.
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• Experience supporting an independent manufacturers’ representative channel.
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• Experience building or substantially improving selection software, performance libraries, or applications engineering process.
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• Experience supporting new product introduction from an applications engineering position.