Application Engineer

About the role

Liquid Process Equipment (“LPE”) is a fast-growing, value-added distributor of sanitary process equipment — pumps and valves used in making milk, cheese, ice cream, chocolate, and more. LPE serves major Fortune 500 customers and operates a service and rebuild facility in Kaukauna, WI, positioning the company as a trusted partner in the process. With 2024 as the best year ever and a brand-new office opening in 2025, LPE is in a high-growth phase.

This Application Engineer role provides clients with technical guidance on equipment functionality and operation, advising on how vendor equipment supports and integrates within food and beverage and industrial manufacturing processes. Responsibilities include selecting and sizing equipment, owning technical quotations from engineered solutions through aftermarket parts, and supporting the Outside Sales Team.

Why This Role Right Now?

• Impact: Build hands-on technical expertise supporting sanitary process projects across multiple industries, working alongside senior engineers and sales team.
• High-Growth Environment: Join at a pivotal moment — 2024 was the best year ever and a new office opens in 2025 — to help shape what comes next.
• Trusted by Industry Leaders: Serve Fortune 500 food and beverage companies with quality.
• Career Growth: Launchpad to Senior Application Engineer, inside sales, or operations.
• Culture of Trust: Family-owned, long-term focused, rewarding results over reports. Profit sharing, fast decision-making, zero corporate bureaucracy.
• Stability: Markets that people depend on in all economic scenarios — people eat and drink regardless.

Responsibilities

Engineering and Technical Support (Subject Matter Expert, SME)

• Participate in technical reviews, prepare equipment recommendations, and communicate process concepts clearly to customers and internal teams.
• Serve as a technical resource for assigned clients, supporting projects through their lifecycle with guidance from senior engineers as needed.
• Support customers in the sizing and selection of equipment that best aligns with process goals, sanitary standards, and long-term reliability.
• Review client specifications, P&IDs and drawings to understand process requirements and constraints, recommending appropriate equipment sizes, pump types, and configuration.
• Collaborate with plant managers, engineers, and project teams to identify efficient, cost-effective equipment solutions.
• Support technical presentations to integrators, engineering firms and consultants regarding specifics on LPE Equipment offerings.
• Build product and application knowledge through vendor training and mentorship from senior engineers.
• Travel to customer locations as required (20–30%).

Technical Quoting and Sales Support

• Own the technical quoting process from initial request through customer award: obtain and evaluate vendor quotes against lead time and margin targets, apply application knowledge so every quote is correctly specified for the process, deliver accurate, timely quotations for equipment supplied by LPE’s key vendors and in-house value-add capabilities.
• Apply engineering judgment to triage incoming quote requests, identifying which require application engineering review and which can be quoted directly, and prioritize to meet customer deadlines.
• Efficiently quote aftermarket needs (replacement parts, spare kits, like-for-like replacements, and repeat orders), verifying fit, materials, and compatibility against installed equipment.
• Serve as the technical and commercial point of contact for assigned customers and the Outside Sales Team on application questions, pricing, availability, lead times, and order status.
• Maintain quote logs and customer records in ERP system (M2M), follow up on open quotes to drive conversion, and hand off awarded orders to Inside and Customer Service teams for order entry, remaining the technical point of contact for vendors and operations through delivery.
• Recommend upgrades, spare parts strategies, and rebuild services from the Kaukauna facility that improve customer reliability and uptime.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering (Chemical, Mechanical, or Biological Systems, or related field) required.
• 2–5 years of engineering experience in sanitary process (pumps and valves) or related industries preferred.
• Working knowledge of process design, sanitary equipment, and fluid systems.
• Experience supporting customer projects from concept through execution.
• Experience in technical sales, quoting, or applications support within industrial distribution a plus.
• Professional communication and presentation skills with both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, ERP systems (M2M preferred), and process design software (AutoCAD or similar, preferred).

Skills

• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Team-oriented, eager to learn and develop technical leadership skills.
• Customer-focused mindset with ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Thrives in a fast-paced, growing organization.
• Combines technical rigor with commercial urgency, managing a high volume of quotes without sacrificing accuracy.
• Flexible, proactive, and solutions-driven.

Benefits

• Competitive Base Salary and annual bonus
• Company-subsidized Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, Life/Disability Insurance, HSA/FSA
• Retirement plan (401k) with net 4% employer match, plus 5% discretionary profit share plan

About Holland Group

LPE is part of Holland Group, a private, family-owned group of businesses with locations in Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. Holland Group builds businesses to last, not flip — nimble, entrepreneurial, and growing fast without big-company bureaucracy. The group deploys a best-in-class profit share program, invests in people, shares success, and looks for future leaders. Current Holland Group businesses: Holland Applied Technologies, Liquid Process Equipment, Bio Fab Technologies, W.A. Tompkins.