Technical Sales Engineer – Hygienic Process Systems – Food & Dairy
Location: U.S West Coast (Hybrid)
Travel: Client-based (Primarily West Coast, occasional U.S)
ABOUT QUALTECH
Qualtech is a North American leader in process engineering, stainless steel equipment fabrication, automation integration, and turnkey project execution for the food and dairy industry. With over 300 professionals across North America, including engineering, automation, and field installation, we design and deliver efficient process systems that enable leading producers to manufacture safely, efficiently, and at scale.
Our West-Coast team, located in Petaluma,CA , operates at the center of multidisciplinary project execution, where mechanical design, automation, fabrication, and installation come together to deliver industrial systems.
ROLE OVERVIEW
We are seeking a Technical Sales Engineer who excels at establishing and growing client partnerships, industrial systems integration, and commercial strategy. This role is ideal for an engineer or technical professional with 5–10years of experience in related indutries who is ready to apply their process expertise within a client-facing, solution-driven sales environment.
You will lead the development of engineered system concepts that deliver performance, reliability, and long-term operational value, while ensuring alignment between customer expectations, technical feasibility, and Qualtech’s execution capabilities.
You will work closely with project managers, automation teams, fabrication groups, and clients to develop turnkey solutions, manage technical-commercial alignment throughout the sales process, and successfully close turnkey projects.
WHY THIS ROLE IS CAREER-DEFINING
This position offers direct exposure to:
Turnkey industrial hygienic process systems- Early-stage plant design and process optimization
- Technical advisory influence on capital project decisions
- Client-facing leadership in solution development
Successful candidates become trusted technical advisors for leading food and dairy producers, helping define project scope, system architecture, and long-term processing strategies.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Health, Safety and Quality
- Promote safe practices during plant visits and technical assessments
Client & Technical Leadership
- Partner with customers to define process challenges, operational goals, and improvement opportunities
- Lead technical discussions focused on production capacity, efficiency, sanitation, and automation
- Guide customers toward integrated system solutions aligned with plant realities
- Support early technical feasibility assessments
Solution Development
- Translate client requirements into conceptual process system solutions (PFDs)
- Collaborate with engineering teams to develop layouts, system architectures, and P&ID concepts
- Ensure technical clarity between sales scope and engineering execution
Commercial & Proposal Development
- Lead commercial portions of proposals development
- Participate in technical presentations and client workshops
- Support contract redaction, clarifications and scope alignment
- Lead negotiations of pricing, terms and conditions
- Ensure account collection when needed
Project Transition & Integration Support
- Facilitate the handoff from sales to project execution teams
- Maintain continuity between proposal commitments and execution realities, including changes of scope
Market & Industry Engagement
- Develop long-term relationships with food and dairy processors
- Monitor industry trends in processing, hygiene, automation, and plant modernization
- Identify opportunities for system upgrades, expansions, or efficiency improvements
- Represent Qualtech in industry discussions and trade shows
Collaborative approach & Leadership Growth
- Work cross-functionally with fabrication, automation, and engineering teams
- Contribute to the development of solution standards and best practices
- Participate in continuous improvement of proposal and system design methods
QUALIFICATIONS
Education & Experience
- 5+ years experience in either of the following: process design, plant operations, commissioning, technical fieldsales, or project execution in the Food & Beverage or Dairy processing industries
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering or Technical degree in a related technical field is considered an asset
Technical Competencies
Ability to translate process requirements into integrated system solutions- Experience reading and discussing simplified P&IDs and system layouts
- Familiarity with hygienic design principles
- Understanding of fabrication, installation, and commissioning environments
- Exposure to industrial control systems and process automation environments
- Experience in customer relationship and sales process, from prospecting to closing
Professional Skills
- Consultative communication approach in technical and client-facing settings
- Strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities
- Ability to manage multiple concurrent technical-commercial opportunities
- Comfortable working in collaborative, multidisciplinary environments
- Organized in documentation and opportunity tracking
Tools & Systems
- Experience working with engineering documentation and proposal development
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office suite tools
- CRM (SalesForce) or project tracking experience is an asset
- AutoCAD familiarity for layout interpretation is an asset
WORK ENVIRONMENT
While the main office is in Petaluma, we welcome candidates from the West Coast and Central USA to apply since this is a hybrid position. Travel occurs primarily during client meetings, plant visits, and technical workshops and is balanced with office and remote work.
WHAT WE OFFER
- Exposure to industrial systems
- Technical leadership responsibility early in career
- Multidisciplinary environment
- Strong project variety and learning opportunities
- Support from an established North American engineering group
This document is based on the information available and the need identified on the moment of is creation. At any time, the employer can make changes to adjust to technological advance, to restructuring or to change made in process.
